Schwarzenegger Plays New Role

COLUMBUS, Ohio â€”  California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger typically begins his speeches with a joke -- perhaps a jab at Ted Kennedy’s girth or his own acting skills. But that’s not how he started out Friday night, when introducing President Bush to a raucous crowd at the Nationwide Arena here.

He spoke instead of his ties to Columbus as a bodybuilder and businessman. That might have been the first hint that something was a bit different in Schwarzenegger’s joint campaign appearance with the president, which placed the governor in the rare role of understudy.

In contrast to Bush, he avoided attacks on Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry. No mention of flip-flopping. No accusations that Kerry would prove a weak commander in chief.

After he was done and the president rose to speak, Schwarzenegger sat beside First Lady Laura Bush, folded his hands on his lap and sat unsmiling through much of the speech, squinting into the spotlights.

Schwarzenegger conspicuously did not clap at some of Bush’s biggest applause lines.

When Bush described marriage as a “sacred institution,� Schwarzenegger’s hands remained clasped, lest he appear to be condoning the president’s push for a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

He avoided clapping when Bush called for “the appointment of federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and strict interpretation of the law.�

The governor may have had reason to be uncomfortable. He is married to Democrat Maria Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family. And he governs a state that even he concedes is virtually a sure thing for Kerry in Tuesday’s election.

At one point in his speech, Schwarzenegger urged voters to “roll up [their] sleeves -- to post yard signs, climb into the trenches� and work “day and night� for Bush’s reelection. Yet Schwarzenegger has done almost none of that in the run-up to the election.

He was in and out of Ohio, a crucial swing state, the same day. Today he is leading a one-day bus tour from San Diego to Bakersfield that will be devoted to his own campaign priorities -- ballot measures and state legislative races. Later tonight, the governor is scheduled to go to Las Vegas and crown the winner of the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding competition.

The Ohio crowd of some 20,000 people gave him a loud ovation, though it was eclipsed by the ovation for Bush. And some people said that while they enjoyed the chance to see Schwarzenegger, the real draw here was the president.

Bill Humphreys, 44, a salesman from Newark, Ohio, said, “Personally, I’m happy to hear the story -- the hard-luck story, the immigrant coming here. That’s what America is all about. But he’s a little liberal for my taste.

“Any time you get to see a celebrity it’s a good thing, but I came to see the president,� Humphreys said.