NewsMax.com Wires
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2003

After a 20-minute White House meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney, the governor-elect told reporters that the fires were the main topic of discussion.

"We talked about expediting the funds for the victims and their homes, the homes burned. We talked about homeland security. We had a very positive, very good meeting," Schwarzenegger said.

The move star-turned-politician has decided to cut short his two-day tour of the nation's capital to return to California for briefings on the wildfires. Schwarzenegger said Thursday he would tour some of the fire-devastated regions near San Bernardino and San Diego. He offered condolences to the family of Steven Rucker, the first firefighter to be killed during the nine-day emergency.

"It's very sad," Schwarzenegger said.

He canceled a planned meeting with Education Secretary Rod Paige and planned to leave Washington shortly after a meeting with Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, his spokesman Rob Stuzman said. Once in California, Schwarzenegger planned to rent a helicopter and tour some of the areas hardest hit by the fire, one of the worst natural disasters to strike California in decades. He also planned to meet with firefighters.

Despite Schwarzenegger's high-profile pitch for additional resources to fight the wildfires, much of the federal disaster relief was well on its way to the region even without his involvement.

Under law, funds and assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were triggered by President Bush, who declared the area a major disaster area on Monday. The request for the presidential declaration came from Gov. Gray Davis, who will leave office within weeks after being ousted in the recall election Oct. 7.

Schwarzenegger did not meet with President Bush, who was out of town on a campaign swing through Texas and Ohio. The two met in California shortly after Schwarzenegger won a decisive victory in the recall election.

Schwarzenegger had hoped his first official visit here would largely be a ceremonial meet-and-greet affair. But the wildfires turned his trip into one part emergency mission, one part celebrity spectacle that electrified the halls of Congress Wednesday.

As he moved along the marbled hallways, Schwarzenegger was trailed by an entourage more suited to a visiting head of state than to a political neophyte who hasn't been sworn into office. He was flanked by staff, a security detail, lawmakers and curious onlookers. Several dozen reporters and as many as 20 television camera crews greeted him at each of his news conferences.

Editor's note:
Arnold fans – check out the new Governor Terminator T-shirts – Click here

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Bush Administration
California Governors Race