NYT take on 'girlie men'

In Monday's New York Times, Los Angeles bureau chief John Broder analyzes Gov. Schwarzenegger's sound bite about the Democrats from the weekend:

The "girlie men" remark was a play on a "Saturday Night Live" skit with the fictional bodybuilders Hans and Franz, who parodied Mr. Schwarzenegger's physique and accent, an aide to the governor said. But the comment resonated because of accusations that Mr. Schwarzenegger had repeatedly groped women during his Hollywood career and because of his occasionally demeaning remarks about women during his campaign for governor last fall, when his predecessor, Gray Davis, was recalled.

The target of some of those remarks, Arianna Huffington, the author and activist who ran against Mr. Schwarzenegger in that race, said in an interview on Sunday that the governor had a habit of resorting to verbal abuse when he did not get his way.

"What we've seen in Arnold is an alternation of the seducer and the bully," Ms. Huffington said. "Seduction worked for a while because he's a very charming man and the people were so relieved to be rid of Gray Davis and have someone entertaining in his place.

Schwarzenegger's spokesman Rob Stutzman said of the governor's weekend tone: "It's deliberate. It's tactical." Yeah, I think we knew that.