By Andy Goldberg Jan 5, 2007, 23:21 GMT
San Francisco - Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in Friday for a second term as the governor of California, the richest and most populous state in the US.
The former action movie star and Republican Party maverick hobbled in on crutches to the inauguration ceremony in the state capital Sacramento, due to a recent skiing accident. But his political fortunes in the Democratic-leaning state look healthy as he charts out a centrist path dominated by eco-friendly policies and plans for ambitious health care reform.
Schwarzenegger, 59, was first elected in November 2003 in a recall election when the state was in the grips of a fiscal crisis and an energy shortage.
He won a comfortable re-election victory in November - bucking the national anti-Republican trend to cap a political turn around following voters' 2005 rejection of several ballot initiatives pushed by the governor.
On Friday, he said that defeat had transformed his political approach into a more centrist, consensual philosophy that he believed was needed throughout the US.
'Like Paul on the road to Damascus, I had an experience that opened my eyes,' Schwarzenegger said. 'I saw that people, not just in California but across the nation, were hungry for a new kind of politics, a politics that looks beyond the old labels, the old ways, the old arguments.'
He pledged to move the state forward by pursuing what he called 'post-partisan policies,' saying that California was the prime example of an electorate filled with independent voters.
'The people are disgusted with a mindset that would rather get nothing done than accomplish something through compromise,' Schwarzenegger said at his swearing-in.
'Centrist does not mean weak. It does not mean watered down or watered over. It means well-balanced and well-grounded. The American people are instinctively centrist - so should be our government.'
Schwarzenegger invited to the ceremony the state's top Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco Democrat who on Thursday became the first woman speaker of the US House of Representatives, and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, although none of them decided to attend.
In the speech Schwarzenegger set out his plans for his four year term, outlining the need for prison reform, immigration reform, stem cell research, environmental protection and a health care plan to ensure coverage for all children in the state, including undocumented immigrants.
The inauguration featured a performance by musician Jose Feliciano and was the centrepiece of a million-dollar extravaganza that included a swanky private dinner for big political donors the preceding night, a spate of luncheons and a 500-dollar-a-ticket gala ball featuring singers Donna Summer and Paul Anka.
Donors covered the cost of the two-day celebration, prompting charges that Schwarzenegger will be beholden to special interests. The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights said the parties were being funded by an 'inauguration slush fund' that they alleged offered 'secret access to the governor and legislators.'
The governor's staff however said he will not be swayed by the donations, which save taxpayer expense.
Schwarzenegger 'acts in what he believes to be the best interests of the people of California,' said spokeswoman Julie Soderlund. 'Those who contribute do so because they believe in his vision for the future of the state.'
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