Sunday Times
John Harlow, Los Angeles
IF Arnold Schwarzenegger’s extraordinary political career implodes at a “special election” to be held in California this week, pollsters already know who to blame — his wife and former number one cheerleader, Maria Shriver.
When the Hollywood action star was elected “Governator” two years ago, pundits credited Shriver with not only masterminding his campaign behind the scenes, but also helping him win over female voters.
Shriver, an independent-minded television reporter and mother of the couple’s four children, made it clear she was unhappy her husband was running for office, but promised to stand by him “through thick and thin, left and right”.
Yet during the current campaign Shriver, a niece of the late president John F Kennedy, has stayed out of the limelight. She will be celebrating her 50th birthday today in the couple’s Los Angeles estate with her Democrat family, who do not approve of her Republican husband’s latest political gamble.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1859249,00.html