Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is seriously testing that
old Hollywood adage that there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
But while you wouldn’t know it from the nationwide flood of
overheated Page 1 stories, "I told you so" columns and tsk-tsking editorials,
the most ignored word in the whole scandal coverage is the one that opens this
piece: "Former."
Since January, Jerry Brown has been California’s governor
and Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a one-time politician and current
out-of-work actor.
While that distinction doesn’t matter to the supermarket
tabloids, TMZ.com’s and People magazines of the world, it should make a
difference to the much-maligned mainstream media, which prides itself on taking
a serious approach to the important issues facing the country and the world.
Unless, of course, there’s a sex scandal with a headline
name involved.
It’s easy to argue that the tale of Schwarzenegger — Conan
turned governor — his teenage love child and the wife he did wrong – a
Kennedy, no less – make this a story that must be told. And told. And told
again.
Easy, but wrong.
Since news is what people talk about, no one’s suggesting
Schwarzenegger’s story shouldn’t be in the newspapers or on TV, but the
overkill coverage that casts this as the latest in a line of political scandals
just doesn’t hold up.
If this story had come out before the 2003 recall election,
when Schwarzenegger and his political team were trying desperately to brush
aside tales of the actor’s Hollywood womanizing, it would have raised
legitimate questions about whether Schwarzenegger had the judgment and
integrity to be governor.
As governor of California, Schwarzenegger instantly became a
national political figure, so the story of his dalliance – and the 24-7
coverage it’s brought — would have been no problem.
But even though the man with the bigger-than-life persona
and the ego to match is still in the public eye, he’s not in public office or
looking for a new political gig. And that should change the picture.
People have a right to be concerned about former Nevada Sen.
John Ensign, who in the course of running around with an aide and covering up
the affair may very well have misused his public office.
Elliot Spitzer was governor of New York when a federal
investigation into his finances revealed that he was a long-time client of a
high-priced prostitution ring, criminal activity that extended back to his days
as the state’s attorney general.
While John Edwards had left his North Carolina Senate seat
to serve as Al Gore’s running mate in the 2004 presidential election, he was
still very much in the 2008 presidential/vice presidential/top federal job mix
in when it was revealed that he had fathered a child with a former campaign
worker and may have illegally used campaign funds on the affair.
As for Arnie? Well, he opted not to make a run for Barbara
Boxer’s Senate seat last year and since leaving the governor’s office has
talked only about getting back in the movie biz.
The boy he fathered with a woman who worked for his family
reportedly is 13, which means he was born well before Schwarzenegger became
governor.
And there’s no suggestion that the money that went to the
woman and her son came from anywhere but Schwarzenegger’s own deep pockets.
So what we have is a Hollywood celebrity who cheated on his
wife. Stop the presses!
There’s a difference between information the voting public
needs to know and celebrity gossip people want to know. It’s an essential line
that, by definition, the serious news media should recognize.
But don’t bet on it.
John Wildermuth is a
longtime writer on California politics.