California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger went from an Austrian body builder to American politician and said former President Bush is his inspiration.
“(Arnold) has done exactly what it is that we try to teach students at the Bush School here at A&M,” Bush said. “He is a rock star in every sense of the word.”
Bush presented Schwarzenegger with the George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service at Rudder Auditorium Tuesday evening.
Past recipients include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
“How did Arnold end up with the same award as Ted Kennedy?” Schwarzenegger joked. “I read the inscription of the award and it said, ‘We honor you for your great (public service), and we forgive you for your movies.'”
Bush said Schwarzenegger took his personal success as a body builder and actor and has shared it with others by serving the public as governor and founder of such organizations as the Inner City Games Foundation. Bush commended Schwarzenegger’s efforts to improve California’s economy and education system.
Schwarzenegger said he volunteered to help with Bush’s presidential campaign in 1988 and assisted President George W. Bush’s campaign as well.
“Campaigns have changed a lot since 1988,” Schwarzenegger said. “But in (both Bushes’ campaigns) I was proud to be backing the best man.”
Schwarzenegger said he has known Bush for 20 years and that, as Schwarzenegger sought to reach out to convince school children to exercise and not drink or do drugs, Bush advised him to visit more inner city schools.
“I saw a different America,” Schwarzenegger said. “My passion for after school programs can be traced to (that experience).”
Dozens of A&M students in attendance showed their support for Schwarzenegger, some of them wearing homemade “Governator” T-shirts.
One student expressed her thanks to Schwarzenegger for promoting healthy eating and exercise to American youths, and said it helped her lose weight.
“(My wife and I) don’t allow junk food (at my house),” Schwarzenegger said. “We teach (our kids) that if you eat junk food … you have to go out and run.”
Christin Smith, a junior business marketing major, wasn’t able to attend Schwarzenegger’s speech because she couldn’t get a ticket.
“I heard that they were sold out … in the first hour,” Smith said. “I think (Schwarzenegger’s) story is a very interesting story … I would have enjoyed hearing him speak and hearing the crowd’s reaction from someone who has held so many different roles in the public eye. I would have enjoyed hearing him talk about whatever it is that motivates him.”
Schwarzenegger said he respects the words of his wife’s father, who said “if you want to find yourself you must lose yourself … tear down the mirror in front of you.” That ideal, along with Bush’s mentorship, helped drive his success, he said.
“I saw the flame in (Bush’s) heart and the flame jumped to me,” Schwarzenegger said. “The fire in one man can be used to light other men’s hearts.”