| goBigtime |
09-09-2003 02:53 PM |
Warren Buffet only picks winners.
http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/sto...-8325827c.html
He wants out of the Arnie campaign, but he's doing it the respectful way. Arnold rejected his advice on raising California property taxes.
Quote:
Buffett minimizes role in Schwarzenegger campaign
By MARGERY BECK, Associated Press Writer
Last Updated 12:39 p.m. PDT Tuesday, September 9, 2003
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) - Multibillionaire investor Warren Buffett minimized his role in California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign on Tuesday, saying he is only one of 18 economic advisers to the Hollywood actor.
"He's serious about taking in everybody's views, and mine is just one of 18," Buffett said about Schwarzenegger, a Republican. "He's kind of a policy wonk."
Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., commented on Schwarzenegger's campaign at a groundbreaking ceremony for a coal-fired electricity plant that Berkshire-owned MidAmerican Energy is building on Iowa's western border.
Buffett faced questions over how seriously Schwarzenegger is taking his advice.
As the head of Schwarzenegger's Economic Recovery Council with former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, Buffett suggested last month that California's property taxes are too low. Schwarzenegger quickly rejected that unpopular advice.
Schwarzenegger even kidded that if Buffett made the suggestion again, he would make the 73-year-old Buffett perform 500 sit-ups.
Buffett said he's taking that threat to heart, declining to comment on California's beloved anti-property tax measure Proposition 13.
"I couldn't do 500 sit-ups between now and the election," Buffett joked.
Schwarzenegger is one of more than 100 candidates seeking to replace Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, who is the subject of a recall election on Oct. 7. Recall supporters have blamed Davis for the state's $38 billion budget deficit and his handling of the energy crisis which led to rolling blackouts throughout the state in 2001.
Buffett, a longtime Democrat and seemingly odd choice as a Schwarzenegger adviser, doesn't take offense to his advise being publicly rejected by Schwarzenegger.
"It's his campaign," Buffett said. "He makes the decisions."
Buffett describes himself as a friend of Schwarzenegger's, but said his interest in the California recall election transcends friendship.
Had Schwarzenegger not run and former Los Angeles mayor Dick Riordan had, Buffett said he would just as likely have been advising Riordan, a Republican.
"If he had asked me, I would have," Buffett said.
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