Schwarzenegger Has Magic,But You Can’t Eat It

There’s a joke about advertisements that says, “After the advertisement, you don’t want to go back.” Today, Californians feel the same about former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. After he leaves, they don’t want him to come back.

These parting words have hurt Schwarzenegger’s feelings. Not long ago, he had a 65 percent approval rating, while today his approval rating has dropped to a pitiful 23 percent. California used to be known as the eighth largest economy, and now people no longer want to move there to find work.

Most people naturally think of Hollywood when they think of Schwarzenegger, and in America’s modern history, there have been two miracles that came out of Hollywood: former President Ronald Reagan and Schwarzenegger. They are similar in that they both have served as governor of California. They are different because Reagan eventually became a respectable politician in the White House.

Reagan was perfectly capable of excelling on both stages, and in a few years he accomplished things that ordinary people were incapable of doing. The difference is that Reagan spent a long time steeling himself before he arrived at California’s throne. As a third rate actor, Reagan had two advantages: He was low key, and he experienced a lot of hardship and suffering. In comparison, Schwarzenegger’s past life was far too easy. Not only was he a first rate, world famous actor, but his family was extremely wealthy. His wife belonged to the Kennedy family. Becoming governor without having any political experience was a rare precedent and, consequently, gave him many challenges that were difficult to face during his seven-year career.

It takes skill to govern. Reagan had a lot of good qualities that Schwarzenegger didn’t have. First, Reagan was a man of the people. Because Reagan had a rather unsuccessful acting career, he didn’t think he was above others; on the contrary, he was capable of empathizing with others. In contrast, Schwarzenegger was too famous and too rich. He was unable to understand the hardships of the average person. Schwarzenegger flaunted his support for environmental protection, but he drove a gas-guzzling Hummer and even flew a private jet from his mansion in Los Angeles to his office in Sacramento, California’s capital.

Unlike Reaganomics, when faced with the financial crisis, Schwarzenegger mostly complained about the overall situation. But the thing that he is forgetting is, in the five years before the crisis in 2008, he was not very successful in office. Schwarzenegger’s term in office is a classic example of failure. California’s situation is worse now than it was when he began: The education system is broken, basic infrastructure is weak, the roads are bumpy and bridges have not been maintained. At first he went out to attack people, and now he is flying right back, like a bullet that can turn in midair.

Schwarzenegger’s bleak departure sounded an alarm for Obama. The warning is this: No matter how optimistic your initial election was, no matter how sunny the future seemed at the time, if you are not able to solve real problems for the people, you will lose the people’s support. Magic is like an elixir: You can drink it, but you can’t eat it.