london calling

Man, I am exhausted . . .
. . . and it’s wonderful! I’ve done more in the last four days than the previous month, and I have a wonderful sense of accomplishment.
I’ve been covering the California recall election for BBC’s Radio Five. Radio Five has some real political reporters on the campaign trail, so I get to cover the quirky stuff. In the past few days I’ve talked with a psychic, a hand specialist(that’s not a plam reader, bucko, it’s a hand specialist), and several stein-hoisting revelers down at this huge Octoberfest celebration at the Alpine Village in Torrance, California. Yesterday, I walked up and down the boardwalk in Venice Beach, where I talked with several bohemian artists and activists, and went to Muscle Beach, where I spoke with several body builders, who all said, when asked how they felt about Arnold Schwarzenegger, “He’s a jerk.”
They also said they were voting for Gary Coleman, but I think that has less to do with his platform, and more to do with their ability to bench him.
I take this election very seriously, so it’s been great to focus on stuff that simply can’t be taken seriously. I’ve seen a fantastic and unintended consequence as I’ve spoken to voters: this election has energized Californians. People who have never cared about politics have suddenly taken an interest, and registered to vote. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s campaign, which has been run entirely on action hero slogans and broad-based, non-specific platitudes, has brought into sharp focus the reality of style over substance in the modern political arena. Gray Davis, who never seemed to give a crap about anyone who wasn’t bringing him a check, is suddenly forced to take responsibility for the lousy job he’s done as governor, and the reputation he’s buil for himself as a negative campaigner has seriously undermined his efforts to cast serious doubt on his opponents.
At Five Live’s website, you can see the scariest picture of me that’s ever been taken (I’m pretty sure they caught my laser beam eyes while they were fully charged, just before I blasted a frickin’ shark). While you’re there, you can review some candidate’s positions, and then cast your online vote for one of the recall candidates. I’ll be talking about the results of that poll on the air.
Now, I don’t want to influence anyone’s online vote, but if you all were to vote for Mary Carey (SFW), it would greatly increase the odds of me getting to meet her.

Discover more from WIL WHEATON dot NET

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

82 thoughts on “london calling”

  1. Governor Schwarzenegger (even the possibility) and the Cubs playing for a chance to go to the World Series? HELL JUST MIGHT BE FREEZING OVER!

  5. I believe that having Arnold S. as a serious politician is a sure sign of the Apocolypse.
    I am praying he doesn’t win, I’d rather have porn in the office than a potentially naziesque Gov.

  6. Hey, no fair reporting for the BBC and not telling us. I listened for over a hour the last time when you weren’t on. Interesting that the photo they’re using is the same one that’s on the “am I governor or not” site. Too bad they cropped the photo to just your head, you could have gotten a plug in for Earnest Borg9, too. BTW, you’re still in the lead for governor on that site.

  7. Wil,
    I am a registered Democrat, however, my vote strictly depends on the INDIVIDUAL and not the party they stand for.
    My vote is going to Ahhnold. This is a guy with one goal in mind, to bring positive energy, money, and prosperity back to California.
    I think he is sincere when he says that he wants to give back to the state that’s given him everything. I want to give him a chance to show what he can do and I’m sure it’ll be more ambitious that anything Davis or Bustamytaxes can accomplish.
    I think the way Arnold handled Arianna during the debate, was inspiring and the more she speaks out against Arnold, the more solid my vote for him becomes.
    Arnold is my man.
    Eric B
    Fidelity National Employee
    (Davis is the reason our company moved the majority of it’s workforce to Florida)

  8. Hey Eric B of Fidelity: If you keep posting political opinions with your employer’s name attached to them all over the Internet, it’s likely they’ll soon be moving YOUR part of the workforce to the unemployment office. Hasta la vista, baby.

  9. I had a photo like that once on my driver’s license, only it was me and not Wil Wheaton. I would tell people I was reading Captain Kirk’s mind at just that moment.
    Wait, is that Arnold, or is it a TR-101 sent from the future in order to divert California’s budget to the development of Skynet?

