A Revealing Interview of Governor Schwarzenegger

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

John Myers of KQED has a very revealing interview of Arnold Schwarzenegger that I recommend very highly listening to, as the Governor leaves clues as to these issues, and more:

• Whether more laws are needed in the wake of the fiery crash of a gasoline tanker truck the collapsed a major freeway, "the Maze" on the Oakland side of the Bay

• Whether ballot initiatives are needed to pressure legislators into action on redistricting and whether he agrees with those who are threatening to gather signatures on this issue

• How term limits, redistricting, and campaign finance reform tie together

• The prison system and additional reforms such as parole and sentencing changes

• Healthcare--what's on the table, whether he favors a piecemeal approach, and a single payer approach such as that in Senator Kuehl's bill

• How he views government

• What needs to be done to reduce greenhouse gases and whether there needs to be sacrifices

• Water shortages and how to deal with it from conservation to water storage and dams

• Tribal gaming casinos, why he is pushing the compacts he signed last year, and what are the limits of expansion of slot machines in the state

• The role of the special interests in Sacramento

• Education and the goals of "the teacher's union"

• How well the legislators are working together

John Myers is a great interviewer. He asks the best questions of the Capitol press corps, perhaps, at press conferences of legislators and other elected officials. How he managed to cover this territory and ask a few follow-up questions is amazing. The extended version of the interview is available online at KQED to listen to. I am sure those involved in these issues as well as the Governor's political philosophy will be analyzing these words and in some cases issuing responses of their own.

Here is what caught my ear: