Fantastic:
”
1. imaginary, unreal
…2. incredible, seemingly impossible. – Webster’s New World
Dictionary.
There is no doubt that
”
fantastic
”
is the favorite word of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He uses it
almost every day to describe myriad situations and invariably, his
meaning is Webster’s secondary one.
Fantastic: “1. imaginary, unreal…2. incredible, seemingly impossible. – Webster’s New World Dictionary.
There is no doubt that “fantastic” is the favorite word of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He uses it almost every day to describe myriad situations and invariably, his meaning is Webster’s secondary one.
But the thoroughly orchestrated, glitzy world he lives in increasingly has taken on tones of definition 1, imaginary, unreal.
Take the bright, sunny autumn day when Schwarzenegger drove a sparkling metallic blue “Hydrogen Hummer” into a new hydrogen fuel cell refueling station on the back side of Los Angeles International Airport. The governor was behind the wheel, waving and grinning at an adoring crowd as he drove up, hopped out, pulled a fuel hose over to the side of the car and began pumping hydrogen gas for the many cameras present.
Then he began to talk, saying the newfangled Hummer was fulfillment of his promise to convert one of his own gas guzzling Hummer H-2s to hydrogen.
“We will not dream about hydrogen highways, cars and stations,” he said. “We will build it. This is a watershed moment, like the Wright Brothers.”
The only problem was, almost all this stage-managed presentation was, as Schwarzenegger might say, fantastic – imaginary, unreal, as in definition 1.
For one thing, the Hummer Arnold drove into the station did not belong to him; it was the one and only prototype hydrogen-powered Hummer and it belongs to General Motors. For another, when Schwarzenegger “pumped” hydrogen into the supersized SUV, there was nothing in the hose. The pumps were empty and would remain that way for another month.
This event was fantasy through and through, like a lot of what Schwarzenegger says and does.
This is December, so perhaps the governor should be thinking about New Year’s resolutions. If so, he might consider vowing to live more in the real world, rather than the imaginary one he has so effectively sold to most Californians.
During Schwarzenegger’s one year-plus in office, his fantastic world has often extended into policy areas.
The first example came when he pushed two springtime ballot propositions, gaining authority to borrow $15 billion that he said would eliminate the state’s budget deficit. Then he negotiated a budget by borrowing even more, called it balanced and pronounced it “fantastic.” Now the nonpartisan legislative analyst says the state faces a new $7 billion deficit, despite better economic times. So the budget “solution” was indeed fantastic, definition 1.
Schwarzenegger pushed through workers compensation insurance reform, then claimed it had substantially lowered premiums. But thousands of small business owners report they’ve seen little or no decrease in their premiums, while some are even enduring rate increases.
Then there’s the matter of taking credit where it is not due. When a court of appeals ordered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reopen consideration of California’s claim to large refunds because of gouging during the energy crunch of 2000 and 2001, Schwarzenegger called the decision a “fantastic one.” He meant fantastic as in Webster’s definition 2 – incredible, seemingly impossible.
That was OK, but his statement added that “I will continue to fight for Californians and work to lower energy costs for all consumers.”
But Schwarzenegger had no role in the appeal that led judges to send the refund case back to FERC. His office reported he met once with FERC’s chairman, Pat Wood, but won’t say what they talked about. Nor has he ever revealed what transpired during his meeting with disgraced former Enron chairman Ken Lay in a Beverly Hills hotel at the height of the crisis.
Which means that when Schwarzenegger says he’s fought for electric consumers, it’s purely fantastic – definition 1, imaginary.
Then there’s been his occasional put-downs of people who don’t roll over for him. Those remarks include the famous “girlie men” epithet hurled at state legislators and his remarking later that “the (casino) Indians are ripping us off.”
Just kidding, he said both times, going on to repeat the phrases. Now he expects the people he gratuitously insulted to cooperate happily with him in the future. That’s fantastic, too, as in wishful thinking.
There is no doubt Schwarzenegger brings a larger-than-life presence to the governor’s office, drawing far more attention than even fellow actor Ronald Reagan ever did in his prime.
But Reagan was down to earth, never bragged about accomplishments that were not his, never claimed achievements before they’d been achieved.
If Schwarzenegger simply took credit for his real deeds, like persisting with greenhouse gas regulations in the face of resistance from carmakers, creating a Sierra Nevada conservancy and restoring public enthusiasm for state government and voting participation, that would be great – not fantastic at all, but concrete.
But he goes far beyond that, into realms that are purely imaginary, like scenes from one of his movies. Eventually, the public will catch on, unless the governor resolves sometime soon to revert to reality and leave fantasy to his former filmmaking colleagues.
