The American Spectator

p> NO MORE PLAYING RICE br> Republicans in California indicated to White House staffers during President Bush’s recent fundraising swing out there last week that they expect the recall of Gov. Gray Davis to be successful and that actor Arnold Schwarzenegger will step in and challenge for the position. /p>

“Everything he’s been saying in the buildup to his new movie indicates he’s in campaign mode,” says an L.A.-based Republican fundraiser. “We don’t have anything definitive, but we think he’s going to do it.”

Schwarzenegger probably won’t be alone. Rep. Dan Issa has pumped some of his own money into the recall funding, and has talked about challenging Davis (who has already smeared Issa in planted stories). There also continue to be rumblings among some state party loyalists that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice should not be overlooked. But it appears Rice’s timing may be off. She is viewed as a critical player in the Bush Administration’s Middle East peace efforts, which will certainly carry her through 2003. But if she doesn’t run for governor now, another window might be closing.

Should a Republican win the recall election, that person would be positioned to run for re-election in 2006. “Sometimes the timing isn’t right,” says the fundraiser. “This is the kind of thing that sometimes leads to unexpected, or new, opportunities.”

Like a vice presidential slot should Bush win re-election and Vice President Cheney choose to retire mid-way through the second term.

p> POWER POINTS br> Much was made of a recent speech White House political strategist