The Bitch Who Cried
LOS ANGELES—Angry Californians made history last night, tossing out a sitting governor and turning to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the muscle-bound action hero of the silver screen, in a bid to return the lustre to the tarnished Golden State. In a groundbreaking recall vote, 55 per cent decided to turf Democrat Gray Davis from office, overwhelmingly putting their faith in the man who toured the state as a movie star, promising to clear out the special interests and corrupt politicians in a campaign big on Hollywood glitz and light on details. "Everything I have is because of California," Schwarzenegger told a ballroom of delirious supporters last night. "I came here with absolutely nothing and California has given me absolutely everything. "And today California has given me the greatest gift of all, you have given me your trust." The Republican Governor-elect Schwarzenegger fought off a litany of last-minute charges of sexual harassment from as many as 16 women in a campaign which turned ugly, effectively turning the tables and blaming his accusers in the media and Davis for dirty tricks. "For the people to win, politics as usual must lose," he said. An Austrian immigrant who arrived penniless in the state and parlayed bodybuilding fame into a movie career, Schwarzenegger had slightly more than 50 per cent of the vote among the 135 candidates on the ballot to replace Davis. He won by spouting lines from his movies, flashing his smile and signing autographs for fans, rarely stepping out of his best-known Terminator role. In keeping with the groundbreaking mix of show biz and politics, Schwarzenegger was introduced on the podium at the Century Plaza Hotel on the Avenue of the Stars by Tonight Show host Jay Leno. It was the hotel which had been election-night headquarters of another movie star who rose to lead this state, former U.S. president Ronald Reagan. Schwarzenegger thanked his wife, Maria Shriver, and others of the Democratic Kennedy clan, his extended family.