  10. I hate to turn this into a governor debate thing, but I’m curious why no one seems to be bothered by the fact that Arnold has no experience. I don’t doubt his intention, I doubt his ability to do it. I was watching the Daily Show a couple days ago and they had a relevant comment: “Here’s the paradox of Gray Davis. He’s right, but he’s a dick.” Arnold’s kinda the opposite – great guy, but is he right?
    Wil, I’ve always thought of that kind of redeye as “demon eyes”…laser eyes works too I suppose 😉

  11. Being a fellow Californian (moved to the Bay Area two years ago), I’ve been following the race closely, and I honestly cannot understand why Arnold’s poll numbers continue to climb.
    He enters the race with movie catch phrases… fine, get some attention through your past work, I can understand that. But he hasn’t let it go.
    He does one friggin’ debate, and comes off as a total jack @ss… honestly, what did he say? What does he stand for? Gray Davis provides more money to schools than any other governer, and Arnold says it’s not enough. He says that he’ll increase the school spending, but not raise taxes… I have some history in math and economics (I’m an actuary), and I can tell you: Increased spending + Zero Raised Taxes = Even Further Deficit.
    The sexual harrassment claims come out, and his poll numbers shoot even higher… what is wrong with you people?!?!? Maybe it’s the fact you don’t think politicians should be running the world’s fifth largest economy… that’s like deciding since the last time you took your car to a garage they charged you an arm and a leg, so this time, you’re going to take your car to a refridgerator repair shop…

  13. Props for getting the job with Five Live, they’re definitely my station of choice here in the UK. I used to listen to Up All Night all the time when I was a student.
    I hope this is the beginning of many assignments for you with them. BBC reporter has to look good on anyone’s CV!

  17. Well, I wouldn’t vote for her, but I said Wil should vote for her. I think it’d be funny watching Wil trying to hide his woody when he leaves the voting booth.

  19. I would have to agree with haldir here…I’m not from California but watching this whole political scene has been interesting. Arnold seems like an intelligent, caring person…but where is his experience.
    Anyway…nice eyes wil!!

  20. Wil,
    I’m glad you’re having fun, while reminding people of the need to vote. I have been telling everyone I can to vote tomorrow and informing them about Arnold and what’s wrong with this picture.
    Seven Reasons Why You Absolutely, Positively MUST Vote on Oct. 7:
    1. Your vote matters. If you don’t vote, Schwarzenegger becomes your governor. It’s that simple. A poll conducted Wednesday through Saturday showed support for the recall and Schwarzenegger dropping fast. This election could be decided by a very small number of votes. We can win this, but your vote is absolutely necessary. (The Mercury News)
    2. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a Pete Wilson sequel. Governor Pete Wilson grew state spending much faster than Gray Davis ever has. Worse, he championed energy deregulation and in 1996 signed the bill that deregulated energy in California. Wilson opened the gates to let his energy pals rob the state blind. And now he and his former team are running Schwarzenegger’s campaign and choosing his policies. Even more troubling: Schwarzenegger seems to be in bed with the same energy interests as Wilson (See #7). We want to see Terminator 4, not Wilson 2. (Horowitz, Conason)
    3. We have no idea what Schwarzenegger is going to do with California, and neither does he. He doesn’t have a plan to balance the budget. He hasn’t said what cuts he’ll make or what taxes he’ll raise. California needs a real leader, not someone who plays one in the movies. You may be frustrated with the way things are now — but if Schwarzenegger had a plan to make them better, don’t you think he would have told us about it?
    4. He lied about taking money from special interests. The night he announced his candidacy on the Jay Leno show he told us, “As you know, I don’t need to take money from anyone. I have plenty of money myself.” He then turned right around and accepted over $10 million not from “special” interests, but rather, as he explained it, “business and individuals, absolutely. They’re powerful interests who control things.” (Saramento Bee, CNN)
    5. Arnold Schwarzenegger might belong on the sex offender registry, but not in the governor’s mansion. So far 15 credible women have come forward with stories of being physically assaulted by this man — some only a few years ago. He has not denied some of the stories (in fact, he said “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”). He has tried to chalk his mistakes up to “rowdiness.” But these incidents constitute a string of crimes that would land anyone except a multi-millionaire actor in jail and on the sex offender registry. (Los Angeles Times, Newsday)
    6. The Nazi stuff is serious. Who cares how long ago it was that Arnold Schwarzenegger said that he wanted to have an experience “like Hitler in the Nuremberg stadium, and have all those people scream at you and just being in total agreement with whatever you say.” That’s scary! And now nuns are being roughed up at Schwarzenegger rallies. A film maker who worked closely with Schwarzenegger in the ’70s says he saw him playing “Nazi marching songs from long-playing records in his collection at home.” At his 1988 wedding Schwarzenegger toasted a confirmed Nazi war criminal, Kurt Waldheim, saying “My friends don’t want me to mention Kurt’s name, because of all the recent Nazi stuff and the U.N. controversy, but I love him and Maria does too, and so thank you, Kurt.” Where there’s smoke, there’s fire! (New York Times, Slate, Sacramento Bee, Los Angeles Times)
    7. Because Schwarzenegger STILL hasn’t explained why he met with Enron’s Kenneth Lay at the height of the energy crisis. Schwarzenegger attended a meeting of top business leaders and Republican politicians on May 17, 2001 that was apparently held to thwart a Davis-Bustamante plan to recover $9 billion from energy companies. He still hasn’t explained why he was there or whether his candidacy for Governor was discussed at that meeting. And he’s refusing to talk to reporters in these last days of the campaign. (San Mateo Times, FTCR)
    Please forward this email to your friends, family and coworkers — this race is too close to call, and it’s crucial that every single one of us votes. To look up polling places for yourself or your friends click here:
    http://moveon.org/pac/recall/materials.html
    Make sure all your like minded friends and family vote — work with us to turn out thousands of “unlikely voters” by clicking here:
    http://moveon.org/pac/votecount/

