Two points:
1. The charge that Arnold was a serial groper, several readers have emailed to point out, is an old one. True enough. But it’s one thing for vague rumors to circulate, another for the L. A. Times to publish dates, descriptions, and, in several cases, the names of victims. What was once hearsay is now fact.
2. What effect will these revelations have on the vote? Most of the emails I’ve received argue that it won’t have much effect at all. In the first place, the charges could have been worse–charges of not of groping but of rape. In the second place, Maria is standing by her man. And in the third place, Arnold has apologized. Put all that together and you’ve got a situation in which Californians are likely to give Arnold their forgiveness–and their votes. If I had to bet, I’d say that’s about right.