EDITORIAL MR. S'S WILD RIDE THE POLITICAL THEATER OF THE ARNOLD SHOW HAS JUST BEGUN.GOV. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] proclaimed Monday during his inauguration speech: ``Today is a new day for California.'' It was Day 1 of the Gov. Arnold Show, the pilot of a three-year-long series that puts Sacramento in the spotlight like never before. Even before Schwarzenegger had taken the oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. , the political theater was in full swing. In the hours before the inauguration - an event attended by movie stars and dignitaries - special interests started jockeying for position to throw rocks at his administration or to curry favor to seek to gain favor by flattery or attentions. See Favor, n. os> to seek to gain favor by flattery, caresses, kindness, or officious civilities. See also: Curry favor . The dairy lobby showed its respect for the governor by carving his likeness in an 80-pound brick of cheese and dragging it to the state house for a photo op. Dozens of other groups were ready to jump aboard the Arnold bandwagon. Some women's groups demanded justice for those he might have groped in years gone by. A bevy bevy a flock of birds. of taxpayer groups These taxpayer groups can be formal nonprofit organizations or informal groups. They are generally seen as “watch dog” groups. As such they try to keep taxes and borrowing down as well as spending. Many US cities have these taxpayer groups. , specialized health-care groups and consumer groups held pre-inauguration press conferences demanding this or that from the new administration. Underneath the vaudeville vaudeville (vôd`vĭl), originally a light song, derived from the drinking and love songs formerly attributed to Olivier Basselin and called Vau, or Vaux, de Vire. of this reality show, there's a serious current, and Schwarzenegger, with all the skill and theatrical sense of a Hollywood superstar, hit all the right notes. He has promised to be the people's governor. And we elected him, as he said, on ``hope and faith.'' He has already shown his good faith by immediately rescinding the car tax and calling the Legislature into special session to fix the broken workers' compensation workers' compensation, payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work. system, the catastrophically-out-of-balance state budget and repeal the law giving a driver license to illegal immigrants without background checks. ``I have come here to serve you,'' Schwarzenegger said somberly from the podium Monday morning. ``This election was not about replacing one man, it was not about replacing one party, it was about replacing the entire political climate of this state.'' It was, as he likes to say, about stopping politics-as-usual. It was about the start of a new era of open government, of putting aside petty differences to find the common ground, of solving the people's problems and running state government for the greater good of all Californians. We hope and pray that it will be so. Let the Arnold Show begin. |
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