Schwarzenegger For President?

Schwarzenegger For President?
by Martell

Recently, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 2832 and SB 1056, which would have raised California’s minimum wage by $1.00 over the next two years and would have required economic impact reports for new supercenters opening in the state, respectively. The vetoes were justified by The Governator as being necessary to “make every California job more secure.” As I pondered whether this was in fact true or not, it occurred to me that I hadn’t heard much about economic policy lately. This struck me as strange for two reasons: 1) the economy has been struggling along for the better part of three years now, and 2) there are only six weeks until the presidential election.

In fact, as Election Day 2004 draws near, there seems to be a growing dissatisfaction with the way the presidential race is shaping up. I’m hearing more and more people complain that Kerry and Bush should spend less time slinging mud and more time addressing topics like Social Security reform and the problems with health care. Frankly, I can’t say that I disagree. I too would prefer to see our candidates debating how best to resuscitate the economy or fight terrorism. Watching them take potshots at one another’s military service history is like watching a couple of junior high kids fighting at the bus stop.

About a year and a half ago, I was talking to Dileep at the Pub Quiz when he commented, “I just want a President who's smarter than I am.” And really, isn't that all anyone wants—to know that their elected leader will make better decisions than they would; to be able to have faith that, should the President make a questionable decision, it was probably made because of access to better information, not because of faulty logic and poor reasoning ability? Is that really so much to ask? And if it's not so much to ask, doesn't it seem that the best way to learn about our candidates is to require a series of unscripted, public debates?

The problem is, a serious debate requires conflicting views. Yet, over the last two decades, the ideologies of the Democratic and Republican parties have drawn so close together as to be nearly indistinguishable. Instead of communicating a bold vision for the future of the country, both parties have chosen to avoid all that is controversial. When everything is going well, maybe that’s a fine strategy—during those times, most people are happy maintaining the status quo. But during times of crisis, the electorate needs to know what their prospective leader will do to solve the nation’s problems.

Which brings us back to Schwarzenegger. I was glad to see him veto those bills. No, not because I’m a fan of big business, but because I’m a fan of the American election process. We may choose to agree or disagree with Schwarzenegger about the effects of a higher minimum wage; ultimately, our feelings don’t matter. The veto is done, and nobody’s feelings are going to change that. What does matter, though, is that we have learned something about Schwarzenegger and what he believes in. At least in the next gubernatorial election, we’ll have some idea what we’re voting for or against.

Martell can be reached at martell@babblog.com.