ARTelevision

There's a trend in politics I favor:
this has to do with electing people who are qualified for the job not by "professional politican" standards, but more simply because they are citizens who have distinguished themselves as strong human beings with people skills of a certain type - people skills that are perceived and defined by the electorate as leadership ability.

Partisan arguments and those that court character assasination notwithstanding, an understanding of what qualities people are looking for in a leader today are eye-opening - if we choose to look at them squarely, without flinching.

Here's an editorial about Arnold that sums up these points and also refers to the disenchantment with professional politicians:

The message of the ‘Governator’s’ victory

Schwarzenegger’s win in California is a warning to politicians everywhere


From the York, PA "York Daily Record"
Friday, October 10, 2003


The Terminator terminated the rule of Gov. Gray Davis.
In the great state of California, voters upset with Gov. Davis’ clearly pathetic performance as the state’s chief executive booted him from office in favor of Arnold Schwarzenegger, a man who has no experience in government.

It seems silly that voters in the most populous state in the nation — the fifth-largest economy in the world — would toss out an experienced political hand for a man whose government experience is limited to serving on the President’s Council of Physical Fitness.

That prospect has a lot of people wringing their hands, wondering just what has happened to our political system when a candidate who runs a campaign based mostly on charisma and celebrity can take over a campaign in a state facing serious political problems.

The answer is simple: Voters are angry.

And politicians better listen.

This political earthquake in California sends a powerful message to politicians throughout the land. Do your job or you’ll find yourself holding a one-way ticket to Palookaville.

That’s where Gov. Davis finds himself today, less than one year after he won re-election. Voters booted Gov. Davis for a variety of reasons — his fiscal incompetence that left the state with an $8 billion deficit, his ineffectual management of the state’s energy crisis, his seemingly complete lack of any kind of charisma or empathy for the citizens of the Golden State.

Gov. Davis was the author of his own tragedy.

The voters of California wrote the ending and have begun a new chapter of what can only be described as a great action-adventure.

They selected, from among 135 candidates, the action hero, a man who pledged to go to the state capital and clean house.

By doing so, voters ignored recent press reports that Mr. Schwarzenegger groped several women and that, at one time, may have expressed admiration of Adolf Hitler’s public speaking ability.

Those supposed issues, the majority of voters apparently decided, were not important. Perhaps, this signals a change in our political process, a repudiation of the politics of personal smear and attack. Or perhaps, it is an indication of Mr. Schwarzenegger’s formidable political skills. His handling of the mini-crisis — in a refreshing, straightforward manner and even offering that bane of a politician’s existence, an apology — may have revealed more of his character to voters than the attacks on his personal behavior.

Mr. Schwarzenegger was criticized for not offering specifics about how he planned to solve the state’s fiscal crisis. But he offered as many specifics as any other serious candidate in the race.

Mr. Schwarzenegger’s campaign wisely tapped into voters’ anger with politicians who are out of touch with their everyday concerns. His populist campaign touched on issues that voters could relate to. He promised to work for the people, a constituency that many voters felt Gov. Davis and perhaps other professional politicians beholden to special interests and campaign contributors have forgotten.

It was no fluke that the line in Mr. Schwarzenegger’s stump speeches that garnered the most applause was his promise to repeal the recent tripling of car registration fees. The message? Arnold cares about the little guy.

Mr. Schwarzenegger faces a monumental challenge in California. The state is broke. Its credit rating is at junk-bond status.

Whether the action star is up to the challenge remains to be seen. He has several things going for him. He’s smart; he’s successful; he’s a leader. He’s going to need to call upon all of his skills and talent to make California work.

But from this vantage point — 3,000 miles away — the message contained in his victory is a warning to politicians.

Do your job.

Or be terminated.

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