Davis challenges Schwarzenegger to debate: Arnold "NO"

Governor challenges actor
Davis blasts 'errors,' demands debate -- Schwarzenegger camp says no
Zachary Coile, Chronicle Political Writer
Friday, September 26, 2003

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/09/26/MN44823.DTL

Gov. Gray Davis challenged Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday to a one-on-one debate unless the actor corrects several "flat-out errors" he made about the governor's record during Wednesday's televised candidate forum.

The challenge was immediately rejected by the Schwarzenegger campaign, which dismissed it as a last-minute stunt by a politician who, polls show, is still in danger of losing his job in the Oct. 7 recall election.

Democratic strategists said the move reflects a belief in the Davis campaign that the one-liners the Austrian-born actor fired off in Wednesday's free-for-all with the other replacement candidates would fall flat in a two- person debate with the incumbent governor.

And political analysts said Davis can use the quick rejection by the Schwarzenegger camp to hammer home the message that the GOP front-runner is afraid of a head-to-head matchup and ill-prepared to run the state.

Davis issued the challenge during a campaign stop in Los Angeles, where he was asked by reporters about the debate. Calling the raucous forum a "food fight," the governor accused Schwarzenegger of repeatedly resorting to lies and distortions about the state and the Davis administration's record.

"He's constantly mischaracterizing facts about California. I'm going to set the record straight. I'm getting sick and tired of his distortions," Davis said. ". . . You think someone who can memorize his lines can memorize the facts. It's not that much harder."

Davis added, "I'm prepared to debate him if he does not set the record straight."

DEBATE QUICKLY RULED OUT
The challenge prompted chuckles from Schwarzenegger spokesman Todd Harris, who quickly ruled out the possibility of a head-to-head meeting with the governor.

"This is clearly a desperate 11th-hour attempt to shake things up," Harris said. "My guess is that the governor watched the debate last night, realized he was in trouble and needed to do something to try to change the dynamic of this campaign."

It's unusual for an incumbent to ask a challenger for a debate -- especially in the waning days of a race -- unless he's trailing in the polls. Recent polls have shown that a small majority of voters still favor recalling Davis, although the margin has been narrowing.

"His internal polls must show that Schwarzenegger is a real threat," said Jack Pitney, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont and a longtime Republican adviser. "With signs that Republicans are coalescing around Schwarzenegger, he is the one that the governor has to take down."

But Pitney added that Davis' team probably saw a key weakness in the actor's performance: While Schwarzenegger used his wit and scripted lines to parry attacks from his rivals, he appeared less commanding when asked for specifics about fixing the state's problems.

"Schwarzenegger did well enough in a multicandidate debate, where his on- camera time was limited," Pitney said. "There would be much more pressure in a one-on-one debate with no Arianna (Huffington) distraction, against the guy who knows state government as well as anybody."

The Rev. Jesse Jackson first suggested the idea during a campaign stop with Davis in Los Angeles last week, saying Californians "deserve a serious one-on- one debate between the No. 1 challenger and the sitting governor."

Both campaigns were initially cool to the idea. The Davis camp feared giving the top Republican candidate a chance to bash the governor in front of a statewide television audience. And some analysts believe the governor has gained in the polls as he has remained above the recall fray and voters focused on the flaws of his potential replacements.

But a Davis spokesman said Thursday the challenge was aimed at forcing Schwarzenegger to back up his attacks on the governor.

"When you're getting attacked by someone with millions of dollars of negative ads, you respond," said Peter Ragone, a spokesman for Davis' Californians Against the Costly Recall committee.

FAMILY HEALTH CARE AT ISSUE
Davis was particularly offended at Schwarzenegger's suggestion during the debate that the state "has not done a good job in reaching out" to families that may be eligible for state-subsidized health care. The governor's backers point out that enrollment of children in the Healthy Families program has grown twelvefold -- to 667,000 children -- since Davis took office.

State Democratic Party strategist Bob Mulholland said Schwarzenegger's refusal to appear with the governor in the debate could hound the first-time candidate. Schwarzenegger's chief opponents in the replacement contest, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and state Sen. Tom McClintock, have criticized him for appearing in only one debate, where the questions were scripted.

"Instead of one guy in a chicken outfit following him around, there will be two guys in chicken outfits following him around," Mulholland said.

Schwarzenegger's team said the Republican front-runner isn't afraid to appear on the same stage as Davis, he just doesn't feel it's appropriate.

"The debate that Gray Davis needs to be having is with the people of California," Harris said. "Those are the people whose economy he has ruined and whose government he has sold out to the special interests."
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Chronicle political writer Carla Marinucci contributed to this report. / E-mail Zachary Coile at [email protected].