Dear America:
I would like to comment on Arnold Schwarzenegger's speech to the Republican National Convention last night.

I was an athlete in the 1970s. I worked out in the same gym as did Arnold. We trained in the Santa Monica and Venice Beach area of California.

Mr. Schwarzenegger's recount of an immigrant's rise to American celebrity is grand, but it forgets immigrants who have not been so fortunate. There are millions of recent immigrants in our nation. In fact most of us are either immigrants or direct descendants of those who immigrated to this wonderful country.

Traditional immigrants, say a family of goat headers from Kenya, would spend a generation in seemingly endless toil, working multiple jobs, as they sacrificed to send their children to a good college or university here in the United States.

Mr. Schwarzenegger didn't follow this traditional path. He cheated. Arnold was heavily on the "juice."

Arnold came to fame by pumping himself full of steroids. He didn't earn his world championships. Rather, he used a combination of chemicals to defeat his opposition.

This is a far cry from the heroics of immigrants who were trying to make a living in California at the time. These workers slaved in searing sun and heat, as they struggled to build up small landscape or home repair businesses.

Arnold jammed needles into his major muscle groups. He cut corners on the path to the American Dream. It was his artificially inflated muscles, not his brain power or acting ability, that opened doors for him in Hollywood.

Last night Arnold said, "One thing I learned about America is that if you work hard, and if you play by the rules, this country is truly open to you. You can achieve anything."

This is his lie. It is another Republican deception. The underlying message Arnold sends to America's kids is, "Cheat, it pays!" For Arnold didn't play by the rules. This country still faces a terrible steroid abuse problem, largely due to the example set by Arnold.

In October 2003, as Arnold kicked off his bid for the California governorship, six women came forward to accuse Schwarzenegger, the actor, of sexual harassment. This earned Arnold the nickname of the "Grope-inator."

Arnold apologized for having "behaved badly" toward women. In March 2003 he participated in a training course on preventing sexual harassment.

More importantly, Arnold pledged to hire an investigator after the election to look into the sexual harassment allegations. A month later he flip-flopped on the pledge. He has refused to open the investigation.

What a difference in partisan values. George W. Bush was awarded DWIs, and infamous honors for cocaine abuse and drinking. Arnold earned his fame exploiting "juice" and women. One is the president; the other is the governor of our most populous state.

John Kerry served this nation with distinction and honor, yet the Radical Right continues to smear his service and attack his character mercilessly.

Curiously, Americans wonder why the world views us as a nation of hypocrites.

Sincerely,
Scott Goold