  21. I spurn web cams and celebrity and inane artistry. I’m going with cruz, for no other reason than he, as well as a few others, seems less interested in swinging on the trapeze than do the other apes.
    the entire thing is a joke, and most voters won’t get it until it’s too late. this is the sort of thing I don’t miss about living in CA. although this scene rehatched here in MI would be interesting. can you imagine a debate between eminem, kwame kilpatrick, jack white, aretha franklin, kid rock, jim harrison, and jeff daniels?

  23. I tend to prefer Democrat candidates, and honestly I don’t think Schwarzenegger has the qualifications to be governor of California. However, I think the character assassination attempts on him are some of the most shameless I’ve seen. I hate to say it, but I almost feel sympathy for The Terminator after all that’s “suddenly come to light” about him that somehow never came up when he was a mere multimillionaire celebrity.
    Happily, I don’t live in California, so I won’t have to make that choice, but I hope the Californians all bring their bullshiat detectors to the polls and vote intelligently, avoiding all the hype and mudslinging.

  24. I’ll stay clear of the politics and simply confirm wil’s evaluation of that pic being the Worst Wil Wheaton Pic Evar. Dear God in heaven, wil, send them another pic to use. ;-P

  25. ummm… I meant I am ‘rooting’ for cruz bustamante. no longer living in CA means I am now simply one in a long line of spectators to this particular circus. I just won’t have to pay for my seat, if you get me.

  26. In response to Christine’s “the entire thing is a joke, and most voters won’t get it until it’s too late. this is the sort of thing I don’t miss about living in CA. although this scene rehatched here in MI would be interesting. can you imagine a debate between eminem, kwame kilpatrick, jack white, aretha franklin, kid rock, jim harrison, and jeff daniels?”
    -Don’t forget to throw Ted Nugent into that MI mix. Now it’s truly a joke.

  27. I want to hear Cruz Bustamente guarantee
    that there will NOT be webcams in the governor’s
    mansion if he wins. YEECCHHH

  30. Wow that is scary.
    I’ve just recently moved back to California and i’m caught at the very tail end of this whole “Recall” thing so i don’t really know EXACTLY why this was all done and i don’t know what SchwarzaArnold is campaigning for, but i have this sneeking suspiscion that he’ll win for popularity alone. Unfortunate and as terrible as that seems…People these days.Sigh

  31. Nostradamus says –
    “O vast Rome, thy ruin approaches,
    Not of thy walls, of thy blood and substance:
    The one harsh in letters will make a very horrible notch,
    Pointed steel driven into all up to the hilt.”
    California is doomed.

