Just to follow up on an item from yesterday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) faced swift criticism for insisting that the nation’s immigration policies have grown too lax and arguing that the United States needs to “close the borders.” Yesterday, Schwarzenegger explained that it was a mistake — caused by his difficulties with the language.
Blaming his faulty English, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday said he misspoke when he suggested that California’s border with Mexico should be closed to help solve the nation’s illegal immigration problem.
Schwarzenegger made the remark while speaking to newspaper editors and publishers Tuesday. He said he intended to say the border should be secured.
“Yesterday was a total screw-up in the words I used,” the Republican said at a news conference. “Because instead of closing, I meant securing. I think maybe my English, I need to go back to school and study a little bit.”
Sounds like something out of a bad movie. A professional actor and a governor, who’s been in the United States for all of his adult life, is trying to weasel out of stupid remarks by citing difficulties with English? Ironically, on an issue regarding immigration?
It’s one thing for a politician to say he or she misspoke, but for the chief executive of the nation’s largest state to say, “My English isn’t so good” is farcical, even by California standards.