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ARNOLD'S POLITICS & HIS "ALMIGHTY"! Schwarzenegger Jokes About Gov. Bid! Reported By: Associated Press Friday, October 18, 2002 The Associated Press reports: BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger cracked several jokes Thursday about running for governor, but refused to be cornered for a real answer. "I don't want to run for governor because it's very complicated just filling out the forms," the former Mr. Universe said. "Let's say I put down 'actor' as my profession, I may get sued for perjury." The star of 'Terminator' and 'Kindergarten Cop' told about 500 people at a Town Hall luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel that they would have to wait for an answer, just like him. "This is a decision that I leave to the Almighty," he joked and paused before adding, "my wife Maria." His wife is newswoman Maria Shriver. Before taking questions about his political ambitions from the audience, Schwarzenegger gave a 15-minute speech about Proposition 49, the ballot measure he sponsored that would dedicate as much as $550 million a year to before and after school programs for elementary and junior high school students. "A lot of you know me from the movies, fighting gangsters and the terrorists and even the devil," he said. "But the fight I am most proud of is the fight for children. The children cannot fight for themselves." Schwarzenegger founded his own after-school program, Inner-City Games and Arnold's All Stars. He has served as an international weight training coach to the Special Olympics and he was chairman of the Council on Physical Fitness under former President George Bush. After-school programs, he said, reduce the juvenile crime rate and increase school performance. "We are really in a disaster when it comes to parenting," he said. "There are millions of children floating around after school with no place to go and no adult supervision." ----------  |