Gov. Coy on How Bush Can Help California

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, asked Wednesday why President Bush’s reelection would be in California’s best interests, did not offer a reason, saying instead, “I’m thinking more about the country.”

“This is a national election,” the governor said at an appearance at a Chili’s restaurant in Westwood. “We know what the outcome will be in California, don’t we?” He laughed. Polls show Democratic candidate John F. Kerry is favored to win easily in California.

Two days before a planned joint campaign appearance with Bush in Ohio, Schwarzenegger devoted much of his campaigning to the complex ballot measures facing voters on Nov. 2. At the restaurant, he urged the lunchtime crowd to vote against Proposition 72, a measure that would require certain businesses to provide healthcare insurance for their workers.

Invited to make the case for Bush’s victory, Schwarzenegger demurred, instead offering the view that Republicans and Democrats disagree over the presidential race.

He said, “I think it’s important that everyone express their opinions come next Tuesday. And people should vote on what they want and I, of course, encourage people to vote yes and reelect President Bush, but my wife (Democrat Maria Shriver) says no. I go the other way. So that’s great.”

Earlier in the day, Schwarzenegger criticized what he described as the Bush administration’s tepid support for stem cell research. Schwarzenegger has endorsed Proposition 71, which would underwrite $3 billion in state spending on research.

The governor, in a radio interview, said it is “very important that we move forward with that research, I think, because on the national level we don’t see much action.”

Schwarzenegger described his role in the presidential campaign as a “balancing act” -- an effort to avoid needlessly offending either party.

“If I don’t campaign for President Bush, the Republicans are angry,” he said on KTKZ-AM in Sacramento. “And if I do campaign for President Bush, Democrats are angry. I think there’s a happy medium.”