MEDIA CRITICISM:

Sun's Susan Reimer Hits New Low with Schwarzenegger Endorsement

First-off, she lets us know that Bill Clinton's (consensual!) philandering has left her with no indignation left for any other candidate who exhibits the same behavior-or worse, in the case of Ah-nold, whose (non-consensual!) fondling is legendary.

So, since this issue is out of the way for her, and her brain is in perpetual neutral, she leaves out any concern about Schwarzenegger's lack of experience in government and his questionable ties to the Enron crowd. She mentions nothing about the inappropriateness of the recall action, which should be used only in extreme cases of malfeasance in office. Even if there were grounds for recall, surely California should have an orderly progression plan that would move the Lieutenant Governor into the Governor's Office-and if it does not, why not? And has Ms. Reimer wondered what Mr. Schwarzenegger plans to do if, as Governor, one of his staff members fondles unwilling women (or men)? Such questions do not enter Ms. Reimer's mind.

Ignoring, then, his obnoxious behavior, why would Ms. Reimer vote for Schwarzenegger if she could? Why, she admires "...his immigrant's enthusiasm for the American dream and many of the women-friendly planks in his platform"!

Oh yeah? Cruz Bustamante, California's experienced and demonstrably capable Lt. Gov., undoubtedly has "immigrant enthusiasm" too-but is he the wrong kind of immigrant for Ms. Reimer? (Though born in the US, Spanish was his first language, and he worked in the fields with his five siblings while growing up.) And what exactly are Mr. S.'s "women-friendly planks"? Are they different from those of Mr. B.?

After making a fool of herself by blaming Bill Clinton for her indifference to Arnold Schwarzenegger's sexual misbehavior, Ms. Reimer attempts to pull her jet out of its nosedive by pronouncing, at the end of her column, "Henceforth, a candidate's sexual behavior is going to be an issue in any campaign for public office, and voters are going to have to look the other way when they pull the lever. They will have to choose, not a candidate, but an agenda they can support."

This statement is after she proclaims that both Mr. Clinton and Mr. Schwarzenegger are unfit for office because their behavior gives pain to their families. She'll just have to make do with Mr. S., though. Curious that Mr. Bustamante's sexual and family history is not even considered in Ms. Reimer's discussion.

Hell-o-o-o-, Ms. Reimer! First and foremost, voters should be concerned about a candidate's fitness for office in the areas of experience, intellect, and ability to formulate and execute policies the voter most agrees with-not just social policies, but all issues that may arise. Any fool can come up with a platform-but can that person actually accomplish the goals of that platform? That's what the voter should be looking at.

Until I read Ms. Reimer's column today, I could not comprehend how Arnold Schwarzenegger could even be considered fit to be Governor of California. Thanks to her, I understand how he might very well be elected today.

The Sun should have issued a barf bag when it published this column.