The Austrian-born action film star, a Republican, says he may try to terminate Davis' tenure by running for governor in 2002.
''I've thought about it many times because I love politics,'' Schwarzenegger, 53, told Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton in an interview published Monday. ''I haven't really said this is the time. But, you know, the bottom line is if Davis goes on the way he is, then eventually there will be a vacuum in a year and I could ... I just leave it open.''
Skelton wrote last week that legislators ''long for a General Patton'' to end power blackouts. Schwarzenegger didn't star in "Patton" – that was George C. Scott – but he phoned Skelton from the set of his latest movie to endorse the need for strong leadership. He said Davis is too concerned about re-election to take risks.
Schwarzenegger became a U.S. citizen in 1983. He edged toward the political sphere in 1990, when former president George Bush named him to head the President's Council on Physical Fitness.
With California GOP fortunes at a low ebb, Republican Party state chairman John McGraw welcomed Schwarzenegger's comments as ''very good news.'' As a candidate, the wealthy actor would benefit from his ''incredible name identification,'' though his views favoring abortion rights would have to be explained to social conservatives, McGraw says.
Some Republicans may look askance at Schwarzenegger's wife, broadcaster Maria Shriver, who is a member of the Democratic Kennedy clan. Schwarzenegger said she ''will be 100 percent behind me.''
Actor-politicians are no novelty to Californians, who elected Ronald Reagan as governor and George Murphy as U.S. senator. As a naturalized citizen, though, Schwarzenegger is ineligible under the Constitution to run for president.
But movies such as "The Terminator" make Schwarzenegger a political ''long shot'' despite his fame, says Jack Pitney, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif.
''When people think of Schwarzenegger, they don't think of quiet, responsible leadership in Sacramento,'' Pitney says. ''They think of murderous androids.''
Garry South, Davis' political adviser, gibed, ''If he runs, I'm sure it will be on the hoary Republican platform of taking gratuitous violence out of our popular culture. ''
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