Schwarzenegger now backs McCain on environment Candidate 'the real deal,' governor says on 'Meet the Press'

** NO SALES, NO ARCHIVES, MUST USE BEFORE SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2008, MANDATORY CREDIT ** In this photo provided by Meet The Press, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, is interviewed by moderator Tom Brokaw on "Meet the Press" Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. After the unexpected death of the former host Tim Russert, Tom Brokaw will be moderating "Meet the Press" through the 2008 presidential election in November. (AP Photo/ Meet the Press, R.J. Riggins) less ** NO SALES, NO ARCHIVES, MUST USE BEFORE SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2008, MANDATORY CREDIT ** In this photo provided by Meet The Press, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, is interviewed by moderator Tom ... more Photo: R.J. Riggins, AP Photo: R.J. Riggins, AP Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Schwarzenegger now backs McCain on environment 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, appearing in a taped interview Sunday on "Meet the Press," defended GOP presidential candidate John McCain as "the real deal on the environment" within days of taking a shot at the Arizona senator's call for lifting the federal ban on offshore oil drilling as blowing smoke.

"I'm very proud of him. I'm 100 percent behind him," he told Tom Brokaw in an interview done Tuesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

Last week, Schwarzenegger had reiterated his opposition to lifting the federal moratorium on offshore drilling after McCain called for dropping the 30-year-old ban.

Schwarzenegger acknowledged that he doesn't support everything McCain has proposed, just as he isn't always in accord with his wife, Maria Shriver, a Democrat who has endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

"That (McCain and I) don't agree on everything, it's clear. Nor do I agree with my wife," he said. But "he's terrific with the environment," and with a President McCain, "we would have for the first time a really strong energy agenda and a way of fighting global warming."

He said McCain has stood by him and "supported me on every step of the way" on issues like solar energy, greenhouse gases and many other environmental issues. "He's the real deal on the environment."

Schwarzenegger's warm words and defense of McCain on environmental issues appeared at odds with his comments Friday at a climate change meeting in Florida, where he jabbed at McCain's environmental plans. Citing a list of proposals, including ending the ban on offshore oil drilling, nuclear power and biofuels - McCain supports them all - he told the audience, "Anyone who tells you that this will bring down our gas prices immediately or anytime soon is blowing smoke."

Brokaw questioned Schwarzenegger about the presidential race and Maria Shriver's support of Obama.

"That's great that she has her own opinion about this," Schwarzenegger said. "I feel very passionate about the person that I endorsed, which is McCain. It makes it an interesting discussion at night at home when we have dinner."

He joked that frequently when Obama does something positive, "she pulls out the cutout of Obama" and puts it "right next to my breakfast table."

The governor said "one day ... I got up, because I had had it." He said he railed around the house, saying, "McCain is the man. He's the best man. Maria is absolutely wrong about that Obama fellow."

"I was absolutely lucky that Maria was out for dinner," he said.

Brokaw noted that Shriver's cousin, Caroline Kennedy, is assisting Obama in his search for a running mate. "Can you believe that?" Schwarzenegger replied. But he added, "she's working very hard at this, she's taking it very seriously."

Schwarzenegger said Tim Russert, the "Meet the Press" host who died recently and whom Shriver had called her best friend, told him if he ever chose to run for president he would help. "When I ran for governor, he called me and said, 'If you make that, if you win, then I will take care of the rest,'" Schwarzenegger recalled. "I said what are you talking about? And he said, 'I will get you to run for president. I will make sure that we change the Constitution.' It never happened. But anyway, I miss him very much."

"Well, I can't make the same promise," said Brokaw.

The governor said he supported the California Supreme Court's decision to approve same-sex marriage. "I think it's good that California is leading in this way. I personally believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman," but said he doesn't want to force his beliefs on others. He said any additional time spent on the matter is a waste of time.