Schwarzenegger Lauds Bush on Terror Fight [View All]

Associated Press

NEW YORK - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger drew on his childhood in Soviet-occupied Austria to praise President Bush (news - web sites)'s war on terror. "Terrorism is more insidious than communism," the bodybuilder-turned-politician said Tuesday in a speech to the Republican convention.

Bush "knows you don't reason with terrorists. You defeat them. He knows you can't reason with people blinded by hate," he said in prepared remarks.

Putting his star power to work for President Bush in a prime-time address, Schwarzenegger also urged optimism about the country's economy.

"To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: 'Don't be economic girlie men!'" Schwarzenegger said — a line from a Saturday Night Live spoof of him that he used against Democratic legislators earlier this year. ..