The New American Idol

[CVX]

It's easy to dismiss Arnold Schwarzenegger's election as a fluke, an "only in California" political anomaly fully explained by the words movie star and recall. After all, he wouldn't be governor if he weren't famous, rich, and married into political nobility. And even all that might not have been enough in a regular election; he benefited mightily from California's constitution encouraging voter temper tantrums, which in this case led to a lightning-fast campaign too short to dole out the usual damage. All in all, a rare combination of qualities and circumstances - and hardly the stuff of a national trend.

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