The power-brokers of Washington DC aren't normally prone to being star struck, but that is exactly what happened when Californian Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the White House on Thursday.
The action hero-turned-politician was visiting the capital to solicit aid for his home state, which has been hit by wildfires. The muscle-bound star spent 20 minutes in private talks with Vice President Dick Cheney, before talking to reporters about the infernos that are ravaging California.
"We talked about expediting the funds for victims and their homes, the homes burned," he said. "We also talked about homeland security. We had a very positive, very good meeting."
Arnie had originally expected his trip to Washington to be a ceremonial meet-and-greet affair, but the crisis at home turned it into an emergency mission. That didn't stop him acquiescing to the requests of several Congressmen who wanted to have their picture taken with him, however.
Accompanied by his wife Maria Shriver, the Terminator star also offered his condolences to the family of Steven Rucker, the fire-fighter who lost his life battling the flames.
After meeting with Senator Ted Kennedy for a private lunch, Arnie cut short his stay in order to return to the scene of the emergency. So far 2,000 homes have been destroyed by the fires and 270,000 hectares of land scorched.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
