Life at 63, for Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a titanic
clash between human frailty and dazzling possibility. "I feel
terrific about where I am in my life, when I look back at
what I´ve accomplished," he says over a late lunch at
[5] London´s Savoy Hotel, his much mimicked Teutonic
rumble competing with a teatime pianist. "But I feel shitty
when I look at myself in the mirror."
It´s a jolt to hear Schwarzenegger - a five-time Mr.
Universe and seven-time Mr. Olympia before he was
[10] Conan the Barbarian, the Terminator, and ultimately the
Governator - musing about his own decay. Although his
friend James Cameron, the director who cast him in True
Lies and the Terminator movies, points out, " Arnold´s
version of ´shitty´ and everybody else´s at that age are
[15] two different things."
Normally in motion, Schwarzenegger is enjoying a
rare moment of reflection. His two terms as California
governor started with a host of accomplishments and postpartisan
good will, but then sputtered out three and a half
[20] months ago with the state in fiscal meltdown.
Schwarzenegger left office with a job-approval rating in the
low 20s, just like Governor Gray Davis, the Democrat he
ousted in the circuslike recall election of october 2003.
Now he is trying to figure out the next big thing in
[25] his implausible journey from Austrian bodybuilder to action
hero to American politician. There is no obvious master
plan. However expectations are sky-high for wath he might
accomplish with his unique combination of star power,
political connections and policy chops. Schwarzenegger will
[30] continue working with the United nations on global climate
change, his signature issue as governor. He will also work
for infrastructure development and immigration reform,
while supporting after-shcool programs and the Special
Olympics, and appearing at the Arnold Classic, his annual
[35] bodybuilding and sports convention in Ohio.
Former secretary of state George Shultz believes
that he will be remembered by his accomplishments and
says: "The is a different feeling about him than about
Gray Davis. He could walk anywhere in the state and
[40] people would want his autograph."
(From Arnold's Wild Fload Trip in NEWSWEEK, Aprill 25, 2011)
In the text, a host of (line 18) may be replaced without any loss of meaning by
