SAN JOSE, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger learned the art of political negotiation in a setting that's oh so California - soaking in his backyard hot tub.
Keynoting a gathering of Silicon Valley business leaders Friday, the Republican governor explained how his wife - former television news anchor Maria Shriver - came to support his 2003 gubernatorial bid.
"We were sitting in the Jacuzzi. I said, 'Maria, here's an idea. What do you think about this, me running for governor?"' Schwarzenegger said to peals of laughter.
"I said, 'There's a recall, there's only a two-month campaign. I think we can work our way through this two months and then I'm governor - isn't that great?"'
After the laughter died down, Schwarzenegger turned solemn.
"In all seriousness, she had tears in her eyes. I had to work on her for 14 days," Schwarzenegger said.
"That's where I learned to negotiate - bringing Democrats and Republicans together right there in the Jacuzzi."
Shriver's family tree is sprinkled with prominent Democrats. Her father, Sargent Shriver, was the 1972 Democratic candidate for vice president and her uncle was president John F. Kennedy.
Schwarzenegger, 60, and Shriver, 52, have been married for more than 21 years.
Schwarzenegger's comic routine began when a member of the audience submitted a question about whether Shriver would make a good president. The governor said she wouldn't want the job.
"She grew up and was a victim, where she was always thrown into events and photographs, and Sunday nights there were always 100 people in the house ... and she was at the factories telling people, 'Vote for my daddy, vote for my daddy,"' Schwarzenegger said.
"When she was 21 years old, she went out and decided she would find a man who had no desire to be in politics. She bumped into a man who was from an Austrian farm, a bodybuilder who was only interested in oiling up ... and wearing tight pants ... and then going into Hollywood," he said to more laughs.
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