Romney cancels trip to Calif.

Backs Schwarzenegger, cites 'side-show politics'

By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff, 10/5/2003

Citing the "unfortunate" events of the last few days, Governor Mitt Romney abruptly cancelled plans to travel across the country to campaign for Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In a statement released last night, Romney said he continues to endorse the embattled actor and Republican candidate for California governor but that he's "disappointed in the sideshow politics going on right now in the recall race."

The cancellation comes after several days of controversy, sparked by allegations that Schwarzenegger had groped and sexually harassed women and that he expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler. Schwarzenegger immediately apologized for his behavior toward women, but he has been besieged by questions about the matter, and additional allegations of harassment, in the days since.

Romney said in the statement that the decision not to go to California had been made by mutual agreement. However, a Democratic source said Romney had been disinvited by the Schwarzenegger campaign because of comments made by a Romney aide earlier this week about Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who is the uncle of Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver.

Earlier this week, Romney press secretary Shawn Feddeman compared Schwarzenegger's alleged groping and harassment of women to rumors of womanizing that once swirled around Kennedy.

That statement set the political world abuzz, as observers tried to fathom why Romney would draw Kennedy into the controversy, particularly since the two were building closer ties.

On Friday, Romney called Kennedy personally to apologize for the statement, and said he had not authorized Feddeman's comments. "I certainly don't condone Arnold's conduct," he told reporters Friday, adding that he stood by him as the best candidate to lead California.

Romney communications director Eric Fehrnstrom said the claim that Romney had been disinvited was untrue and that the decision was entirely mutual. The Schwarzenegger campaign did not return calls last night.

A source close to Schwarzenegger conceded the Kennedy comments could be a distraction if Romney went to California but said the campaign had not disinvited the Massachusetts governor.

Aides to the governor said they believed the Kennedy comments would follow him to the Golden State and would be yet another distraction from the issues he wanted to discuss at Schwarzenegger's side.

"It didn't seem sensible to have Mitt Romney fly across the country to answer a bunch of questions about Boston politics," said one Romney aide.

That, and the allegations against Schwarzenegger, would have meant a full day of questions on issues with which Romney would not be comfortable, the aide said. Romney was going to California to talk about "the importance of California to the national economy and why it's so critical that we get new leadership in the governor's office there," said the aide. "He believes in jobs and economic revitalization. We had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn't get a chance to talk about those."

Romney was due to fly to San Jose today and meet up with the Schwarzenegger campaign tomorrow. The pair were to start the day with a rally at the airport in San Jose, then make stops in Huntington Beach and San Bernardino. The Schwarzenegger campaign had hoped to draw parallels between the two men -- both outsider Republicans with no prior political experience -- with the California candidate hoping to follow Romney's path to victory.

But as the controversy around Schwarzenegger grew, the differences between the two men became more striking than their parallels. The pairing of the swashbuckling, cigar-smoking actor who admitted to boorish behavior against women with the teetotalling family man who never swears and has been in love with his wife since he was a teenager grew stranger by the hour.

But Romney's aide said it was merely the sideshow atmosphere, and not the allegations themselves, that had finally put Romney off.

Analysts said the Massachusetts governor had made the right decision yesterday.

"I think Romney is probably right to assume there is no upside for him to go out there," said Mickey Edwards, a lecturer at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. "I'm not sure why he was going out there in the first place."

Edwards speculated that Romney and his aides saw an opportunity to raise his profile among Republicans and get himself on the national screen. But, Edwards said, no one would credit Romney if Schwarzenegger wins, and the Massachusetts governor would be placed in the middle of a "nasty" campaign by going to California.

Jeffrey Berry, a professor of political science at Tufts University, said Romney's last-minute withdrawal would make far more difference here than in California.

"California is not waiting with bated breath for the governor of Massachusetts to come out and tell them how to vote," he said, adding that given the nature of the recent reports of Schwarzenegger's alleged sexual harassment of women, Romney's move was probably a wise one, his continued endorsement of the actor notwithstanding. "All that people are going to remember is that Romney decided he didn't want to be associated with Schwarzenegger," Berry said. "Clearly he judged joining Schwarzenegger, given the accusations, carries some risk of tarnishing himself."

State Democratic Party chairman Philip W. Johnston, who called on Romney to cancel the trip, applauded his decision last night. "He made the right decision," said Johnston. "He needs to stay in Massachusetts and focus on issues that voters of this state care about, rather than going for the klieg lights in Hollywood."

Globe correspondent Jared Stearns contributed to this report