Expletive in Arnold’s Veto an 'Odd Coincidence'

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Holly Bailey

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Daniel Stone

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may have built his reputation on being a tough guy, but some odd looks were exchanged around the Internet this morning when a letter the governor wrote to the state’s legislature was thought to have been decoded. In the five-sentence note, Arnold politely explained why he wouldn’t sign into law a fairly routine spending bill to finance the Port of San Francisco. But some astute folks noticed a far less courteous message lined up vertically along the left margin: "f--k you."

We checked with the governor’s staff, who denies the expletive was deliberate. “It was just a weird coincidence,” says a senior staffer. To deflect attention, he pointed us toward other, what he calls “veto messages,” from this year, like “ear” and “poet” and “soap,” that are equally as random, albeit a bit more G-rated.

If the message was indeed written by an angry staffer (or an angry Arnold) on purpose, it would have been an impressive feat of semantics. But if someone like Arnold needed to vent his frustration, would he really have to resort to hidden messages? No doubt the state's government is having some disagreements over budget issues, to put it mildly. If he wanted to really berate the legislature, though, couldn’t he hold a searing press conference, or continue to veto time-wasting bills? He’s the governor, not some schoolyard bully. Conspiracy debunked.

Tag(s): Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Member Comments

Posted By: gusdicksin (October 29, 2009 at 12:33 PM)

It's not a "conspiracy," it's a juvenile prank. The fact that you can't see that makes me question your sanity.

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Posted By: RKolk (October 29, 2009 at 12:46 AM)

Seriously, "conspiracy"? You buy the "coincidence" explanation? This was not a random "ear" or "poet" or "soap," the entire left column spelled "F-ck You" with perfect spelling, capitalization and spacing, and with a strained "kick the can" phrase to make it work. It is mathematically impossible that it was chance and it is plainly obvious that whoever drafted the letter did this on purpose, and it is entirely predictable that the spokesman would dodge admitting to this juvenile prank, which he may not have even known about. The real story isn't much the message as the vindicative veto of a perfectly innocuous and needed bill in San Francisco over what is transparently a personal grudge; the Governor gave no explanation for opposing the bill other than considering it an unworthy priority--but the bill was already PASSED. He's just wasting more time by sending it back with a pocket veto.