Amy's Robot

Arnold's Pre-Emptive Spin ControlSo maybe

Arnold's Pre-Emptive Spin Control
So maybe Ahnold doesn't know anything about policy, but he sure knows how to spin: Even before he announced his candicacy, he indirectly predicted charges about his "womanizing" would surface, effectively softening the initial shock of any allegations. Now, before the full details can be know, his friends are talking to the press (encouraged, no doubt, by his campaign managers) and defending him against accusations that haven't even been made yet:

"Like the girl in London when he was lying on the bed, the couch or whatever it was, and touching her and taking a picture," [long-time friend] Columbu said. "That stuff is Arnold, he does that. He says, 'You have nice big legs' and touch her, fine. But nothing harmful or telling somebody 'Leave, I am going to be with her alone'...They love it of course. I've never seen him do something that was, like, out of place. Talking, yes, he would say something like 'Oh, you look so sexy,' 'Oh, ya, you have a nice ass,' but that's it."

The headline on the article is, "Schwarzenegger Resolute, Able and a Flirt, Pal Says", not "Arnold Sexually Harasses Women, Pal Says," so it looks like the strategy is working.

But Cybil Shepherd is unconvinced: "I think he's a real hypocrite, I think he has a past that is going to come out, and I'm not going to mention what it is, but it's not going to be pretty," she said the other night on Access Hollywood. But, in the interest of being aware of all biases, don't forget that Cybil is a politically active Democrat. Also notable is that the story was filed in Reuters' entertainment division, not the politics one.

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posted by adm at 4:33 PM | #