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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (38594)	2/28/2004 10:02:15 PM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

Some old news. Women wonder if accusing Schwarzenegger of inappropriate sexual behavior was worthwhile Some of the women who accused Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of groping them are disappointed by the public's ho-hum response to the claims they made just before last year's recall election. "I went through a lot of emotional upheaval, and it really just wasn't necessary," said Tamee Smith, who said Schwarzenegger grabbed her breast nearly two decades ago. "Nothing came of it. And I look at it now and I think, 'What was the point?"' Linnea Harwell, who alleged that Schwarzenegger made unwanted sexual advances toward her in 1998, said the fact the groping allegations had little impact on the election was disheartening. "Our society doesn't seem to care anymore," she told The Sacramento Bee. "Since about half the people in California happen to be women, and he has demonstrated a long history of demeaning women, one would think that would be important. Apparently, celebrity is more important." Sixteen women accused Schwarzenegger of groping them during his campaign to replace Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger acknowledged he had "behaved badly sometimes" in the past and did some things that "were not right, which I thought were playful." Eighty percent of Californians questioned in a Field Poll last week said they believed the groping allegations did not raise any concerns about Schwarzenegger's ability to govern. The poll interviewed 958 people by telephone between Feb. 18 and Feb. 22 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. Harwell said she does not regret coming forward but had hoped that discussing Schwarzenegger's behavior would trigger a public discussion about sexual harassment. Now she fears that is not happening. Schwarzenegger said during the election he would deal with the allegations against him after the election, but later dismissed them as "old news" and announced he would not appoint an investigator to look into the claims. sfgate.com lurqer