Schwarzenegger and the 'Third Force'

Howard Fineman at Newsweek saw something in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's body language during the recent GOP presidential debate at the Reagan Library. Although Schwarzenegger cannot run for president, the California governor could be a leading actor in a new "independent for president" movement. Fineman writes:

"As California governor, Schwarzenegger has prospered in the role of centrist, hybrid 'Repubocrat' — an independent force. As he watched the ten GOP presidential candidates take turns bowing to the GOP's conservative base, the Governator bore the fixed smile of a man who had a desire to be elsewhere.

"If I were a GOP strategist — or a Democratic one — I would be worried by Arnold's body language. He and other major independent actors on the political scene — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Vice President Al Gore, chief among them — comprise a Third Force that could upset two-party politics as we know it in the 2008 presidential race."

Fineman says that Schwarzenegger, Bloomberg and Gore "have formed a mutual admiration society that has huge potential implications for 2008. They have come to share similar visions on the urgency of the global warming and health care crises, and a similar impatience with politics as usual."

Schwarzenegger has said repeatedly that he remains a loyal Republican, despite obvious splits with the core of the conservative California Republican Party. I don't see him as the next Ross Perot spoiler - or, rather, as someone who would have to stand on the sidelines supporting an independent for president. It's an intriguing proposition, but MotherJones says the Schwarzenegger-Bloomberg-Gore theory should be taken with a grain of salt.

(Photo:  Mark J. Terrill/AP)