Transcript for February 26

MR. RUSSERT: You talked to the Press Club in California and made a very candid acknowledgement. Let me roll that tape and come back and talk about it.

(Videotape, January 24, 2006)

GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER: Believe me, I expected it to go faster. In a way this is an on-the-job training. I mean I did not go to school to become a governor.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: Do you expect to see that replayed in Democratic commercials? On-the-job training?

GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, it’s for everyone. No matter—no one can prepare for the job of being a governor until you’re there. And that’s whey you all of a sudden see the kind of complexities. And notice the key thing is that you have a vision. I came in as governor as a vision, I was elected to make the changes, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to do now. And I think that we have a great state, we have the greatest state in the nation, there’s without any doubt, and this was a great state when I got here in 1968, and I said to the people, “Let’s keep it that way, this state. Let’s make sure that we have and we keep the best university system and the best transportation system and the best ports,” and so on.

I mean, I tell you, it’s so important to recognize that we have problems and we’re not living up to 100 percent of our potential. I mean I was in Japan, for instance. Prime Minister Koizumi, the first thing that he said to me was, he says, “Governor, please unload our ships. Our ships have to wait too long until they get unloaded.” What that means is that we’re losing business, because as he said, the ships will be unloaded, it just depends where. Will it be in California or will it be in Mexico or in Canada?  So for me it’s important that the ships will be unloaded in California, and if we built the infrastructure that we need so we can absorb all of this, because we are the center when you talk about, you know, the Asian market, of how it’s growing and exploding, we should benefit from that. And so this is why we need to redo some things and build. And so I want to encourage everyone in California, let us rebuild and build in California for the future of California.

MR. RUSSERT: And the estimates are you plan to spend $120 million dollars on your reelection effort. When you first ran, you...

GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER: That number didn’t come from me, may I remind you. It was some outsider that has nothing to do with us has said that, OK?  I don’t ever talk about numbers of what it will cost us. I couldn’t even tell you what it costs us. But the bottom line is, elections are very expensive, you’re absolutely correct.

MR. RUSSERT: But you said when you ran at first, “I don’t need to take money from anybody.” But you’re going to be raising thousands and thousands of thousand dollars from people who do business and have contracts with the state government.

GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER: I want to correct you. I said I would never take money from unions, that I would never take money from Indian gaming tribes. I take money because you need to take money. The important thing here is, is when you take money that they buy into your philosophy and into your program, that you don’t buy into theirs. And that you never can be bought, that’s the most important thing. Because what is wrong with the system right now is, is there’ve been people pay in then favors go out, and you never should do that. That is the key thing. But the fact is that elections are very expensive, as you know. Television, TV spots are very expensive because they have to support people like you. So if you cut your salary in half, Tim, then we could maybe just only have to raise half of the money, so maybe we can make a deal right here.

MR. RUSSERT: You’re not doing any national advertising, are you?  Or is this an announcement?

GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER: No, but it is also out there in California, because your show is very popular in California, may I remind you.

MR. RUSSERT: Now someone named Warren Beatty has been saying some very critical things of you. Someone who—an actor, your former profession. Let me watch that with you and give you a chance to respond.

GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER: Different party, may I remind you.

MR. RUSSERT: Yes, he is, a very liberal Democrat.

GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER: Doesn’t mean that he’s from the same profession, that he...

MR. RUSSERT: A very liberal Democrat. Let’s watch.

(Videotape, September 22, 2005)

MR. WARREN BEATTY: I’m just calling him an old-fashioned politician who will do whatever he thinks it takes to keep that Republican campaign cash coming in and try to be popular at the same time.

Government’s not show business. Governing by show, by spin, by cosmetics, by photo-ops and fake events and fake issues and fake crowds and backdrops, that’s a mistake. Not facing facts is a mistake. And that concept of reality should be saved for action movies and for show business.

(End of videotape)

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