Arnold for Senate?
The conventional wisdom about Arnold Schwarzenegger is rarely correct, the inevitable result of using the words “conventional” and “Schwarzenegger” in the same sentence. But the Field Poll this morning shows him running slightly ahead of Barbara Boxer in a hypothetical campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2010. And the conventional wisdom that Arnold is not likely to be particularly interested in flying 3000 miles each week in order to be one of 100 Senators listening to Robert Byrd talk about Cicero is about to take a beating. As unlikely as a matchup against Boxer may be, there’s a gossip mill to be fed…
More interesting, though, than a hypothetical campaign for than three years away, is how California Republicans would react if this political improbability did become a reality. Since Pete Wilson was re-elected to the Senate nineteen short years ago, the GOP has run conservatives (Haynes, Mountjoy), moderates (Seymour, Campbell), establishment candidates (Jones, Fong) and outsiders (Herschenson, Huffington). The defenses and explanations from each of these candidates’ supporters for their defeats could fill the Internet, but the… Read More