Arnold only agreed to participate in debates where he was given the question beforehand. Calif. Recall Candidates to Debate Tonight Sep 24, 8:23 AM (ET) By BETH FOUHY SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The major candidates in the California gubernatorial recall election will appear in a nationally-televised debate tonight from California State University in Sacramento. Taking part will be actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, state Sen. Tom McClintock, independent Arianna Huffington and Green Party candidate Peter Camejo. A full panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reinstated the original timetable, so the vote on whether to remove Gov. Gray Davis is once again scheduled for Oct. 7. The debate is scheduled for 9 p.m. EDT. At other forums, Schwarzenegger's absence has been the focus of sniping by contestants. An empty chair with his name on it has been used to signify the missing celebrity. Critics have complained about the format of Wednesday's debate since the 12 voter questions that will be asked have already been made public. Organizers said there will be ample time for give-and-take about each question. The looming debate came even as candidates sharpened their attacks, with the two front runners, Bustamante and Schwarzenegger, airing negative television ads in recent days. After Schwarzenegger released a campaign ad Monday attacking Bustamante and McClintock for taking money from Indian gambling interests, Bustamante responded Tuesday with an ad accusing Schwarzenegger of being out of touch with common people. "Arnold doesn't share our values. He won't fight for our health care, our neighborhoods, our jobs. He doesn't live in our world. He lives on Planet Hollywood," Bustamante said of the wealthy actor. Schwarzenegger, after a question-and-answer session in Sacramento, defended his ads. "You cannot represent the people of California if you take money, millions of dollars from the Indians," he said. Bustamante said later that Schwarzenegger should not criticize him because the actor took Indian contributions during his initiative campaign to fund after-school programs. In one ad, Schwarzenegger attacked Davis for fiscal mismanagement and extending drivers' licenses to undocumented immigrants, while the other ad implicitly criticizes Bustamante and McClintock for accepting campaign contributions from Indian tribes that run casinos. Democrats immediately jumped on the former bodybuilder, as state party chairman Art Torres said the actor was practicing "gutter politics." McClintock, meanwhile, continued to ignore calls to step aside or risk splitting the GOP vote. The conservative state senator is in the race "not only to the finish line - we intend to seek re-election to the governorship," said campaign director John Feliz. State Sen. Jim Brulte, R-Rancho Cucamonga, who has said he would encourage one of the candidates to drop out, announced his support for Schwarzenegger. The Senate minority leader said the actor was the only candidate formidable enough to beat Bustamante. In the court ruling Tuesday, the judges unanimously decided that the risk some votes might go uncounted on Oct. 7 was overshadowed by the heavy costs in time and money that have already been pored into the campaign. The decision overturned last week's ruling by three of the most liberal judges on the court. They had argued the election should be postponed until six counties can install new voting machines so that millions of California voters wouldn't have to use the infamous punch card ballots that tarnished the 2000 presidential election. The American Civil Liberties Union, which had sought a postponement until March, said it would not appeal Tuesday's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, removing the final legal roadblock to the recall. Davis, who campaigned with Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, said Tuesday he was pleased with the full court's ruling. "I think we have the momentum. I think we should strike while the iron is hot. I think people are deciding as the date narrows, the date is around the corner, that this is not good for California, it's not good for our future and I'd rather have the election now," Davis said. Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All right reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The monkey in the White House did the same thing. He refused to debate Gore unless he knew all the questions and he approved of all the issues discussed.
I was in Cali over the weekend. I got to see first hand the Arnold political adds. They were really quite embarassing. He appeared to be targeting people who were poorly/under educated. He had a line in one add that went like "Let me tell you how politics in California work. Money goes into Sacramento and favors go out. When I am elected, that will stop." The implication here is that he plans to move the capital of California to another city I pitied the fools who have to listen to entire Arnold stump speech
What difference does it make if the questions are made public before hand? Candidates rarely address the questions in their responses anyway.
It gives them time to recite their pre-prepared speech and be relaxed going in. Otherwise some of these buffoons would crater under the pressure of "oh my God, what are they going to ask me and am I going to look like an idiot?!" It's all about appearance...
