Aside from displaying his now-famous sense of humor on a 10th grade level (making him utterly charming to people who expected much less), Arnold shows that he's almost ready for the next plateau of a political career which hasn't accomplished anything yet.
Gov. Backs Idea of Foreign-Born U.S. President
Schwarzenegger doesn't rule out bid for higher office on 'Meet the Press.' He was in D.C. for governors meeting and a White House dinner.
WASHINGTON — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, here for a meeting with his fellow governors, told a national television audience Sunday that the U.S. Constitution should be amended so he and other foreign-born Americans would be eligible for the presidency.
The appearance, on NBC's "Meet the Press," kicked off a whirlwind day during which California's governor was the star — and sometimes the entertainment — at events from a lunch at National Governors Assn. meetings to a dinner at the White House.
"Wait a minute," declared Schwarzenegger as photographers prepared to snap a picture of all 50 state chief executives. "A lot of these guys need makeup!"
Asked by "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert about a constitutional amendment proposed by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) that would allow immigrants to run for president, Schwarzenegger said: "I think that there's so many people here in this country that are now from overseas, that are immigrants, that are doing such a terrific job with the work, bringing businesses here and all this, that there's no reason why not.
"Look at the kind of contribution people like Henry Kissinger has made; Madeleine Albright," he said, citing two former secretaries of state. "There's many, many, many people here that have worked within the government and have done an extraordinary job and not have been born in America."
Pressed by Russert on whether he would try to become president if the amendment were adopted, Schwarzenegger at first joked that he would run if he received the support of actor Sylvester Stallone.
He eventually stopped well short of a denial, saying he had "no idea" if he would run.
