Update - Arnie at the RNC-memory cramp or B.S.?

As blogged in the previous post, at the Republican Convention in New York, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he became a Republican after listening to a televised debate between Hubert Humphrey and Richard Nixon in 1968. In his address, he described arriving in the United States from Austria and hearing Richard Nixon challenge Hubert Humphrey in a televised presidential debate:

"I said to my friend, 'What party is he?' My friend said, 'He's a Republican.' I said, 'Then I am a Republican!' And I've been a Republican ever since!"

Although Humphrey challenged Nixon to a debate, there was no debate between Hubert Humphrey and Richard Nixon in 1968. Arnold Schwarzenegger could not have seen it on TV, because it never took place. In fact, there were no presidential debates between 1960 and 1976. (http://www.debates.org/pages/history.html)

Is Schwarzenegger showing off his Republican prevaricative skills or just conveniently and Bush-like exhibiting selective recollection? Either would support speculation that he's gearing up to run for president someday, no matter how much he denied it in a recent New Yorker article. It is a fact that under the U.S. Constitution you must be native-born to run for president. However, Sen. Orrin Hatch has proposed a constitutional amendment to change this. The New Yorker article observed that Hatch's qualification --to have been a citizen for 20 years-- coincidentally fits the Arnie timeline.

I have to admit it was so disheartening to see Maria Shriver at the RNC.(It would have been just as understandable if she hadn't been there.) Before we came to China, we lived in Venice Beach, California, in the neighborhood where Schwartzenegger owned several businesses and properties, including a world-class workout gym and a restaurant named Schatzie which specialized in Austrian food and hosted Cigar evenings. I had dinner there a few times, but the food, while good, was outclassed by several other exceptional eateries in the immediate area.

On the restaurant checks, "I'll Be Back" and "Hasta La Vista, Baby" were printed on the last line. Though dinner at Schatzi was decent but unremarkable, Sunday brunches were delicious, accompanied by baskets full of fragrant warm fresh muffins. Brunching there frequently during the mid-nineties, I'd often see Arnold and Maria and two adorable little girls breakfasting together at the corner table.

Schatzie did have one unique feature: When you went to the loo, tape-recorded Austrian language lessons purred from speakers.