Putting it to Arnold, Slate reminds us of his inflated, risk-averse business reputation. Writer
Daniel Gross recalls the bankrupt wreckage of Planet Hollywood and what a “glory
hog” our celebrity of the people was as that ’90s restaurant
chain went belly up.
Arnold never had to put up a dime. (That was lucky, not smart.) All he had to do
was publicize his involvement with the chain. As a so-called “celebrity investor,” he receive
“options representing 20 percent of the company’s stock” — now worthless.
Gross suggests that Arnold is pulling a Planet Hollywood rerun with his gubernatorial
candidacy. He put up none of the capital for the recall and he’s hogging the limelight. If he were to
win election, why wouldn’t the likely outcome for an already bankrupt California be Planet
Hollywood II?
Another hopeful sign that Arnold’s free ride might cost him
is Bob Herbert’s column
Impression”
required). It underscores the news media’s misplaced attention, pointing out
that Al Gore’s non-candidate attack on the “false impressions” Bush has foisted on the nation was
pretty much ignored.
“Mr. Gore has never been mistaken for an entertainer,” Herbert writes. “In the superamplified
media din created by the likes of Arnold and Kobe and Ben and Jen, it’s very difficult for the
former vice president, a certified square, to break into the national conversation.”
The shame of it is, Shwarzenegger is not much of an entertainer either. He’s just a shrewd
Hollywood ornament.
