SACRAMENTO — As President Bush spends more time on the campaign trail, there is one prominent and popular Republican virtually silent in his support for the president: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The presidential campaign season typically finds governors rushing to the side of their party's president, cozying up to the glamour of motorcades, wealthy donors and rapt supporters. But with his own movie-star allure and significant political disputes with Bush, Schwarzenegger has kept the president notably at arm's length.
The governor has not traveled to battleground states to campaign for Bush. Neither has he forcefully attacked Bush's likely Democratic challenger, Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts. Even though he is an honorary co-chairman of Bush's reelection campaign, Schwarzenegger rarely comments on the president's performance.
Aides expect the California governor will campaign for Bush, but they say he is focusing now on the state budget and other government business. Their relationship nevertheless is colored by key differences on public policy -- from gay rights to abortion, offshore oil leases to military base closures -- and by Schwarzenegger's own popularity on the world stage.
"Schwarzenegger is a global figure and, globally, who is seen more positively right now? Definitively, it's Schwarzenegger," said K.B. Forbes, a Republican political consultant, comparing the two men.
It is also clear that Schwarzenegger sees himself as a different type of Republican than Bush. Asked recently whether Bush is a good political fit for California, the governor replied elliptically: "If George Bush was living in California, as he did in Texas, he would understand Californians very well, so he knows what he needs to do and what kind of philosophy he needs to have to win."
In March, when Bush visited Los Angeles and Bakersfield for campaign events, Schwarzenegger was a no-show, except for attending a private fundraiser. After devastating wildfires swept Southern California late last fall, Bush met with the governor-elect but then toured the damaged area alone, leaving Schwarzenegger and then-Gov. Gray Davis behind.
More recently, Schwarzenegger traveled to the Middle East, met with the Israeli prime minister, dined with the king of Jordan and greeted cheering U.S. troops in Germany. He was acting like a president himself, and cable news interrupted its coverage of Bush's campaign to cover Schwarzenegger.
