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Where Does Arnold Stand With the Ladies?

Aired October 03, 2003 - 15:13   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.


JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: A poll taken before the latest allegations of Arnold Schwarzenegger showed him gaining support among women, to give him a 10-point lead over his nearest opponent on the recall ballot, Democrat Cruz Bustamante.
Now the same survey showed a solid majority of likely voters prepared to get rid of Governor Davis. But, how might public opinion change in the final four days of the campaign, particularly among woman? Two guests join us now to talk about Arnold Schwarzenegger and the controversy surrounding him.

Jennifer Stockman is with the group Women for Arnold. She's with us. And Shelley Mandell is the president of the Los Angeles chapter of NOW, the National Organization for Women.

Shelley Mandell, to you first. Do you accept Mr. Schwarzenegger's acknowledgement that some of this is true and his apology for the part of it for the part of it that's true?

SHELLEY MANDELL, PRES., L.A. CHAPTER, NOW: I accept that he's acknowledging some of it is true. I don't think it makes it better. And I don't think women should vote for him, or men, because of his behavior. So I think the apology is weak, it was equivocal, and it doesn't do anything for me.

WOODRUFF: And, Jennifer Stockman, do you condone in any way what Arnold Schwarzenegger says he did?

JENNIFER STOCKMAN, WOMEN FOR ARNOLD: Of course I can't condone that behavior, it's very inappropriate. However, with that said, the fact that Maria Shriver went on national news and said her husband's very courageous for admitting a huge mistake and he accepts responsibility for this and he apologizes which is more than I can say for what Governor Davis has done. He has not yet apologized to the people of California for a problem that's far worse.

WOODRUFF: Shelley Mandell, what about that, the fact Mr. Schwarzenegger has stepped forward, he's said I'm sorry. Why doesn't that pretty much wipe this away?

MANDELL: Well, he's looking to be governor of the state of California, a state which has laws against sex discrimination and sexual harassment. If a head of a corporation or even middle management did the same things, he would be removed.

This man has a woman problem. He's accusing other campaigns of being trashy politics. No, it's trashy living.

STOCKMAN: I don't think he has a woman problem. And I think the voters of California, especially the women voters, I give them a lot more credit than to sort of delve into this petty nonsense that is purely a Democratic ploy to create some bad will for Arnold.

I mean the big picture issues are what needs to be focused on. And that is that this is the only candidate who can solve California's problem. He can turnaround the economy, he can bring new jobs and investment. And he's pro-choice Republican who will protect women's rights and do what he has to do within the GOP on women's issues.

WOODRUFF: Shelley Mandell, if that's the case, if Arnold Schwarzenegger's capable of fixing the state's other problems, why can't these allegations and story that have come out here at the end of the campaign be overlooked?

MANDELL: Well first of all, women are part of the big picture. And I don't think you can overlook the behavior. Women have been calling and asking -- and reporting these instances to women's groups for quite a number of times. "The L.A. Times" article that just came out just confirmed our worst fears.

This cannot be overlooked. He says he wants to protect the rights of women. How about to be free from his groping in areas they can't escape him? That's right up there for right of women.

STOCKMAN: Isn't this a little bit curious and too much of a coincidence that four days before the election all of this is happening? When "The L.A. Times" has been working on the story for a long time?

(CROSSTALK)

WOODRUFF: Jennifer Stockman, you don't accept the -- excuse me -- "The L.A. Times" when they say that it took them this long to get all the information together?

STOCKMAN: You know, I think, as Arnold admits himself, that he is guilty of this behavior. However, the timing of this makes me suspicious. A lot of this is very old news. So we've heard about this. This is really not new news. And I think for the people of California's sake, they need to focus on the big picture, big issues .

WOODRUFF: What a number of people I've heard asking is if he's acknowledging some of this behavior, which you yourself say you don't condone, why didn't he come out early in the campaign and say it had happened rather than waiting until now? We know when he went on the Jay Leno show, he predicted there would be allegations that he was a womanizer, as if that's not true. Now, he's saying, yes, some of it was true.

STOCKMAN: No, I sort of disagree with you because I believe all through this 90-day campaign, he's referred to some misconduct that he's -- he's done on movie sets and in prior careers. So I don't think this is really a surprise for any of us to hear this. (CROSSTALK)

WOODRUFF: Ms. Mandell, what about that?

MANDELL: oh, yes, but when Arnold was talking about his misconduct, he was misleading the voters. He was talking about consensual misconduct. He has never said that he has groped women. I have spent time with the victims for the first time today. And it took very brave women to come forward to say this.

And because in addition to being a women's advocate, I've done sexual harassment, law and sex discrimination law. And it is a very tough thing for women to come forward, especially in this industry.

I know that the campaign would like to think it's a Democratic plot, but I can assure you, none of us knew this "L.A. Times" article was being written. None of us had any prior knowledge of it. I knew it after the press calls.

WOODRUFF: You're saying it's not old news, in other words?

MANDELL: Absolutely not. All Arnold has ever said, misconduct. He didn't say sexual assault. He's talking about conduct that was consensual.

WOODRUFF: All right, we're going to have to leave it there. Both Shelley Mandell, we thank you, Jennifer Stockman, we appreciate you talking with us.

