In this
article in the Sacremento Bee columnist Dan Walters describes
Arnold Schwarzenegger as "not just another chiseled face, but is serious
about governing -- and about repairing the state's disastrous fiscal condition".
The Governor of California, an Austrian action-movie star, is faced with a
$14 billion deficit in next year's budget, and has laid out a plan that, "while
not entirely gimmick-free, is refreshingly straightforward. He may be a political
novice, but so far he's dealing with the budget like a professional pol."
Walters continues:
It is possible that Republican Schwarzenegger, for all his anti-tax rhetoric,
will cut a tax deal with the Democrats next summer. But as an opening move
in the fiscal chess game, the Schwarzenegger approach is a strong one. He's
taken control of the board, forcing other players to react.
The analogy to chess is not accidental. Schwarzenegger is a devotee of the
board game who kept a table in his dressing room while shooting movies, and
considers himself to be a strong player who can think several moves in advance
and lure opponents into making mistakes that lose pieces and, finally, the
end game.
Schwarzenegger, in fact, appears to be playing a three-dimensional game
on the budget -- maintaining the friendly, we're-all-in-this-together face
to the public, directly bargaining with major interest groups on specifics,
and confounding both Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature.
The
above article is quoted in full on the Free
Republic forum, a web portal that describes itself as an "online
gathering place for independent, grass-roots conservatism on the web. We're
working to roll back decades of governmental largesse, to root out political
fraud and corruption, and to champion causes which further conservatism in
America. And we always have fun doing it. Hoo-yah!"
Hoo-yah indeed! In the forum
discussion of the Walters article we see hotlinks to pictures from the
ChessBase news pages. This is understandable, since a Google search for "Schwarzenegger
– chess" which brings two ChessBase pictorials to the top.
This one is our favourite. It shows the original Terminator inserted into
a screen shot of the 3D Fritz chessboard.
You may decide to surf the Free Republic web site, maybe buy a U.S.
Flag balloon (53 feet tall, 78 feet wide, 29 feet from front to back, 530
pounds, and yes, it really flies), contribute to the U.S
Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots, or simply offer
a prayer for President Bush. But please don't neglect to read the other
interesting conservative
chess discussions on this site.
Schwarzenegger vs Kasparov – Garry took white against him??