EMAIL OF THE DAY

“I continue to be mystified by your dismissive attitude toward the revelations concerning Arnold’s behavior. You have charged that the reports are politically motivated and that Gray Davis is guilty of worse. Assume you’re correct: so what? That hardly makes the reports untrue. And indeed, Arnold has not disupted their accuracy.
Now, consider the substance of the revelations. If it had been revealed that, for example, he had a mistress, or had occasionally slept with a co-star, we might well take the attitude that while the behavior showed him to be something of a cad, this was essentially a matter to be resolved between Arnold and Maria. But what he has done, on repeated occasions (do you really think that the women who spoke to the LA Times or Premiere magazine are his only victims?), qualifies as sexual assault. This is certainly *not* a purely private matter. You might ask women you know how they would feel about a man coming up to them and sticking his hands down their dresses to fondle their breasts. I find your cavalier attitude toward such behavior dismaying, to say the least. Furthermore, the attitude displayed by Arnold in these incidents (and I would urge you to read the Premiere article which I’ve pasted to the end of this email if you haven’t already) — that because of his power he could get away with treating those around him however he wished, no matter how outrageous his conduct — is positively Clintonian. And this is someone you think we should give even *more* power to?
Next, consider Arnold’s supposed “apology.” It is, at best, totally insincere. Has he ever made an effort prior to yesterday to make amends to his victims? No. Do you really think he would have ever apologized were he not running for governor? Furthermore, consider what he said: that he had engaged in behavior that he considered “playful,” but that he now realized “some found offensive.” Again, I think you will find if you sample women you know that very few of them will find it “playful” if a man approaches them and starts fondling their breasts. And it is simply assinine for Arnold to claim that he didn’t realize this: This is behavior that took place when he was an adult (some of it as recently as 2 or 3 years ago), not when he was in sixth grade. And, again, his behavior was not merely “offensive.” It’s not as though he told an off-color joke that some found in poor taste. Grabbing women in the way that he did is assaultive behavior.
It is certainly unfortunate that Californians have such poor choices on October 7. But that does not relieve us of our obligation to speak the truth. And the truth about Arnold is abundantly clear: he is a scumbag.” – more reader feedback on the Letters Page.