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 3, 2003 - 15:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: A poll taken before the latest allegations of Arnold Schwarzenegger showed him gaining support among women, to give him a 10-point lead over his nearest opponent on the recall ballot, Democrat Cruz Bustamante.
Now the same survey showed a solid majority of likely voters prepared to get rid of Governor Davis. But, how might public opinion change in the final four days of the campaign, particularly among woman? Two guests join us now to talk about Arnold Schwarzenegger and the controversy surrounding him.

Jennifer Stockman is with the group Women for Arnold. She's with us. And Shelley Mandell is the president of the Los Angeles chapter of NOW, the National Organization for Women.

Shelley Mandell, to you first. Do you accept Mr. Schwarzenegger's acknowledgement that some of this is true and his apology for the part of it for the part of it that's true?

SHELLEY MANDELL, PRES., L.A. CHAPTER, NOW: I accept that he's acknowledging some of it is true. I don't think it makes it better. And I don't think women should vote for him, or men, because of his behavior. So I think the apology is weak, it was equivocal, and it doesn't do anything for me.

WOODRUFF: And, Jennifer Stockman, do you condone in any way what Arnold Schwarzenegger says he did?

JENNIFER STOCKMAN, WOMEN FOR ARNOLD: Of course I can't condone that behavior, it's very inappropriate. However, with that said, the fact that Maria Shriver went on national news and said her husband's very courageous for admitting a huge mistake and he accepts responsibility for this and he apologizes which is more than I can say for what Governor Davis has done. He has not yet apologized to the people of California for a problem that's far worse.

WOODRUFF: Shelley Mandell, what about that, the fact Mr. Schwarzenegger has stepped forward, he's said I'm sorry. Why doesn't that pretty much wipe this away?

MANDELL: Well, he's looking to be governor of the state of California, a state which has laws against sex discrimination and sexual harassment. If a head of a corporation or even middle management did the same things, he would be removed.

This man has a woman problem. He's accusing other campaigns of being trashy politics. No, it's trashy living.

STOCKMAN: I don't think he has a woman problem. And I think the voters of California, especially the women voters, I give them a lot more credit than to sort of delve into this petty nonsense that is purely a Democratic ploy to create some bad will for Arnold.

I mean the big picture issues are what needs to be focused on. And that is that this is the only candidate who can solve California's problem. He can turnaround the economy, he can bring new jobs and investment. And he's pro-choice Republican who will protect women's rights and do what he has to do within the GOP on women's issues.

WOODRUFF: Shelley Mandell, if that's the case, if Arnold Schwarzenegger's capable of fixing the state's other problems, why can't these allegations and story that have come out here at the end of the campaign be overlooked?

MANDELL: Well first of all, women are part of the big picture. And I don't think you can overlook the behavior. Women have been calling and asking -- and reporting these instances to women's groups for quite a number of times. "The L.A. Times" article that just came out just confirmed our worst fears.

This cannot be overlooked. He says he wants to protect the rights of women. How about to be free from his groping in areas they can't escape him? That's right up there for right of women.

STOCKMAN: Isn't this a little bit curious and too much of a coincidence that four days before the election all of this is happening? When "The L.A. Times" has been working on the story for a long time?

(CROSSTALK)

WOODRUFF: Jennifer Stockman, you don't accept the -- excuse me -- "The L.A. Times" when they say that it took them this long to get all the information together?

STOCKMAN: You know, I think, as Arnold admits himself, that he is guilty of this behavior. However, the timing of this makes me suspicious. A lot of this is very old news. So we've heard about this. This is really not new news. And I think for the people of California's sake, they need to focus on the big picture, big issues .

WOODRUFF: What a number of people I've heard asking is if he's acknowledging some of this behavior, which you yourself say you don't condone, why didn't he come out early in the campaign and say it had happened rather than waiting until now? We know when he went on the Jay Leno show, he predicted there would be allegations that he was a womanizer, as if that's not true. Now, he's saying, yes, some of it was true.

STOCKMAN: No, I sort of disagree with you because I believe all through this 90-day campaign, he's referred to some misconduct that he's -- he's done on movie sets and in prior careers. So I don't think this is really a surprise for any of us to hear this. (CROSSTALK)

WOODRUFF: Ms. Mandell, what about that?

MANDELL: oh, yes, but when Arnold was talking about his misconduct, he was misleading the voters. He was talking about consensual misconduct. He has never said that he has groped women. I have spent time with the victims for the first time today. And it took very brave women to come forward to say this.

And because in addition to being a women's advocate, I've done sexual harassment, law and sex discrimination law. And it is a very tough thing for women to come forward, especially in this industry.

I know that the campaign would like to think it's a Democratic plot, but I can assure you, none of us knew this "L.A. Times" article was being written. None of us had any prior knowledge of it. I knew it after the press calls.

WOODRUFF: You're saying it's not old news, in other words?

MANDELL: Absolutely not. All Arnold has ever said, misconduct. He didn't say sexual assault. He's talking about conduct that was consensual.

WOODRUFF: All right, we're going to have to leave it there. Both Shelley Mandell, we thank you, Jennifer Stockman, we appreciate you talking with us.

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