Republicans and Democrats labored on Wednesday to portray Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory in California as a partisan plus in next year's White House race, but reached one consensus: relief the show is over.
The election of the action movie star and former bodybuilder as the Republican governor of the nation's most populous state and next year's biggest political prize, ended weeks of chaos triggered by a historic recall drive against unpopular Democratic Governor Gray Davis.
The unusual special election put California front and center on the political stage, draining away media attention and potential donors just as Democrats vying for the right to challenge President George W. Bush next year were gearing up their campaigns.
"The end of the recall is good news," said Democratic strategist Jenny Backus. "It means the [presidential] candidates can turn up the microphone. It gives them a chance to take control of the agenda."
Republican consultant Scott Reed dismissed recalls in general as "bad politics, bad policy and unfair" and said most in his party opposed them.
The White House had kept its distance from the California election, wary of Democratic efforts to paint the recall as manipulated or encouraged by the Republican president.
Bush has pledged to work with Schwarzenegger, but sidestepped questions on Tuesday about whether he still considered the actor would make "a good governor" after a last-minute string of sexual harassment allegations.
"The process is about over," said Bush, who did not publicly campaign for his fellow Republican. "The people of California are going to speak."
Californians spoke loudly, streaming to the polls in record numbers to throw Davis out of office and give Republicans control of a heavily Democratic state with 55 electoral votes -- 20 percent of the 270 needed to win the presidential election that is just over a year away.
mixed blessing
Party strategists and political analysts saw it as a mixed blessing.
"Prior to last week, the Republicans' ability to take over the California governorship would have been a huge asset to the party," Reed said. "The last five days of the campaign have called that into question."
"The prize is somewhat tarnished," said Backus, who asked how Bush could fully embrace Schwarzenegger in view of the sexual charges and the new governor's pro-abortion, pro-gay rights positions without alienating his own conservative base.
Democratic Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, a 2004 presidential hopeful, predicted Schwarzenegger's victory would not change the character of the California electorate.
The last Republican presidential nominee to win the state was Bush's father in 1988. In 2000, the current president lost California to Democrat Al Gore by 12 percentage points.
The change in California's Statehouse means Republicans will have a better organization in place to support the party's presidential ticket and possibly a bigger fund-raising base.
Democrats are likely to be forced to spend more time and money in a state they would expect to carry easily.
"It's a billiard ball indirect shot," said Stephen Hess, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "But it's such a freakish election in a way that you've got to be careful about making generalizations."
Schwarzenegger tapped into voter anger over Davis' handling of the state's huge budget shortfall and capitalized on his status as an outsider in much the same way presidential hopeful Howard Dean has attracted support from Democrats disaffected with the direction of their party.
"This recall was about the frustration so many people are feeling about the way things are going," said Dean, the former governor of Vermont. "Come next November, that anger might be directed at a different incumbent ... in the White House."
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath