CON : What sure thing? He’s no spring chicken. At 55, his action-hero status has been eclipsed by the likes of Vin Diesel, The Rock, even Ben Affleck. And despite his success overseas, he hasn’t starred in a movie that grossed more than $100 million in the United States since “Eraser” in 1996. And he knows it. “Arnold doesn’t live in a delusional state,” says one producer who has worked with him. “When you get to be Arnold’s age, you are, as an action hero, reaching the upper limits of what strains credibility. I’d find a transitional part for him where there was no action. He’d be very believable as an ex-military guy mentoring somebody through a situation.” Sound like fun?
–Sean M. Smith
POLITICIAN
PRO: If California Republicans succeed in recalling Gray Davis, the unpopular Democratic governor–or even if Davis hangs on till 2006–should Schwarzenegger try for the job? He’s got the name, the money and the charisma. “Arnold works a room better than anyone in California,” says Republican consultant Dan Schnur. And, after leading a successful ballot initiative to fund after-school programs, Arnold’s got policy chops. “He showed the insiders that he’s more than a movie star,” says GOP strategist Sean Walsh. Though he’s a Republican, his views on abortion, guns and gay marriage are in tune with California’s Democratic majority.
CON: Get real. Underneath those abs of steel, does Arnold have the stomach for politics? He dipped a toe in the water in the 2002 gubernatorial race, and Democratic operatives went after it like sharks. When they fanned rumors about his supposed womanizing, he threatened to sue–a sure sign, pros say, that he’s a wuss. “A guy who’s used to being slobbered over by star kissers isn’t necessarily well equipped for the realities of a campaign,” says Garry South, Davis’s chief strategist." His liberal social views could backfire with the party’s far-right base. And he could face a challenge in the primary from Condi Rice, who, Bush administration sources say, is eying her post-White House career. Who do you think W would back?
