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Gov. Schwarzenegger returned to friendly Inland territory Tuesday, kissing babies, signing autographs and ducking questions just hours after getting locked in a heated debate with angry voters in San Diego County.
The brief stop at Sweet Lumpy's BBQ in Temecula, where hundreds of people pressed against one another to catch a glimpse of him, was a stark contrast to the governor's first campaign event of the day.
That town-hall event at a La Mesa community park turned ugly when invited guests challenged him on illegal immigration and crime.
In Riverside County, where voters overwhelmingly supported his initial run for office in 2003, Schwarzenegger ignored questions from the news media and avoided discussions of the issues. Instead, the movie star-turned-politician worked the crowd like a celebrity, shouting his trademark "I'll be back" line before departing.
Attendees at the event in Old Town Temecula were thrilled that he took time to stop in their growing city and apparently were unfazed by his brevity.
Related
Video: Gov. Schwarzenegger tours Old Town Temecula http://www.pe.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=77648&catId=293
"We support him. We're really on the map now," said Susan Hanley, 46, a broker with Temecula Creek Realty.
Manuel Sanchez, 12, was part of a group of children with the Mentoring Today for Tomorrow program that came to see the governor.
"I thought it was amazing," Manuel said. He got an autographed picture of Schwarzenegger's film character "The Terminator." "I got to talk to him and take a picture."
A handful of protesters in favor of tighter border enforcement stood with signs along a sidewalk but didn't produce the kind of disruption the earlier critics did.
The stops were part of a campaign-bus tour through Southern California, including other appearances at Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga and in Orange County. Schwarzenegger faces Democrat Phil Angelides, the state's treasurer, in the November election.
Angelides' campaign chastised Schwarzenegger for making the appearances but not focusing enough on the state's long and deadly heat wave and concurrent energy strain. Record-breaking temperatures and electrical outages across the state have prompted calls for conservation and threats of rolling blackouts.
"While many Californians are without power and suffering in the heat, the governor should be concentrating on fixing the state's power crisis rather than holding staged campaign events," Brian Brokaw of the Angelides campaign said in a written reply.
Angelides is trailing Schwarzenegger in the latest statewide Field Poll of likely voters, with 45 percent saying they would vote for the Republican incumbent and 37 percent backing Angelides. The poll for the nonpartisan Field Institute, was conducted this month for The Press-Enterprise and other California media subscribers.
Schwarzenegger has generally received strong support in Inland Southern California, starting with the recall election in 2003. Nearly 61 percent of Riverside County voters backed him in that contest, and 60.2 percent of San Bernardino County voters supported him.
The brief stop at Sweet Lumpy's BBQ in Temecula, where hundreds of people pressed against one another to catch a glimpse of him, was a stark contrast to the governor's first campaign event of the day.
That town-hall event at a La Mesa community park turned ugly when invited guests challenged him on illegal immigration and crime.
In Riverside County, where voters overwhelmingly supported his initial run for office in 2003, Schwarzenegger ignored questions from the news media and avoided discussions of the issues. Instead, the movie star-turned-politician worked the crowd like a celebrity, shouting his trademark "I'll be back" line before departing.
Attendees at the event in Old Town Temecula were thrilled that he took time to stop in their growing city and apparently were unfazed by his brevity.
Related
Video: Gov. Schwarzenegger tours Old Town Temecula http://www.pe.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=77648&catId=293
"We support him. We're really on the map now," said Susan Hanley, 46, a broker with Temecula Creek Realty.
Manuel Sanchez, 12, was part of a group of children with the Mentoring Today for Tomorrow program that came to see the governor.
"I thought it was amazing," Manuel said. He got an autographed picture of Schwarzenegger's film character "The Terminator." "I got to talk to him and take a picture."
A handful of protesters in favor of tighter border enforcement stood with signs along a sidewalk but didn't produce the kind of disruption the earlier critics did.
The stops were part of a campaign-bus tour through Southern California, including other appearances at Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga and in Orange County. Schwarzenegger faces Democrat Phil Angelides, the state's treasurer, in the November election.
Angelides' campaign chastised Schwarzenegger for making the appearances but not focusing enough on the state's long and deadly heat wave and concurrent energy strain. Record-breaking temperatures and electrical outages across the state have prompted calls for conservation and threats of rolling blackouts.
"While many Californians are without power and suffering in the heat, the governor should be concentrating on fixing the state's power crisis rather than holding staged campaign events," Brian Brokaw of the Angelides campaign said in a written reply.
Angelides is trailing Schwarzenegger in the latest statewide Field Poll of likely voters, with 45 percent saying they would vote for the Republican incumbent and 37 percent backing Angelides. The poll for the nonpartisan Field Institute, was conducted this month for The Press-Enterprise and other California media subscribers.
Schwarzenegger has generally received strong support in Inland Southern California, starting with the recall election in 2003. Nearly 61 percent of Riverside County voters backed him in that contest, and 60.2 percent of San Bernardino County voters supported him.
