Arnold Schwarzenegger came out swinging during a rally for Republican presidential candidate John McCain at Nationwide Arena Friday.

Schwarzenegger gave a speech that received some of the loudest cheers of the evening when he ridiculed the physique of the Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama.

Schwarzenegger invited Sen. Obama to attend the Arnold Classic, a body-building expo he has held in Columbus for more than 20 years.

“Now of course the Arnold Classic is all about building up the bodies and pumping up,” Schwarzenegger said. “He needs to do something about those skinny legs. We’re going to make him do some squats. And then we’re going to go give him some biceps curls to beef up those skinny little arms. But if we only could do something about putting some meat on his ideas. Sen. McCain on the other hand, he is built like a rock. His character and his views are just as solid.”

Mary Estock, chair of the Ohio State College Republicans, said she thought Schwarzenegger “brought some much needed humor to the campaign.”

Schwarzenegger warned that if elected, Obama would raise taxes on capital gains and turn the Social Security system into a welfare system.

“I thought the speech was very entertaining,” said Katie Rooney, a sophomore in pharmaceutical sciences. “I do not think it was overly critical of Obama. It was no worse than any of the commercials you see coming from both sides.”

Schwarzenegger called McCain a man America needs in the White House because of his proven and unmatched experience.

“John McCain served his country longer in a POW camp than his opponent has served in the United States Senate,” Schwarzenegger said. “We don’t have to wonder if he’s ready to lead … we don’t have to worry if he’s ready to be president of the United States.”

Schwarzenegger addressed the possibility of Democratic dominance in the House of Republicans, the Senate and the presidency.

“There would be no spending restraints,” he said. “America cannot afford the economic proposals of Senator Obama. Our democracy is not for sale.”

A native of Austria, Schwarzenegger compared Obama’s proposed policies to those of past European governments.

“Socialism killed many opportunities in Europe and because of this many entrepreneurs left, taking jobs with them. Europe has learned from its mistakes and rolled back those ideas, but now Sen. Obama wants to pursue some of those same spread-the-wealth ideas Europe had years ago.”

Echoing the praises of other McCain supporters, Schwarzenegger pointed to McCain’s courage as a vital leadership trait.

“If you were in a POW cell with threats and danger, you would want a man like John McCain with you,” Schwarzenegger said. “He is a man who would fight for you, even at a great danger to himself.”

Holly Davis can be reached at [email protected].