# Arnold's FU Veto, carefully crafted snark or coinkydink? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 30, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arnolds-fu-veto-carefully-crafted-snark-or-coinkydink/515713 "2009-10-30T13:31:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arnolds-fu-veto-carefully-crafted-snark-or-coinkydink/515713/1 "2009-10-30T13:31:25Z")
If you have not yet heard of it, [The Governator crafted a ‘fuck you’ veto to his state assembly.](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/10/27/schwarzeneggers-veto-message-delivers-another-message/) Arnold’s spokesandroid says it was a coincidence. I gotta believe that, because if I wrote that beautiful peice of passive-aggressiveness I’d want to take credit. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arnolds-fu-veto-carefully-crafted-snark-or-coinkydink/515713/2 "2009-10-30T13:34:54Z")
There’s a GD thread that’s already a couple pages long. > **[Did Schwarzenegger compose a "Fuck You" acrostic in a veto letter?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=537712)** > > It appears so but was this plausibly just a coincidence as his office claims? The phrasing of the letter seems odd to me, which is evidence that the acrostic was intentional. But then, I haven’t read anything else he (or whoever writes these for... ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arnolds-fu-veto-carefully-crafted-snark-or-coinkydink/515713/3 "2009-10-30T14:46:27Z")
I don’t know enough about Arnold or Arnold’s staff to be able to guess who did it, assuming it was deliberate and not a perfect storm of happy coincidence. What I want to know is who notices this kind of thing? If I hadn’t been looking for it, I’d have never noticed. Is anyone checking past vetoes to see if there have been past comments that have gone unnoticed? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arnolds-fu-veto-carefully-crafted-snark-or-coinkydink/515713/4 "2009-10-30T14:58:23Z")
> [@](#): > > The state legislature didn’t have a problem with it; it cleared the Senate 40-0 and the Assembly 78-0. The Governor can veto a bill that has more than two thirds in favor? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arnolds-fu-veto-carefully-crafted-snark-or-coinkydink/515713/5 "2009-10-31T02:03:24Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I don’t know enough about Arnold or Arnold’s staff to be able to guess who did it, assuming it was deliberate and not a perfect storm of happy coincidence. What I want to know is who notices this kind of thing? If I hadn’t been looking for it, I’d have never noticed. > > Is anyone checking past vetoes to see if there have been past comments that have gone unnoticed? The linked article in the OP indicates a few others, at least. > [@](#): > > Then, less than a minute after hanging up the phone, McLear sent Washington Wire a list of other veto messages in which the letters on the left-side of the statement spell out different words. Senate Bill 115, about religious exemptions to public employees, spells out “ear.” Assembly Bill 1276, concerning international trade, says “poet.” Asa for the poll, I don’t think someone like Arnold, who has a limited English vocabulary could have come up with this on his own. I think he likely told his staff he wanted to encode that message, and had them come up with the wording, although he may have helped out. So I chose the second option. Cooincidence? HA! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arnolds-fu-veto-carefully-crafted-snark-or-coinkydink/515713/6 "2009-10-31T02:25:05Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > The Governor can veto a bill that has more than two thirds in favor? 😕 I believe even the President of the United States could do that. It’s just that it wouldn’t do him any good. It would just go back to Congress, who would easily have the votes to override it. The thing I thought was weird is Ammiano’s quote at the end, which seems to indicate that the state legislature couldn’t override it. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arnolds-fu-veto-carefully-crafted-snark-or-coinkydink/515713/7 "2009-10-31T02:32:56Z")
That can’t be a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arnolds-fu-veto-carefully-crafted-snark-or-coinkydink/515713/8 "2009-10-31T03:24:26Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Asa for the poll, I don’t think someone like Arnold, who has a limited English vocabulary could have come up with this on his own. Limited vocabulary? Are you kidding? Yes, his English is heavily accented, but Schwarzenegger has been in the US for decades (something like 40 years) and he’s no dummy. I would expect his mastery of the English language is as great as the typical native speaker and probably better than some who have lived here all their lives.