This figures. Arnold had no Family. So he adopted his wifes. Happens all the time. I did it to a large degree.
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Ja — Ted, it’s me in Cal-eef-orr-neea
Insiders expect clan loyalties to trump party ties
By Geoff Earle "The Hill"
After Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy died in 1995, her son Ted asked a small group of family members and friends to contribute essays to a small book about the Kennedy family matriarch titled Her Grace Above Gold, to be published privately. Among those who contributed an essay: Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The essay — which recounts some of Schwarzenegger’s fondest memories of Rose Kennedy — speaks to the close personal relationship he formed with the Kennedy family after marrying her granddaughter Maria Shriver. Now that Schwarzenegger is Republican governor-elect of the nation’s most populous state, some political observers are questioning whether those personal relations will transform into an informal political network with the nation’s leading Democratic family.
In the essay, part of a book distributed only to Kennedy family members and close friends, Schwarzenegger recounts a memorable walk he took with Rose when he first visited the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Mass., while courting Maria. The two were able to speak together in German, Schwarzenegger’s native tongue. Rose Kennedy knew several languages and studied for a time in Germany.
As Schwarzenegger described it, the conversation ran from Mozart to opera and the famous Salzburg music festival. Schwarzenegger, who grew up in Austria, recalled being amazed by Rose Kennedy’s intellect and total recall on a variety of subjects.
Kennedy said her favorite composer was Giuseppe Verdi. But Schwarzenegger had to struggle with his memory when asked to name his favorite opera by Richard Wagner, finally naming the famed Ring cycle.
“The fact that he was asked to do that means that Ted had a special relationship with him, I would think,” said one longtime advisor to the veteran Massachusetts Democrat. And while cousins and others close to Rose contributed essays of their own, Schwarzenegger’s inclusion demonstrates that even those who join by marriage are considered part of the Kennedy clan.
Schwarzenegger’s rapid climb from Muscle Beach bodybuilder to Hollywood superstar to nationally prominent politician has prompted speculation about what kind of role his famously political family will play. Few expect Sen. Kennedy to guide Schwarzenegger’s term in office, but several well-placed observers say an informal role is possible, and even likely.
As for Kennedy himself, he brushed off a question about whether he plans to advise his niece’s husband on political matters. “He seems to have done pretty well,” Kennedy quipped.
But in a later interview, he hinted that his relationship with Schwarzenegger is more than just that of a friendly uncle talking only about family matters.
“I talk to Arnold frequently,” he said. “I’m very close to him. He’s a member of the family. I see him at the cape. We talk some politics. We’re friends. We have fiery banter. He’s a friend — I just differ with him.”
While Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she has “no idea” whether Kennedy will advise Schwarzenegger in any capacity, she noted that there is already much speculation on the topic by fellow senators. “I was kidding him at lunch,” she said. “In the beauty shop, they were saying, ‘This is a plan by the Kennedys to get back in office.’”
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) pointed out that Kennedy “always has managed to maintain his loyalty with his family and responsibility” to the party. “I’m sure if Arnold — now Governor Schwarzenegger — called, he would be happy to give [advice] to him.”
But Dodd, who is close to Kennedy, said he is certain that he “wouldn’t trim his sails for him.”
One Democratic senator who asked for anonymity said that Kennedy could play a role in subtly guiding Schwarzenegger’s political move to the center, now that he is charged with running a largely Democratic state.
Schwarzenegger’s early political activities tended to be for conservative causes, but he ran as a social moderate in California, vowing not to cut education spending. He also became increasingly engaged in charity work and public service after marrying the daughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver.
“I think [Kennedy] has an interest in encouraging Arnold to think carefully about the gut issues” such as human rights and abortion rights, said the senator.
Any member of the Kennedy clan must be able to endure his share of ribbing, and Kennedy has developed his own Arnold impersonation. Asked about a West Coast meeting Schwarz-enegger held last week with President Bush, Kennedy mocked Arnold’s guttural Austrian accent: “Cal-eef-orr-neea.”
Schwarzenegger has surrounded himself with former officials from former California Gov. Pete Wilson’s Republican administration and has relied on Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) to help assemble his transition team, which includes some Democrats, like San Francisco’s Democratic Mayor Willie Brown.
Greg Craig, a former Kennedy aide and White House counsel for President Clinton who is now a partner at Williams & Connelly, is among those who think an informal Teddy and Arnold alliance is possible. “The most significant aspect is that the senator knows him and likes him,” said Craig. “It’s fair to assume that there’s going to be a lot more political conversation at the dinner table.”
Craig noted that California is affected by legislation being considered by the Congress on a regular basis. He said it was “inevitable” that when he becomes governor next month, Schwarzenegger “is going to be touching base” with Kennedy once in a while to discuss issues important to the state. “That’s a good thing,” he added.
Kennedy and Schwarzenegger did not speak, even on the telephone, during the heated recall campaign, according to Kennedy aides.
But once the recall became official, Kennedy put out a statement that probably aided Schwarzenegger. He said that he opposed the recall but that he wished Schwarzenegger well. He also could have kept tabs on how his niece and her husband were doing through his frequent conversations with his sister Eunice.
Kennedy mostly remained out of the political fray during the election, although at one point a spokesman for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) compared charges of groping that were leveled against Schwarzenegger to rumors about Kennedy when he ran for the Senate against Kennedy in 1994.
“The governor heard rumors similar to these about his opponent during the first campaign, and he never once thought to make an issue out of them,” said the spokesman. Kennedy said he had a “good talk” with Romney after the statements were made.
Kennedy’s statement after Schwarzenegger’s victory said the family had its own “big tent” policy. “I called Arnold and Maria last night to congratulate them and wish them well. I look forward to working with him on the many issues where we agree, especially in improving the quality of education and expanding opportunities for all our people. What better proof could there be that America really is a nation of immigrants?”
Kennedy has had numerous opportunities to get to know Schwarzenegger since he began dating Shriver in 1977. They married in 1986. Kennedy and Schwarzenegger would have had occasion to talk at Shriver events at their family home in Potomac, Md., at birthday reunions and small dinners, along with social events in support of Best Buddies and the Peace Corps — two programs in which the Shrivers played a leading role.
Ted Kennedy and Schwarzenegger were together last summer on the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port. Kennedy also hosted Schwarzenegger in Washington when the latter was promoting his efforts for after-school care for children.
“It’s obvious at some point he decided he wanted to pursue a political career,” said a Kennedy adviser, referring to Schwarzenegger’s efforts to promote after-school programs. “It was to me. That’s a way that you get to go around the state and get known. Other politicians have done that before.”
Schwarzenegger has become part of the Kennedy family in other ways. He has honored one aspect of the family’s fierce loyalty code by never campaigning against a Kennedy. Nor did he give money to opponents of Ted Kennedy, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) and Maria’s brother Mark when he ran for Congress in 2002.
The Kennnedys returned the favor. None campaigned against Schwarzenegger or for Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, while several of the Shrivers, Democrats all, contributed to Schwarzenegger’s election campaign. Perhaps most significant of all, the entire Shriver family joined Schwarzenegger on the stage during his victory celebration in California
thehill.com |
