JUST WHEN WE were starting to have fun in dysfunctional California, Fox News has declared a moratorium on Arnold Schwarzenegger movie puns. No more “Terminator,” “Total Recall,” or “Running Man” references from now to October 7, the cable network has mandated. In the contest to recall Gray Davis, Fox will be the Gray Lady of the airwaves: goodbye, Governator; hello, Mr. Schwarzenegger.
And you thought “fair and balanced” meant having a sense of humor.
In fairness to John Moody, the Fox News Channel senior vice president whose idea this was, the media have been pun-crazy since Arnold crashed the recall party. Monday’s New York Times reported that a Nexis search of last week’s articles from major newspaper and television news transcripts came up with nearly 500 cases where a “Terminator” reference found its way into recall-related stories.
“The urge may seem irresistible to play off Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting career,” Moody explained in a memo to Fox staffers. “Resist it. Otherwise the effect is often to belittle the candidacy of the front-runner for one of the most important offices in the U.S., and that’s not fair and balanced. No more references to ‘Conan,’ ‘Terminator’, and ‘Kindergarten Cop’ as shorthand for the candidate.”
He added: “Certainly don’t suggest [Arnold] is part of a ‘circus’ or lump him in with novelty candidates.”
There’s little doubt the Schwarzenegger campaign appreciates Fox’s gesture. Getting reporters to treat Arnold as a statesman rather than a showman is part of trick to getting him electing.
Now, will Fox and its friends in cable-land take the next step, which would be adding a dose of sobriety to its programming? Is there a difference between using “Terminator” puns and having quipmesiter Dennis Miller opine on “Hannity & Colmes”? Which is a sadder commentary on the state of modern journalism–too many movie references in political coverage, or Janeane Garofalo and Al Franken substituting on CNN’s “Crossfire”? You decide, they’ll choose.
Let’s hope that while one media outlet tries to stop cracking wise, the candidate himself doesn’t take it as a cue that he too should lighten up when it comes to making light of himself. Because if you take away Arnold Schwarzenegger’s sense of humor, you take away the essence of what makes him special as a man and a political candidate.
TWO YEARS AGO, I had the privilege of working with Schwarzenegger and his closest advisors as the actor/activist prepared for a series of major speaking engagements. One of the first things I learned was that for Arnold Schwarzenegger, humor is as much a part of his character as it is his way of communicating with folks. He’s a serious man, but he makes it a point not to take himself seriously. Where possible, he’ll find a way to inject self-deprecating humor into conversations. It helps to put folks at ease, and it serves to level the playing field between a celebrity and a star-struck citizenry.
The more twists his life takes, the more Arnold delights in the irony of it all. That keen sense of self-awareness is Schwarzenegger’s subtle way of telling the public that he understands the absurdities–a Republican married to a Kennedy, a bodybuilder who conquered Hollywood, a thick-accented Austrian immigrant trying to market himself as California’s next great communicator–and he appreciates that only in America could his story be non-fiction. Without that levity, Schwarzenegger would not be a political force.
Besides, humor can come in handy in stick situations. Consider Schwarzenegger’s press conference last week. He stepped onto the stage, looked straight into the unblinking eyes of 46 cameras, and understood that a national audience was looking for the slightest hint of sweat. And what did he do? He began his remarks by wishing that the press had shown the same interest in “Last Action Hero,” his biggest box office dud. He also noted that George P. Shultz stood on his right, and Warren Buffett on his left–and that Buffett would have to do 500 sit-ups as penance if he ever again suggested that California should revisit Proposition 13 and raise property taxes.
Granted, there are times when Arnold’s humor isn’t his most effective weapon. I’m guessing his advisors cringe every time he talks about bikini waxes, as he did when he made his announcement on Leno. When asked at future press avails how he’ll work with hostile Democrats in Sacramento, Arnold might resort to something more mainstream (“my door will always be open to good people with good ideas”) rather than his usual fallback, which is to joke about the success of his 17-year marriage to a prominent Democrat.
Schwarzenegger’s humor also will serve as a backstop as he faces pressure to adapt to a new political environment. Political consultants exist both to construct campaigns and deconstruct candidates. There’s a tendency to want to relive someone else’s campaign. Gray Davis, for example, is running for his political life by trying to be a less likable version of Bill Clinton, right down to the townhall meetings and right-wing conspiracy talk.
Arnold will have plenty of opportunities to come across as a serious leader in the weeks ahead. But nowhere should it be written that he can’t make the occasional Kennedy joke, or end his speeches with an “I’ll be back.” It’s his style, even if it’s no longer the way they do things at Fox News.
Bill Whalen is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he follows California and national politics.
