Arnold Schwarzenegger Goes Green And That's Good For John McCain

John Pomfret's story, "Schwarzenegger As Environmentalist" from today's Washington Post is here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/22/AR2006122201476.html

The story is fairly typical of what reporters have been printing about the Terminator of late - former slumping Republican Governor of Blue state goes "Green" and is now more popular than sliced bread.

Note to national reporters who cover the Terminator: Don't forget to mention the Governor's smoking tent outside his office. Everyone else has.

There was an interesting nugget in Pomfret's story however.

Schwarzenegger asserted that his embrace of the issue has helped prompt
other Republicans to change their tune on the environment. Republican
presidential hopefuls have reached out to Schwarzenegger's team to talk about
global warming, an aide noted.

With Schwarzenegger's poll numbers it will come as no surprise to anyone that Republican presidential hopefuls are reaching out to him. What is more interesting is that those hopefuls want to talk about global warming.

Is the Republican party starting to get it?

Let's hope so.

The issues surrounding global warming will be of great concern to independent voters in 08'.

"Going green", if explained correctly, has mass appeal to huge swaths of the voting public. Finding alternative sources of fuel is good for our national security (the conservatives like), good for our environment (the liberals like) and good for our economy (which everyone likes).

John McCain knows all this already, which is why he has championed global warming in the Republican caucus.

If you're a likely primary voter who lives in New Hampshire and you didn't know about John McCain's work on the environment, you soon will.

However, Schwarzenegger already knows all about his good friend John McCain's stance on global warming. He likes what he sees.

It will be that much sweeter for Schwarzenegger when makes his first trip as California's newest Senator to McCain's White House in 2010.