Why The Governator was in town

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how I was nearly blindsided by Arnold Schwarzenegger as I was exiting a Michigan Avenue store. What was he doing here? Today I found out.

The Governator can't rely only on his glowing red eyes to persuade Californians to vote for him. He also needs money to run a political campaign.

Schwarzenegger was in Chicago as part of a fundraising trip for the 2005 ballot initiative campaign in which he traveled to Illinois, Florida, and Texas and raised about $3 million.

California contains approximately one eighth of U.S. population, and it counts for an even larger share of economic activity. As an independent state, it would be the world's sixth largest economy. So it is no surprise that many corporations and individuals from outside California might have an interest in seeing Schwarzenegger's ballot measures succeed. But it also raises the question as to whether he has another, higher office in mind -- perhaps in 2008? (Not that I'm so enthusiastic about the idea.)