LOS ANGELES (AP) Arnold Schwarzenegger is following an old
political tradition with his criticism of the media and the women
he is accused of groping: blame the messenger.
From President Bill Clinton to Justice Clarence Thomas,
officials have sought to steer the focus away from allegations that
threatened to undo their public careers by calling into question
the people making the allegations.
``It's something all politicians do. You blame the messenger to
distract attention from the message,'' said Shaun Bowler, a
political science professor at University of California, Riverside.
In Schwarzenegger's case, the actor-cum-politician has gone on
the attack against the Los Angeles Times for its reports detailing
claims of misconduct from 15 women. Aides have accused the
newspaper of practicing ``irresponsible journalism'' and denounced
the allegations as a last-minute smear campaign to help Gov. Gray
Davis.
Schwarzenegger himself, while not disputing some of the
accounts, has apologized for past behavior and said the charges
were designed to undermine his front-runner status in the recall
election. But he has also sugested his political opponents were
somehow involved in the allegations, and asked why the women didn't
come forward sooner.
``Why have they not called me?,'' he said Saturday. ``Why has no
one said, `Arnold you went too far.' If someone said this to me I
would apologize immediately. ... This is all about the politics,
the dirty, dirty politics.''
Schwarzenegger supporters say some of the women have Democratic
connections, and castigating the newspaper for publishing its
stories so close to Tuesday's election.
``This whole thing is bogus,'' said Vincent McNally, who attends
Schwarzenegger's church in Santa Monica. ``I think the Times had to
stretch the truth to the limit to write that story.''
Nearly 1,000 readers had canceled their subscriptions by
Saturday night, the newspaper reported Sunday. The paper also
received up to 400 phone calls complaining about the coverage.
Schwarzenegger isn't the first political candidate or nominee to
pursue a strategy of questioning accusers and ``running against the
press,'' analysts say.
After allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against Clarence
Thomas, Anita Hill was roundly criticized by the nominee's
defenders. And as President Clinton tried to squash allegations
that he had a sexual relationship with an intern, first lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton said he was the victim of a ``vast
right-wing conspiracy.''
During Clinton's campaign in 1992, aides suggested his
Republican opponents were colluding with Gennifer Flowers to hurt
his chances in the primary.
``The whole sleazy little cabal of 'em come up here to knock us
off,'' said James Carville, Clinton's campaign manager said at the
time.
The most famous example, however, is the censure President Nixon
and his lieutenants directed at the Washington Post when Watergate
revelations threatened his re-election campaign.
``Nixon said the Post was a Democratic newspaper out to get
him,'' said Raphael Sonenshein, professor of political science at
California State University, Fullerton. ``There was a genuine
hatred for the Post among Nixon's people.''
Analysts said Schwarzenegger's campaign risked a backlash among
voters sympathetic to the women, but wouldn't likely draw fire for
criticizing the Times because of a general distrust of the media.
Bruce Cain, a political scientist at the University of
California, Berkeley, said Schwarzenegger's damage control was
``textbook'' and predicted the tactic could pay off.
``They just need to get through the election,'' Cain said. ``And
my guess is that they're going to be able to prevent themselves
from bleeding to death.''
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)