You know those people in…say…political positions that shouldn’t be left alone to speak in public? Well, it appears that Arnold is one of those people. In an interview with the British branch of GQ mag the California governor that the only drug he ever was high on was “pumping iron.” When asked about his documented use of marijuana in a 1977 film called “Pumping Iron,” he retorted with:

“That is not a drug. It’s a leaf,” Schwarzenegger told GQ. “My drug was pumping iron, trust me. “What would you rather have? A politician taking stuff and not saying, but making the best decisions and improving things? Or a politician who names all the drugs he or she has taken but makes lousy decisions for the country?” Schwarzenegger was quoted as saying. A politician’s job is to do what’s best for the people and to improve the country, the economy, the environment. Why should I care if a politician takes sleeping pills every night so long as he can do his job?”

[Associated Press]

Reps for Arnold are already on damage control. Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger’s press secretary, defends his retort by using the old stand-by… “it’s important to keep that quote in the context of the environment where it was said.” He also assures the public that Arnold does in fact realize marijuana is a drug.

“Of course the governor understands marijuana is a drug. It’s like when he goes on Leno or the Daily Show, if you took something like that out of context, it might seem shocking but it was in a silly entertainment context.”

The December issue of the mag is packed with political garble and practiced answers. Perhaps I am being too hard on him. He also listed Tony Blair (former British Prime Minister) and Mikhail Gorbachev (Soviet Leader) as some of the greatest leaders in history. Those are better answers than Jessica Simpson would give if you asked her what a hypotenuse is.

Picture note by Jaybird: Header of Arnold at a Florida Summit on Global Climate Change on July 13th. Image thanks to PR Photos.