It felt rather more like a presidential inauguration than a governor's swearing in, but it was very much a Californian affair as Arnold Schwarzenegger took his oath of office on Monday.
Surrounded by his family, political advisers and a host of Hollywood friends, the muscle-bound star promised to do his best for the people of his adopted home. "I am humbled, I am honoured and I am moved beyond words to be your governor," he said in front of a 7,500-strong audience of well-wishers.
His wife Maria Shriver and their four children, Christopher, Patrick, Katherine and Christina, came along for the ceremony in state capital Sacramento. And despite the huge turnout of supporters, the event itself was a low-key affair which Arnie handled with ease. Indeed the only gaff came from his six-year-old son, Patrick, who accidentally put his hand over the right side of his chest while leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
The indefatigable Mr Schwarzenegger has inherited a difficult financial legacy from his predecessor Gray Davis. America's most populous state is struggling with a $25-billion budget deficit, but Arnie has pledged to tackle the problem without raising taxes.
"What we face may seem insurmountable," he said. "When I thought I couldn't have lifted another ounce of weight, I learned that we are always stronger than we know, and California is like that too. There is a massive weight that we must lift off our state. Alone I cannot lift it but together we can."
The crowd cheered enthusiastically at their new leader's bold promises. And his True Lies co-star Jamie Lee Curtis had a few candid words of advice for the 56-year-old. "He needs to listen to his own heart and intuition and his wife," she said. "If he just kept to those three things, we'll be better off."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
