Perhaps no one person embodies the possibilities underlying the American Dream more than Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrian-born bodybuilder who came to the United States with the goals of becoming a film actor and marrying a member of the Kennedy family. Not only did he become one of the most well-known actors in the world and wed a Kennedy in the person of television journalist Maria Shriver, but Schwarzenegger also went a step further: he got himself elected governor of the State of California in a quirky 2003 contest that had the Republican action hero pitted against not only the current Democratic governor in an overwhelmingly Democratic state, but also a political lineup that resembled nothing so much as a guest list for the Jerry Springer Show.

Blessed with an unusual physique that limited his acting roles, Schwarzenegger rose to fame through his work on action films such as Predator...