http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/754615--schwarzenegger-gives-tips-for-successTORONTO - It was billed as an afternoon with the former governor of California, but the lunch-hour speech Wednesday was all about Arnold Schwarzenegger the bodybuilder and Hollywood actor, who mused about success, liposuction and girly men.
This is not a policy speech, he warned the crowd.
"
I don't want you to fall asleep here," he said.
The Toronto speech appeared to be the same one he gave Tuesday at an event in Calgary, but didn't disappoint the new audience, as they laughed at jokes about his accent and applauded when he said, "I'll be back."
Schwarzenegger was also in Winnipeg on Tuesday night and will be in Montreal on Thursday — his first public speaking engagements since leaving office in California. He recently completed the maximum two terms for state leaders in the U.S.
The bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-politician played to his celebrity appeal, making references to movies "Junior" and "The Terminator," in which he was naked.
"Can you imagine Sarah Palin being naked?" he asked the audience. "No, don't imagine that."Frank McKenna, deputy chairman of TD Bank Financial Group and former New Brunswick premier, did steer Schwarzenegger toward politics during the question and answer session, asking for his thoughts on the extreme polarization plaguing American politics.
"I am concerned about the partisanship that is going on right now in America," Schwarzenegger said. "The way the Democrats and Republicans have been fighting, it's absolutely outrageous. It's embarrassing."
Schwarzenegger wouldn't bite when McKenna asked if he thought former Alaska governor Sarah Palin would be qualified to be U.S. president. But the Republican politician said he was never opposed to working with Democratic President Barack Obama.
"I made it very clear to them that I'm more than happy to help in any way possible to aid leadership in clean energy."
But Schwarzenegger spent the bulk of...[next page]
