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CNN Live At Daybreak

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Hometown Hero

Aired October 08, 2003 - 06:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to take you now to Graz, Austria, where people are not surprised that their native son came out a winner.
Our senior international correspondent, Walter Rodgers, has been in Graz, learning of this folklore surrounding Arnold.

Good morning -- Walter.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

Well, of course, the folklore here is rich. But first, let's talk about the reaction.

The reaction here in Austria is that most of the people in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz believe anything is possible for Arnold Schwarzenegger, and now the sky is the limit.

Never mind the fact that the U.S. Constitution bars foreign-born citizens from standing for office, becoming elected president of the United States. Many Austrians say given what Schwarzenegger has accomplished from his humble beginnings, they believe that he can finesse even that.

Interestingly, however, most Austrians say it could only have happened in America. That sort of vertical mobility, upward mobility would not have been possible for a weightlifter here in Austria.

A short while ago, we talked with the burgermeister in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown. bergermeister being Seigfreid Nagl, and he was pretty exuberant in his reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR SIEGFRIED NAGL, GRAZ, AUSTRIA: Well, I think it's a typical thing for America. It's an American dream. I also have become a politico in the last five years. And before I never was in this area before, and I think it's good for politics when people from outside come into politics. He's able to learn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: Schwarzenegger has assumed a bit of a Paul Bunion character here. The stories continue to grow about his grip. They call him the "Mighty Oak," of course, because of his weightlifting capacity. One fellow told us, a restaurant owner told us yesterday that when Arnold Schwarzenegger sits down to eat, he eats four times what a normal human being consumes -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, he's a big guy, Walter. A question for you. I know that you spoke to a man who lives in Austria but is a native Californian. What was his take on all of this?

RODGERS: Well, it was sort of straight down the middle, a cautious wait-and-see, but this was a man, interestingly enough, he is a California Jew, and he did not accept the allegations, perhaps the political smears that Arnold was in any way an anti-Semite or that Mr. Schwarzenegger ever sympathized with Hitler. That isn't playing with at least the California Jew with whom I spoke. It's not playing with the Austrian-Jewish businessman with whom I have spoken here. They say that's politics, and it's probably a low blow at that -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Walter Rodgers reporting live from Austria for us this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired October 8, 2003 - 06:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to take you now to Graz, Austria, where people are not surprised that their native son came out a winner.
Our senior international correspondent, Walter Rodgers, has been in Graz, learning of this folklore surrounding Arnold.

Good morning -- Walter.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

Well, of course, the folklore here is rich. But first, let's talk about the reaction.

The reaction here in Austria is that most of the people in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz believe anything is possible for Arnold Schwarzenegger, and now the sky is the limit.

Never mind the fact that the U.S. Constitution bars foreign-born citizens from standing for office, becoming elected president of the United States. Many Austrians say given what Schwarzenegger has accomplished from his humble beginnings, they believe that he can finesse even that.

Interestingly, however, most Austrians say it could only have happened in America. That sort of vertical mobility, upward mobility would not have been possible for a weightlifter here in Austria.

A short while ago, we talked with the burgermeister in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown. bergermeister being Seigfreid Nagl, and he was pretty exuberant in his reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR SIEGFRIED NAGL, GRAZ, AUSTRIA: Well, I think it's a typical thing for America. It's an American dream. I also have become a politico in the last five years. And before I never was in this area before, and I think it's good for politics when people from outside come into politics. He's able to learn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: Schwarzenegger has assumed a bit of a Paul Bunion character here. The stories continue to grow about his grip. They call him the "Mighty Oak," of course, because of his weightlifting capacity. One fellow told us, a restaurant owner told us yesterday that when Arnold Schwarzenegger sits down to eat, he eats four times what a normal human being consumes -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, he's a big guy, Walter. A question for you. I know that you spoke to a man who lives in Austria but is a native Californian. What was his take on all of this?

RODGERS: Well, it was sort of straight down the middle, a cautious wait-and-see, but this was a man, interestingly enough, he is a California Jew, and he did not accept the allegations, perhaps the political smears that Arnold was in any way an anti-Semite or that Mr. Schwarzenegger ever sympathized with Hitler. That isn't playing with at least the California Jew with whom I spoke. It's not playing with the Austrian-Jewish businessman with whom I have spoken here. They say that's politics, and it's probably a low blow at that -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Walter Rodgers reporting live from Austria for us this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.