Alright, first off, let’s clear something out of the way. Arnold Schwarzeneggar recently was found to be driving a motorcycle without a license. Big deal. Seriously, considering everything else going on in the world today, it’s really a small thing. And I don’t intend to try here to make a big thing out of it. I’m not even going to make a big deal out of his statement that he “didn’t know” he needed a license. Even if — as is very, very hard to swallow — he really did not know or suspect he might need a license, just try that argument in any court of law when you’re not Arnold and see how far it gets you.

What does bother me about it though, is the attitude surrounding it.

Thompson, asked if the governor could get the proper insurance for his bike if he didn’t have the proper license, said only that “we have been focused on the state budget. The governor has said he needs to get the endorsement, and he will. But our attention has been focused” on more pressing matters. — Carla Marinucci, “UNEASY RIDER: Schwarzenegger admits he doesn’t have license to drive his Harley-Davidson” (January 11, 2006) San Francisco Chronicle.

Yeah, don’t pester the Governor with trivial stuff like obeying the law. He’s got better things to focus on!

Couldn’t we possibly adopt a mindset in this country that the law applies equally to all citizens? Isn’t it enough that the rich have all sorts of other advantages that regular people don’t have? Couldn’t we at least expect that traffic laws are equally applicable to them, as they are to us?

Schwarzeneggar — and unlike some others, I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt here and assuming he’s telling the truth about not knowing — surely now realizes that he needs an M-1 license to ride his motorcycle. Why can’t he just say, “I made a mistake,” pay the penalty for that and we can all move on?

But to attempt to divert attention by saying that the governor has better things to worry about than whether or not he obeys the laws of the State of California is just too much. It’s also an insult to all of us who must and do obey those laws.