Schwarzenegger at the Levee: Genocide and Angelides

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's line of black SUVs stopped at the top of a levee under repair in Northern California. Workers were dumping 150,000 tons of rock to shore up about 2,500 feet of curving floodwall.

Jutting out of the rock were bundled tree limbs, which will serve as habitat for trout, bass and other fish that enjoy the shade. A large Volvo earth mover lifted rocks from one place to another, and the governor positioned himself between the scene and the cameras.

The remote location is about an hour north of Sacramento near the town of Colusa, an Indian casino and miles of orchards. His staff carted along a satellite transmitter, which sat in the back of a pickup. They used it for a live webcast. Another staff member drove a white Ford Taurus station wagon with sound equipment. Still more cars brought CHP officers. A police boat patrolled the river. A helicopter flew overhead. A so-called tracker — likely from Schwarzenegger's opponents — videotaped the event from the top of the levee.

The governor walked down the dusty embankment to a lectern, where he talked about the need for Proposition 1E, which would provide about $4 billion in bonds for flood control. The first question from a TV reporter: was the governor's announcement about 71 just-discovered emergency repairs on levees an election-year stunt to build momentum for the bonds?

The governor said he was a "fanatic about protecting California." A Colusa County official said Schwarzenegger was "an action type of person."

Another TV reporter asked about Democrat Phil Angelides' new "strategy" to attack the governor's character. Schwarzenegger got a wry smile on his face and said about the state treasurer, who has been behind in the polls for months: "I think I'll let him continue his strategy."

I asked him whether his friend and economic advisor, billionaire Warren Buffett, should divest his 2.3 billion shares in PetroChina, an oil company that is supporting the genocidal regime in Sudan. The governor, with much fanfare, recently signed legislation requiring the state to divest in such companies. He described it as a moral imperative at the time.

"What is important for me is to make decisions that I have control over," Schwarzenegger said Friday.

I interrupted him to ask if he would urge Buffett to divest. "I am not urging anyone," he replied. "There is many many people out there. I will always advise everyone: think about the decision California has made and use that as a model to go in the same direction."

A few more questions and the governor said, "This is great stuff. Thank you very much."

"It's wrapped up," a security officer said into her wrist transmitter.

The governor walked up the hill and greeted the construction crew. He yelled, "Clayrini!" — summoning his personal assistant, Clay Russell — and handed him his blue folder. After everyone climbed in, the SUVs drove a few feet down the levee and stopped. The governor, in a short-sleeved dress shirt, got out to greet a group of people standing on the side of the road. Then he drove away.

On the way back to Sacramento down Interstate 5, a sign sitting in the middle of an orchard read: "God's wrath is NOW upon His house."

(Photos: Robert Salladay / LAT)