SCHWARZENEGGER STAYS NEUTRAL IN
PRESIDENTIAL RACE-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday put to rest
months of speculation that he would shake up presidential politics by
endorsing one of the candidates. The governor, whose popularity with
voters in California and nationwide
might have enabled him to give a boost to anyone he supported, said an
endorsement would curb the amount of attention
candidates spend on
California and the concerns of its voters. The
governor said he wants all of the candidates to spend as much time as possible in the state before then.Republican insiders had speculated that Schwarzenegger
would throw his support behind either the New York
mayor or Arizona
Sen. John McCain, a fellow self-styled maverick to whom the governor
has grown close over the years.
McCain campaigned with Schwarzenegger for the ill-fated
ballot measures the governor championed in his 2005 "year of reform."
Even as the governor''s poll numbers plummeted that year along with
support for his ballot measures, McCain boarded a bus with
Schwarzenegger and supported him at rallies.
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who shares the governor''s
moderate positions on some social issues, was also believed to be in
the running for Schwarzenegger''s endorsement."
Backing a candidate who fails to win the nomination, analysts say,
would embarrass the governor -- who is perhaps better known than any of
the candidates -- and reduce his clout with the White House. The Democrats who dominate the state used the
governor''s ties to Bush as fodder for the campaign that sank
Schwarzenegger''s ballot initiatives in 2005.
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