LOS ANGELES — Over tea this spring, Arnold Schwarzenegger met with Tony Blair to seek the former British prime minister’s advice for his new role on the world stage, now that his seven-year stint as California’s governor had ended.
Schwarzenegger was launching an ambitious new phase: accepting lucrative offers for a Hollywood comeback, carving out a new role as an ambassador for green technology companies, re-engaging his charity work and flying around the world delivering speeches.
But the stunning revelations in Tuesday’s Los Angeles Times that he had fathered a child out of wedlock more than a decade ago with a member of his household staff brought those pursuits to a sudden halt.
As Schwarzenegger’s personal misconduct reverberated around the world Tuesday, public condemnation was swift. Former California first lady Maria Shriver issued a statement that for the first time sought to put distance between herself and the former governor.
“This is a painful and heartbreaking time,” she said. “As a mother my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal. I will have no further comment.”
Rocky weeks ahead
Yet despite the international headlines, few strategists believed the disclosures would permanently derail Schwarz enegger’s political or entertainment pursuits.
Timing was key, several experts said, noting that if the details had emerged during Schwarz enegger’s campaigns for office or during his tenure, they could have had a far more devastating impact on his career.
“If it had come out during the recall campaign, it would have kept him from being elected governor. Had this come out while he was governor, it would have been a very big deal,” said Dan Schnur, director of the University of Southern California’s Unruh Institute of Politics. But because Schwarz en egger no longer is an elected official, “a month or two from now, it’s hard to see that much of an impact,” he said.
The coming weeks, however, are likely to be rocky. News organizations swarmed for the identity of the woman and her child; to protect their privacy, the Times did not publish their names.
“Premeditated lying”
Mark Young, a professor at USC’s Marshall School of Business, said Schwarzenegger’s image was “tarnished.”
“The fact that it’s been going on for 10 years — he can’t claim he was drunk or high, or that he’d had a bad day,” he said. “It was really premeditated lying.”
Still, the long-term reaction was not expected to be quite so harsh. On the political front, the impact could be limited because Schwarzenegger has no apparent interest in running for elected office again. And philandering is hardly unprecedented in politics: Former President Bill Clinton has emerged as a world statesman after his White House indiscretions, and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, forced to quit after consorting with an escort, is hosting a television show.
Aides said Schwarzenegger has been seeking advice on how to expand the work of “R-20,” the organization he founded in 2009 to bring regional and state leaders together to combat climate change.
With his box office cachet, his outsized celebrity and his legacy as a green Republican, Schwarzenegger may have more latitude to recover because he entered politics from Hollywood, one strategist said.
“He never held himself to be out as holier than thou, or a holy roller, or Mr. Morality,” said Chris Lehane, a Democrat who guided Clinton through those tumultuous White House years.
