[Cerek the Barbaric]

Why wasn't the term considered "insulting to women and gays" when it was being broadcast every Saturday night Live from New York??

Personally, I thought it was funny (althought ultimately ignorant) to hear Arnie use the term that was coined by a SNL skit designed by guys that were imitating him.

I say that it is ultimately ignorant because - while it played good to the crowd at the time and also reinforces his "tough guy" image - I'm afraid Arnie will learn the same lesson that Jesse "The Body" Ventura learned in Michigan. He was elected governer because he refused to play the "political game" and he especially refused to use "politically correct" speech when discussing issues. Jesse said exactly what he felt, which many people found refreshing - for a short time. Within two years, though, most Michigan voters were calling Jesse an "embarassment" and Ventura himself finally learned that he had to tone down his comments in order to avoid being fodder for the next days headlines. It got to the point that broadcasters only wanted to interview Jesse because they thought he would say something "controversial". I specifically remember one incident that occurred when missing documents regarding Whiterwater "mysteriously" appeared in Hillary Clinton's private quarters at the White House. Jesse was well-known for his disdain of the First Lady and one of the news programs had scheduled an interview hoping for a juicy comment - but Jesse refused to play along. The interviewer kept pushing Jesse to make some kind of off-color comment and Ventura finally said "I've learned to just keep my mouth shut in these types of situations, because anything I say today will be ripped apart by the media tomorrow." When the interviewer realized Jesse was NOT going to make some deragotory comment about Hillary, he ended the interview. He naver had any meaningful questions to ask, he just wanted to get Jesse to say something that would pump up their ratings that night.

Granted, Arnie has a much broader appeal that Ventura did, so that may help him. Besides, it isn't like insults aren't slung freely everyday by both sides of the political spectrum. A simple Google Search would likely return thousands of hits regarding "Senator/Congressman/Governor hurls insult at opponent". But it does give the Dems in CA something to whine and moan about in order to deflect interest from just how true Arnie's accusations about their involvement with special interests may be (and, yes, I'm sure the same can be said about Arnie and the Repubs too - just pointing out that focusing on the insult instead of the issue allows the Dems to temporarily avoid having to answer Arnie's accusation).