October 08, 2003, 8:27 a.m.
Governor Arnold
Now, to the hard part.

By Sheri Annis

After a rollicking campaign in which he drew huge crowds, schmoozed Oprah, stumped with a Twisted Sister, had women throw themselves at him, and apologized for throwing himself at some women, Arnold Schwarzenegger gets to pick up his broom and head for Sacramento.

But now this Hollywood star who has spent his career surrounded by adoring fans has to deliver — and in the considerably less-friendly confines of a Democratic-controlled state legislature. And the Democrats will be angry at what they see as an illegitimate recall that tossed their man out of office three years early, even if they couldn't stand the guy.

The good news is that once the smoke has cleared, Governor-elect Schwarzenegger will have received a substantial bipartisan mandate in a heavily Democratic state. Tuesday's recall could be considered the first uber-open primary that happened to be a general election. And Schwarzenegger pulled this off with the Republican establishment leading the charge for him.

Given the unusual circumstances of his victory, Schwarzenegger needs to make some bipartisan noises early and often, showing the Democrats that they will look good by cooperating with him. The Democrats no longer need to worry about the man who remains lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante. His political career is over. He was disloyal to his party and still couldn't eke out a win.

Schwarzenegger must focus on the main reason he was elected, or at least the reason Gray Davis lost: the ailing economy. No one expects an immediate turnaround to a flush economy, but even incremental steps in the right direction will show that a new leader is in charge. Campaign slogans about terminating special interests will no longer be enough; he must make real spending cuts, and some of these will be painful.

A key challenge for Schwarzenegger is to remain above the fray. The last Republican moderate to serve as governor, Pete Wilson (whose key strategists were part of Team Arnold), kept getting into spats with his party's conservative wing. Schwarzenegger should use his star power and diplomacy to charm the public and the more moderate Democrats, making those who try to derail him appear petty rather than the other way around.

The sexual-harassment allegations that dogged him in the last few days did not wind up crippling his candidacy. The timing was perceived, fairly or not, as politically motivated. He was smart to apologize for the bad behavior of the past and try to put the controversy behind him. When I worked for him last year, Arnold was completely professional with me. As one of the few women who traveled with him, I certainly never felt excluded or undermined. Plus, he helped carry my laptop and suitcases down many plane staircases.

Rest assured, the womanizing charges will not go away quickly. Gloria Allred has already lined up a client, and some Democrats are muttering about an investigation. But California voters seem to have digested the allegations and decided to take their chances with the Terminator.

The media climate will be very different than the chaos of a campaign. Arnold will no longer be able to get by chatting up the likes of Larry King and Howard Stern. He will have to engage in constant give and take with the Sacramento press corps. These men and women are not known for their chummy relationships with politicos. They would much prefer to sniff out a good story, which doesn't mean a People magazine-style photo-op with children in the background. Schwarzenegger showed a good command of the issues during his first press conference. Now he'll have to do that on a regular basis.

Most likely, he'll surround himself with a combination of old Sacramento hands and new political blood. He has been smart not to pretend he knows it all. In the after-school initiative last year, I found Arnold to be a quick study. No one from his background would be expected to know the specifics of every statewide issue. But even as an on-the-job trainee, he will have to display an aura of competence.

The incredible ride from Venice Beach bodybuilder to the governor's mansion has just begun. If Schwarzenegger can meld the superhero powers of his past roles with a deft political touch, another actor could reshape California history. Now comes the hard part.

— Sheri Annis, a Washington, D.C. media consultant, worked for Schwarzenegger's Proposition 49 campaign in 2002.

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