SACRAMENTO California USA...... According the the world famous LA Time. On the opening his second term, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will proudly proclaim himself a centrist and eschew the partisanship that he says is the root of political paralysis and voter disenchantment, according to excerpts of the inaugural address that he is to give this morning. I like to hear that as I would consider myself a centrist in regards to US politics and right wing with NZ politics.
"Centrist does not mean weak. It does not mean watered down or watered over," according to a portion of the speech released Thursday by the governor's office. "It means well-balanced and well-grounded. The American people are instinctively centrist … so should be our government." I like what the Governator is doing.... He found the knack.
Recovering from a broken leg, Schwarzenegger, 59, is to deliver the speech at his inauguration ceremony at the Memorial Auditorium in downtown Sacramento beginning at 11 a.m.
It will be the governor's first public appearance since he tripped and fell on an Idaho ski slope on Dec. 23, fracturing his right femur. Schwarzenegger had surgery on his leg three days later and is expected to fully recover.
In celebrating the political center, the governor is consciously staking out a different identity than that of fellow Republicans who have sought to marginalize Democratic politicians in Washington D.C., the governor's aides said.
Schwarzenegger knows firsthand the utility of a bipartisan approach. He tried a more conservative course early in his first term, souring relations with the Legislature and causing his job approval rating to plummet. He is also married to one of the Democratic Kennedy clan.....
Schwarzenegger will say that neither party can solve lingering political problems in isolation. Collaboration is essential, according to one excerpt.
"No one ideology can solve prison reform or immigration reform or any of the other challenges facing us," the speech reads. "It will take the best ideas of everyone. It will take creative thinking. It will take negotiations. It will take letting go of the past."
The inaugural address won't include as many specifics about what the governor wants to accomplish as his annual State of the State speech, set for Tuesday. But it lays out a kind of utopian vision of California that Schwarzenegger says is achievable.
Parts of the speech mention the governor's support for stem cell research, which is something that President Bush is having a hard time getting a grip of, as a prelude to cures for Alzheimer's and other diseases. Schwarzenegger will also talk about his multibillion-dollar plan to rebuild state roads and improve ports. The roads of LA are bad, very bad. It is about time someone tackled this problem. He is expected to refer to a time when government might be rejuvenated because of his push to introduce more competition in state elections.
"What would such a California look like?" the speech says. "Because we rebuilt our infrastructure, we have the schools, the roads, the ports, the water, the levees, the communications to grow with prosperity.
"Because we committed ourselves to the environment, we lead the world in the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy … And because we strengthened and reformed representative government, our state's elected officials now reflect the views of the mainstream, not the fringes."
The inaugural address was written by Landon Parvin, a speechwriter for former President Ronald Reagan.
Schwarzenegger's swearing-in ceremony is the coda to a remarkable political turnaround. In 2005, the governor triggered a confrontation with Democratic lawmakers and interest groups, calling a special election in which he tried to curb state spending and impose restraints on the way labor unions spend campaign money.
With his approval rating in the 30s, voters rejected the ballot initiatives he championed. Immediately after that election, Schwarzenegger conceded he made mistakes and promised to work more cooperatively with the majority Democratic Party.
Voters forgave him. He regained his standing in public opinion polls and easily won reelection in November. Something to think about, something to learn from.
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