Pride about Schwarzenegger?

It's funny how living abroad has affected certain feelings I have about the US. For instance, in my German class the other day the topic of discussion was the sports and fitness trend in Germany, whether looking good made you feel and be more successful, etc. And people actually talked about Arnold Schwarzenegger and looked at me to say something. I actually did not feel the normal disdain and embarrassment that I always felt about Schwarzenegger when I lived in California. Instead, I began thinking of how he was a guy who came from basically nothing, ate tons of steroids while bodybuilding to become a celebrity, moved to California where he starred in movies and eventually became Governor. As crazy as it sounds I felt somewhat proud that something as irrational as Schwarzenegger as Governor could take place in America. It wasn't a feeling of pride about him, but about the fact there are many possibilities available to immigrants in America that I don't feel exist for immigrants in Europe. And one of them is the reality that you can immigrate to America and change the character of your life to such an extent that you could possibly run and win an election to be Governor.