OAKLAND, Calif.– At the Saturday morning rally at the Teamsters Union Headquarters near the Oakland airport, the references to Arnold Schwarzenegger groping women were brief and subtle.
Gov. Gray Davis referred to “news of the past few days” and U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein mentioned “problems in his character.”
They were saving what candidate Schwarzenegger refers to as “puke politics” for Fresno, where the San Francisco Chronicle reported:
Standing in front of a video screen with the words, “Respecting Women’s Rights,” and surrounded by Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and his wife, Sharon Davis, the governor offered his harshest comments to date about Schwarzenegger.
“Some of those events are clearly a crime,” Davis told an audience of mostly women. “Electing a governor who might have committed a crime is obviously going to distract the state from the work it has to do.”
Later, when asked what crimes Schwarzenegger may have committed, the governor suggested “sexual battery” and implied that police, Attorney General Bill Lockyer or local prosecutors should investigate the actor. It should be up to them to determine if the statute of limitations expired on the alleged incidents, the campaign said.
“Authorities have all the authority they need to review any matter that they might deem to constitute a crime,” Davis said. “I believe authorities should do their jobs. They should review the facts. On the completion of that review, if they think a crime was committed, then they should follow their own laws.”
Schwarzenegger spokesman Rob Stutzman responded to the statement by saying: “Davis’ desperation continues to escalate in the final hours of his political career.”
Schwarzenegger denounced the latest accusations that he sexually harassed women, calling the claims “absolutely untrue” and “part of the puke politics of the Davis campaign.”
Schwarzenegger appeared before a rally of 300 in Clovis, with his wife, Maria Shriver, at his side, as the new allegations surfaced.
On Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported that three additional women – two on the movie set of “Twins” and a former CNN intern – had provided their names and details about being inappropriately touched by the actor in the 1980s.
“The last accusations that I read (Saturday) are absolutely untrue – absolutely wrong,” Schwarzenegger said.
The Davis campaign said they would begin a series of paid telephone messages to the homes of hundreds of thousands of Californians, featuring former President Bill Clinton, actress Barbra Streisand, Jesse Jackson and actor Martin Sheen asking people to vote against the recall.
That’s the Rev. Jesse Jackson who was caught using tax-exempt funds to pay to get his impregnated mistress out of Chicago. As for another oversexed Democratic leader whose voice is being used, I was able to ask San Francisco’s Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the new House minority leader:
QUESTION: Do you believe that the people of California are more resentful of groping than what the recent California guest President Clinton did to so many women, including Juanita Broaddrick?
PELOSI: I think the people of California are not tolerant of the power grab that Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to make in our state.
QUESTION: But what about groping? Do you think that’s worse than what Clinton did to Juanita Broaddrick?
PELOSI: That’s not the point. President Clinton is not running for office. Arnold Schwarzenegger is. He’s groping and grabbing for power. He will lose on Tuesday.
Then on California’s Election Day, I was back at the White House to ask presidential press secretary Scott McClellan:
QUESTION: Scott, when House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was asked on Saturday in Oakland, Calif., whether she thought that the reported groping by Mr. Schwarzenegger was worse than what Bill Clinton did to so many women, including Juanita Broaddrick, she replied – this is a quote: “That’s not the point. President Clinton is not running for office. Schwarzenegger is; groping and grabbing for power.” End of quote. And my first of two questions, does the president as a national role –
McCLELLAN: How many parts are there to the first question? (Laughter.)
QUESTION: Does the president as a national role model believe that groping is worse than adultery and rape?
McCLELLAN: Les, I know you’re asking this in the context of the California election. The president’s views are very well known on matters of that nature. I’m not – and we are not involved in the California election. The judgments will be made by the people of California based on what they feel is best. And we have great confidence in their ability.
QUESTION: Just one follow-up, if I could. The California Democrats have put together a number of recorded telephoned comparison spots against Schwarzenegger, including one by the reverend adulterer, Jesse Jackson, and another by the presidential adulterer, Bill Clinton. And question: Since the president is understandably interested in this California election, does he see the incredible behavior of the Democrats in trying to critique a reported groper with two nationally notorious adulterers?
McCLELLAN: Les, I think that you –
QUESTION: I mean, surely you have an opinion on that.
McCLELLAN: Les, I think that you and your colleagues can go and cover the California election and point out any inconsistencies that that may be – that may be made during that election. I will leave it to you all. Thank you.
