See my original post of two days ago here. Essentially, that entry was just some photos of the Gov’s "Town Hall in the Park" visit to La Mesa on Tuesday, facing an "open to all" crowd.
Yesterday the SDUT ran a story on the visit, Governor criticized at town hall meeting, which he was, but in turn the headline and other stories about the "Rolling Thunder Review" beg a question:
Is the criticism Schwarzenegger potentially faces at these open and uncontrolled events bad enough from a media standpoint that he should either 1) not have them, or 2) go back to controlled, staged, by-invite-only rah-rah rallies?
Joseph Turner offered this comment in response to my initial post:
What say you all about the press coverage of the La Mesa stop for the Governor? I am of the opinion that short of being pelted with vegetables, I think even reports of tough crowds help the governor.
I think the average Californian respects a candidate that is willing to face the heat. I think that the people by and large, want to like the governor and thus, tough events can lead to putting him in a sympathetic light.
Obviously, the risk is that he pulls a Busby and says something catastrophically stupid…but, I don’t think he will.
Great points all. I took something similar away from watching Arnold firsthand on Tuesday.
Not a day goes by that I am not either somewhat dissapointed or even sometimes enraged about the Gov from a policy standpoint. I’ve written it before, but for me — in essence — it is the difference between a guy who a couple of years ago was talking about blowing up boxes and a guy who now wants to build boxes, while seemingly pandering to many of the individuals and organizations that have been so devastating to both the economy and social fabric of our state. A glaring example from Tuesday’s visit itself, as Jon Fleischman has already noted, is the Gov’s contention that we should not be mad at those trying to enter our country illegally.
That said, I am not the average California voter. I am a wonk, a political hack and a conservative, to name just three.
Watching the Gov on Tuesday, even with my policy concerns, I was reminded (like a ton of bricks) what an uncanny ability he has to be one of the most personable and "people person" politicians I have ever seen, with a unique style in both engaging the listener and disengaging the situation at the same time, diffusing the extremes and making even naysayers like him in the process. Call it acting if you will, but Arnold’s real ability to pull it off is far superior to any stage ability he has. George W. Bush should take a lesson, quite frankly.
Let’s keep in mind that this Governor — after he announced his recall candidacy — caused an immediate question about whether he would be able to hold his own in a debate situation. Then he surprised many by his performance. He’s gotten better since.
Case in point: As John Marelius noted in the SDUT article linked above, the first question from the crowd on Tuesday was posed by a lady who claimed she was beaten and battered by the San Diego police, all the while looking (I was seated nearly next to her) like she had done a few too many drugs in the 70s and perhaps the 90s and 2000s. She was clearly "off" and the crowd knew it, all feeling very uncomfortable about her statements and especially how Arnold would get her to stop so as to move on.
Few in the crowd — if any — expected what followed. Why? Because 99% of politicians, if not more, would have told her something like "I’m sorry you’ve gone through this," while promising to look into it, and passing the baton to a staffer who would get her number so as to likely never call her.
Instead, the Governor calls her out of the crowd, hugs her and says "I’ll protect you" and "You’ll never be in handcuffs again," then requests applause for her courage. He seemingly never made any kind of commitment to look into her situation, while still totally melting her, diffusing the tautness in the air, and moving the crowd in the process. Uncanny.
I could give other examples from Tuesday, but enough said. Even if his politics are of question among many, this Governor has something that Phil Angelides can’t even begin to touch….a personality that resonates with the average person on the street.
The more Arnold is on this bus (and, no, Adam Probolsky, there were no other GOP nominees with him….but that’s for another day), and gets out to face anyone on any issue they want to ask, it may not matter how he answers, it will only matter the style in which he answers.
Does style instead of politics make me happier as a conservative? No. Will that style save California? Of course not. But it very likely means Arnold will be be the one to be in the position to try to do the saving.