Two days after he announced he was running for governor, a tired Arnold Schwarzenegger arose before dawn to be interviewed by satellite on three TV network morning shows. The appearances did not go well.
Hosts pressed Schwarzenegger for specifics, but he offered little but a desire to help business. On NBC's "Today" show, his earpiece failed, making it appear as if he was dodging hard questions. By the time he arrived in Bellflower just before noon for the kickoff of the Inner City Games, the press pack that had marveled at his stunning announcement on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" two nights earlier was at full growl.
Late that afternoon, in the offices of Schwarzenegger's production company on Main Street in Santa Monica, the candidate's wife, Maria Shriver, and his small cadre of political aides vented their frustration, directing some at George Gorton, the campaign manager.
Campaign coverage -- An article in Thursday's Section A quoted Mark Bogetich, an Arnold Schwarzenegger campaign aide, as saying "every day was like a week, and every week was like a month." The quotation was accurate, but it directly followed a sentence about Schwarzenegger declining in polls conducted by his campaign in August. That juxtaposition may have implied Bogetich was commenting on the polls. He was not. His comment was directed only at the compressed schedule of the campaign.
According to campaign documents and dozens of interviews with insiders, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because of confidentiality agreements they were required to sign, the stretch of days beginning that Friday, Aug. 8, marked the low ebb in Schwarzenegger's effort to become California's leader.
Schwarzenegger had kept his decision to enter the race a surprise even to his political strategists. Offstage at the "Tonight Show," Gorton had stood with a press release in his pocket declaring that Schwarzenegger would not get in the race.
The surprise generated a huge media reaction, but it also got his campaign off to a flat-footed start.
The campaign had no office, no phones, no letterhead, almost no working computers. The candidate also had few positions on issues. His campaign events were limited to content-free stops at the county registrar-recorder's office to pick up election papers and visits to his after-school programs.
But it had one overriding asset -- the multimillionaire movie star at its heart whose campaign was already a worldwide sensation.
Saturday, the day after his poor television showing, Schwarzenegger talked a reluctant Bob White, the former chief of staff to Gov. Pete Wilson, into running his campaign. Schwarzenegger had been chatting with White about politics for years, conversations that often involved the nature of government finance.
To make way for White, Schwarzenegger eased Gorton, a longtime Republican operative who had moved his family from San Diego to Los Angeles the previous year to help the candidate, into a more limited role as an advisor.
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