Report: Davis Slams Schwarzenegger's Accent
Oh, now THIS is definitely going to solidify your image as the Governor California wants to keep:
SOUTH EL MONTE, Calif. — California Gov. Gray Davis (search) on Saturday took a dig at Republican gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger (search ), telling one potential voter at a campaign stop that "you shouldn't be governor unless you can pronounce the name of the state."
And the Schwarzenegger campaign wants a formal apology.
In his public remarks to about 300 members of the Los Angeles Ironworkers Local 433, Davis suggested Schwarzenegger -- whom he referred to only as "the actor" -- would repeal Davis-backed union gains such as daily overtime pay and family-leave benefits, reported the Sacramento Bee.
"I've signed 300 bills to help working people," Davis said. "These are measures that strengthen your lives. Now my opponent, this actor, says 'I'm not going to ask for support from working people because they are a special interest.' He's got part of it right. You are special, and you have an important and special role to play in our future, and I am proud to stand with you."
Whipped into an anti-Schwarzenegger frenzy at the picnic, one crowd member screamed, "He's a foreigner!" as Davis criticized the Austrian-born Terminator, who hopes to take over his seat in the Oct. 7 recall election.
The man who made the foreigner comment later apologized to Davis for making the remark.
Davis told him not to worry, the Bee reported, and added with a smile, "You shouldn't be governor unless you can pronounce the name of the state," in an apparent reference to Schwarzenegger's Austrian accent.
Later at an Asian American rally against the recall in Alhambra, an appointee to the Workforce Investment Board suggested that Schwarzenegger's accent hindered his governing abilities.
"He can't even speak English well. How can he govern the state of California?" Sukhee Kang, who emigrated from South Korea in 1977, asked the crowd before Davis arrived, the Bee reported.
Davis took another opportunity here to bash Schwarzenegger.
"He just fights in movies," Davis said, the Bee reported. "I served in a real war to defend this country and I've worked hard to advance the interests of Asian Pacific Californians."
I am not a Schwarzenegger supporter (like it matters, since I don't live in California), but Gov. Davis seems to be going out of his way to prove the wisdom of the recall effort. It is difficult to understand how a man who was elected to govern what is probably the most diverse state in the country can stoop to ethnic slurs.
The fact that this story appeared on the Fox News website means that I am automatically taking it with a grain of salt. Even so, you've got to wonder about a man so horribly out of touch with the precariousness of his political career that he can only attack his opponent on his accent.
It's time to go, Governor....