  32. I live in politics every day and love it, but that’s not why I like Wil’s website (and anyway, I think we Californians have beat the recall-merits discussion into the ground in a way that only we and possibly every other media-obsessed highly populous state can). Plus I was just reading a report I turned in a while ago where the teacher told me my analysis was great but I ought to keep things more simple in the future. Therefore, let me just say…
    While not, strictly on a scale of pure scariness, necessarily very scary at all, I would definitely stipulate that that is the scariest picture of Wil I’ve ever seen. My vote is for submitting a less-scary photo to the folks at the BBC for all future uses.

  34. You guys not in California don’t know what you’re missing. What a circus this thing is. All weekend the phone was ringing off the hook by various campaign staff, not to mention the recorded phone messages I received from not only Gov. Davis’ wife, but also from Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Barbra Steisand! I’m still waiting for Hilary’s call.
    I’m going to vote for Wil Wheaton for Governor. It’d be like putting 50,000 monkeys in the charge of California, and wouldn’t that be fun? He certainly would be better (and smarter) than Arnold!
    Wil Wheaton For Governor!

  35. I must say that I agree with you about Ah-nold. He hasn’t really mentioned any specifics that he supports or is against, and I’m not sure what the potential consequences would be of his getting ahold of one of the largest economies in the world. That’s a lot of power there, and you know, I’m just not sure that he’s able to handle that. Gary Coleman, either, for that matter.
    P.S. Saturday was my sixteenth birthday, and my friends gave me the best present ever. At a Star Trek convention back at the end of June, they bought a little placard of you that you signed. They lied to me. They told me that they couldn’t get me anything from there because it was all so expensive, but they did. The only thing they told me was that at the con, they asked you if you were wearing Converse. And you were.
    …
    Sorry. I just had to share that.

  36. saw the photo thought they caught your good side!
    now i know about you being on 5live i will listen more carefully to your quirky reports

  37. Remember Pete Wilson???
    Who do you think pulls Arnold’s strings?
    Voting for Arnold is a vote for Pete Wilson.
    Seven Reasons Why You Absolutely, Positively MUST Vote on Oct. 7:
    1. Your vote matters. If you don’t vote, Schwarzenegger becomes your governor. It’s that simple. A poll conducted Wednesday through Saturday showed support for the recall and Schwarzenegger dropping fast. This election could be decided by a very small number of votes. We can win this, but your vote is absolutely necessary. (The Mercury News)
    2. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a Pete Wilson sequel. Governor Pete Wilson grew state spending much faster than Gray Davis ever has. Worse, he championed energy deregulation and in 1996 signed the bill that deregulated energy in California. Wilson opened the gates to let his energy pals rob the state blind. And now he and his former team are running Schwarzenegger’s campaign and choosing his policies. Even more troubling: Schwarzenegger seems to be in bed with the same energy interests as Wilson (See #7). We want to see Terminator 4, not Wilson 2. (Horowitz, Conason)
    3. We have no idea what Schwarzenegger is going to do with California, and neither does he. He doesn’t have a plan to balance the budget. He hasn’t said what cuts he’ll make or what taxes he’ll raise. California needs a real leader, not someone who plays one in the movies. You may be frustrated with the way things are now — but if Schwarzenegger had a plan to make them better, don’t you think he would have told us about it?
    4. He lied about taking money from special interests. The night he announced his candidacy on the Jay Leno show he told us, “As you know, I don’t need to take money from anyone. I have plenty of money myself.” He then turned right around and accepted over $10 million not from “special” interests, but rather, as he explained it, “business and individuals, absolutely. They’re powerful interests who control things.” (Saramento Bee, CNN)
    5. Arnold Schwarzenegger might belong on the sex offender registry, but not in the governor’s mansion. So far 15 credible women have come forward with stories of being physically assaulted by this man — some only a few years ago. He has not denied some of the stories (in fact, he said “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”). He has tried to chalk his mistakes up to “rowdiness.” But these incidents constitute a string of crimes that would land anyone except a multi-millionaire actor in jail and on the sex offender registry. (Los Angeles Times, Newsday)
    6. The Nazi stuff is serious. Who cares how long ago it was that Arnold Schwarzenegger said that he wanted to have an experience “like Hitler in the Nuremberg stadium, and have all those people scream at you and just being in total agreement with whatever you say.” That’s scary! And now nuns are being roughed up at Schwarzenegger rallies. A film maker who worked closely with Schwarzenegger in the ’70s says he saw him playing “Nazi marching songs from long-playing records in his collection at home.” At his 1988 wedding Schwarzenegger toasted a confirmed Nazi war criminal, Kurt Waldheim, saying “My friends don’t want me to mention Kurt’s name, because of all the recent Nazi stuff and the U.N. controversy, but I love him and Maria does too, and so thank you, Kurt.” Where there’s smoke, there’s fire! (New York Times, Slate, Sacramento Bee, Los Angeles Times)
    7. Because Schwarzenegger STILL hasn’t explained why he met with Enron’s Kenneth Lay at the height of the energy crisis. Schwarzenegger attended a meeting of top business leaders and Republican politicians on May 17, 2001 that was apparently held to thwart a Davis-Bustamante plan to recover $9 billion from energy companies. He still hasn’t explained why he was there or whether his candidacy for Governor was discussed at that meeting. And he’s refusing to talk to reporters in these last days of the campaign. (San Mateo Times, FTCR)
    Please forward this to your friends, family and coworkers — this race is too close to call, and it’s crucial that every single one of us votes. To look up polling places for yourself or your friends click here:
    http://moveon.org/pac/recall/materials.html
    VOTE NO ON THE RECALL.

