The Republican effort to make Arnold Schwarzenegger president of the United States has begun. California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher introduced legislation to overturn the Constitutional requirement that permits only persons born in the United States to serve as president.  Similar legislation was introduced in the Senate. 

If the words “I, Arnold Schwarzenegger, do solemnly swear…” seem impossible, think again. I recall saying of another actor turned governor of California, “Reagan can’t get elected.” Ever since I was proven wrong in 1980 I have never discounted the possibility of anybody becoming president - any white person, that is.

Passage of a Constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote from both the House and Senate. Both are controlled by the Republicans. Three-quarters of the 50 state legislatures would then have to ratify the amendment. It is fair to assume that the rest of the country is as addle brained as the Californians who made Arnold Schwarzenegger governor. Schwarzenegger’s political ascent should leave no one in doubt that he is capable of winning the presidency.

Republican evil doing and media bias against Democrats both played a role in turning an actor into a governor. Darrell Issa, a millionaire Republican Congressman, used his personal fortune to pay for a ballot initiative recalling Democrat Gray Davis. Comedian Bill Maher said of the recall, “No do-overs. Once you elect an official, unless he runs off with public funds or gets caught with kiddie porn, you're stuck with him.”

That line may have gotten laughs but the joke was on Issa when Republican power brokers ordered him to step aside in favor of Schwarzenegger. Karl Rove and his gang knew that America’s sick fascination with celebrities made it more likely that an actor would defeat a politician. Issa took a dive, and Arnold was in the race against Davis.

After Schwarzenegger announced his intention to run, on the Tonight Show no less, stories known to a few became general public knowledge. Fifteen women came forward to say that Schwarzenegger grabbed their breasts or otherwise assaulted them. The Los Angeles Times did great reporting on the story, only to become the victim of a Republican boycott and smear campaign. The well documented stories didn’t keep Arnie out of the Governor’s mansion.

Obviously there are millions of people who envied not only Schwarzenegger’s film persona but his real life ability to have anyone bend to his twisted will. Voters were not turned off by reports of a pervert in the governor’s mansion. Indeed many were turned on.

Of course we can’t discuss Governor Gropinator without discussing the pernicious effects of the corporate controlled, pro-Republican media. Two black body builders, Robby Robinson and Rick Wayne, both said that Schwarzenegger made racist comments on a regular basis and expressed support for South African apartheid. "If you give these blacks a country to run, they would run it down the tubes," Arnold opined. If you haven’t heard any of this before it is for a very simple reason. The press chose not to tell you. Rick Wayne was interviewed by ABC but the network never broadcast the conversation.

Oprah Winfrey could have told you. In the midst of the raucous campaign she interviewed Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver. If Oprah was going to stick her nose into politics she should have at least pretended to be a real journalist. She could have interviewed the other candidates for governor, or at least asked Schwarzenegger to explain the allegations of manhandling, racism and love of Hitler.

There was another strange omission from Ms. Winfrey’s interview. In the days when Schwarzenegger had no idea he would be a politician he told this tale in 1977 to Oui magazine.

The idea of a black woman magically appearing in the nude in the middle of a gym is improbable. It isn’t clear if Schwarzenegger engaged in gang rape of a black woman or if he just fantasized about it. It is too bad that Oprah didn’t think it important enough to ask him.

If the groping allegations are any indication, it wouldn’t have mattered if ABC or Oprah had done their job. The question then is not whether enough Americans would want Schwarzenegger to be president, but whether they want him enough to take the chance that any foreign born person might occupy the oval office.

If state legislators around the country knew they were definitely making Arnold commander in chief then the amendment would pass overwhelmingly. The problem is that the amendment can’t be written with the name Schwarzenegger on it. Once Pandora’s box is opened, it is opened to all, including foreigners who aren’t white.

If Austria can be the birth place of an American president, so can China, India or Mexico. In the absence of an intelligent electorate, a fair media, and a competent Democratic party, fear of a brown or yellow president is probably the only thing that will keep Arnold in Sacramento and away from Washington. It is sad but true that only racism will keep this racist from holding the highest office in the land.