Now would be a good time for a radical centrist leader. In Sacramento as in Washington, we need more than good policy. We need an elected official to mend the rift that has torn the citizenry apart. We need a politician who allows us to use the word “we.” Maybe Arnold could be that guy.

As of this writing, our governor has a commanding lead in the polls and seems certain to win a second term. His Democratic opponent, Phil Angelides, owns the support of just over half the Democrats in the state. While pundits wring their hands, people seem to like Arnold. Even some liberal California Democrats like him.

In recent weeks, as the governor signed some of the most progressive pieces of legislation that any governor anywhere has put into law, he won the affection of more left-of-center voters. Powerful Democratic officials, including LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, shared podiums with the governor, grinning, while Angelides seethed.

If we want someone who can bridge the divide, there will have to be some give.

Many of these forward-looking bills in fact originated with the Democratic-controlled legislature. Schwarzenegger’s opponents point out that with the election right around the corner, it would have been political suicide for him to veto some of them, such as the bill to raise the minimum wage (which he had vetoed twice before).

And yet it is also a fact that several of the most important progressive laws to emerge from Sacramento this year originated in the governor’s office. The breakthrough law capping greenhouse gas emissions grew from the governor’s promise to make the state “number one in the fight against global warming.” Similarly, his office spearheaded crucial oceans-protection legislation. He pushed for the bond measure that will allow the state to invest in infrastructure like roads and schools.

Many progressive Californians recall with admiration the fact that in 1994, Schwarzenegger oversaw the creation of a $3 billion state fund for the advancement of stem cell research in the face of strong opposition from the Bush administration.

All of this would point to Schwarzenegger as a centrist hero. And maybe he could be. But many Californians are loath to accept Arnold as a true leader, simply because he is Arnold.

Working against the governor’s efforts to represent all Californians, including liberal Californians, is the fact that he can be an arrogant egotist. Some people like that about him. Nevertheless, his macho persona may ultimately doom him as a man all Californians can respect—maybe more so than the right-wing elements of his schizoid politics.

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Schwarzenegger’s economic policies are mostly indistinguishable from those of George W. Bush. They are rooted in a strict aversion to progressive taxation and a fealty to corporate interests. In this regard, the governor is a classic faux-populist, mouthing disdain for the elites while doing the bidding of corporate plutocrats.

In the past few weeks, Schwarzenegger vetoed a universal healthcare proposal, as well as a bill that would have required big-box stores to submit economic impact reports when they enter a community. He vetoed another bill that would have imposed a fee on shipping containers that pass through the state’s ports in an effort to improve security and reduce air pollution. Big business hated these bills, and evidently they got Arnold’s attention.

Despite his “social liberal” creds, the governor also vetoed a bill that would have allowed illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses, as well as a sunshine ordinance that would have penalized government secrecy, and three bills that would have pushed for more tolerance of homosexuality in public schools.

While his support for progressive legislation got all the press, the governor toed the Republican line on several key issues. So why would the Weekly endorse him?

Part of the answer is that compromise is a good thing. Bipartisanship gets things done. If we want someone who can bridge the divide polarizing our state, there will have to be some give.

Another part of the answer is that Angelides isn’t a viable candidate. Nor does he represent a bold vision that demands our support.

By voting for Schwarzenegger, we recognize the admirable independence he shows by standing up to the far-right wing of his party. We have reason to hope that he will work for a resolution to the healthcare crisis, mass transit and a humane solution to the immigration problem. We can hope that he will pull the Republican Party towards the center.

By voting for Schwarzenegger, we are also telling him—and ourselves—that he really is our governor. If we vote for him, we are more likely to demand that he represent our interests.

Arnold’s going to win anyway. We might as well accept that.