  38. Hi Wil. I went to that site. That was a pretty funny picture of you, But you still looked good! Anyways I voted for Mary Carey just so you might have the chance to meet her. I hope my vote helps haha. Thanks for such a great website also, I’ve never left a comment before so I figured I’d say thanks now.

  39. Guys, I appreciate all of your passions, but cut-n-pasting the list from Move On really isn’t why I have comments here. Links are fine, but try not to spam the comments, okay?

  40. Sorry Wil. Entirely my fault for not reading the entire page prior to posting. Please feel free to delete my duplicate post.

  43. I interviewed Mary Carey on my Web site when she launched her campaign. It was a pretty funny interview, although I find the whole recall process distateful.
    The big question is not “Should I vote for The Terminator?” The big question is “What will happen to the state if the recall becomes a normal part of the political process?”
    This is another political power grab by the Republicans, who stole the presidency, are busy gerrymandering in Texas and have bought themselves a recall in California.

  44. While we aren’t on the same side of the political fence, you nailed Governor Gray. Nicely done.
    And yes, I am voting for Ahnold as a matter of fact.
    A. Could he do any worse? Davis couldn’t even keep the lights on.
    B. He’s plugged into the Kennedys (um, so to speak. Wait, should I pull that out? Nah.). If he needs any advice, he won’t have to look very far to get some. Even if he doesn’t take it.
    C. Bustamove must be the biggest hypocrite in political history. “Don’t vote yes on recall, but if you do, vote for me.” GAG.
    P.S. Loved the Muscle Beach comment. That’s the kind of thing I look for in this blog. Shoots_he_scores.

  45. LOL!
    Just checked in at BBC again. First let me say, Wil, that I still think you’ve done a great job covering the recall election.
    Second… “What’s in it for me?”?!? LOL, what a line… 😉

  46. Nostradamus loves Arnold.
    “While the eagle is united with the cock at Savonna,
    the Eastern Sea and Hungary.
    The army at Naples, Palermo, the marches of Ancona,
    Rome and Venice a great outcry by the Barbarian.”

  47. Nostradamus really loves Arnold.
    “The king is struck by a barbarian soldier,
    unjustly, not far from death.
    The greedy will be the cause of the deed,
    conspirator and realm in great remorse.”

  48. Nostradamas doesn’t like Davis
    “Thin tall and dry, playing the good valet
    in the end will have nothing but his dismissal;
    sharp poison and letters in his collar,
    he will be seized escaping into danger.”

  49. The latest from Nostradmus. Bustamante, Arnold to decide election outcome in a cage match.
    “The undersigned to an infamous deliverance,
    And having contrary advice from the multitude:
    Monarch changes put in danger over thought,
    Shut up in a cage they will see each other face to face.”

Comments are closed.

Related Posts

Recent Posts

Discover more from WIL WHEATON dot NET

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading