* Even among die-hard Democrats who truly reveled in the historic, barrier-breaking election of Barack Obama, the rhetoric these days seems notably, well, modulated. He’ll still get their 2012 vote, if not the benefit of the doubt on transformation. Part of it, they would concede, is blatant reality: It’s so much easier to run than govern. Intelligence, vision, charisma and eloquence don’t score points with an obstructionism opposition, any more than they apparently do with seemingly intractable economic and foreign policy problems.
Having said that, it also didn’t help that among the first people to sign on with the seminal change agent and the post-Bush Administration of Hope was Rahm Emanuel as Obama’s chief of staff. Nobody would ever suggest that a president, even this one, only hire nice, classy guys. We’re talking agenda drivers, get-it-done types and gatekeepers here. We’re also talking hardball politics. So, savvy and pragmatic was a given. But Emanuel was also notoriously abrasive and profane. It was disappointing and off-putting that this was the president’s surrogate. It was also early grist for the reality — or cynicism — mill.
Richard Nixon had his H.R. Haldeman. We got that. But Obama having his Rahm Emanuel? Many of those now nearing disillusionment never got over that.
* It sounded like former Vice President Al Gore was test-marketing a new line last week when he was in town endorsing U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek. Gore was trying to convince Democrats to stick with Meek, although the South Florida congressman was running third in the polls, and to not be swayed by Charlie Crist as the ostensible Anybody-But-Rubio candidate. Indeed, Meek has been gaining on the hybrid, Independent Crist.
After acknowledging that he knew and liked Crist, Gore skewered the governor on his ad hoc, ideology-free positions on the issues. At a West Tampa union hall, Gore said that he was increasingly “puzzled” by Crist’s latest position iterations. “It’s a little unusual to have somebody flip-flop, and then flap-flip,” opined Gore to hearty laughter.
Later that evening at a private, Davis Islands’ fundraiser, Gore went back to the rhetorical well again with the same laugh-out-loud results. Look for “flap-flip” again before this election is over.
By the way, Meek made it a point to glad-hand all the servers as well as prominent public officials and well-heeled contributors at the fundraiser. Nice touch.
* The fact that rich Rick “I was never convicted of fraud” Scott has any kind of polling lead over Alex Sink is sobering commentary on several fronts. It says a lot about the electorate, the money-talks system and the GOP, the party that now likes the one it loathes. But it also speaks volumes about the unimpressive Sink candidacy and its uninspiring campaign. The election should be hers to lose and apparently she’s doing just that. Of all years. Where’s Buddy MacKay when his party really needs him?
* Is John Dingfelder auditioning? No, not for Hillsborough County Commission; there’s a well-established, formal procedure for that. But for the Borscht Belt? It seems like he’s working in more bada-bing laugh lines these days before he gets to serious boilerplate. At last week’s Tiger Bay of Tampa luncheon, which featured county commission candidates for Districts 1 and 5, Dingfelder elicited encouraging groans and appreciative guffaws from the members during his introductory remarks.
Dingfelder, not unlike many other public officials, likes to remind audiences–aka voters–that he is not a “typical” politician–or attorney, for that matter. HE put his ex-wife through law school. Bada. He also has an undergraduate degree in agriculture–yes, agriculture–from the University of Florida, as well as a law degree from UF. Which self-deprecatingly leads to: “I went from shoveling it one way to shoveling it the other way.” Bing. And in noting that his District 1 opposition, Sandra Murman, was a no-show at the head table, observed: “Too bad Sandra couldn’t be here, but the good news is that I finished her lunch too…”
OK, Dingfelder is advised not to quit any of his day jobs just yet. Improv material this is not. But, no, he didn’t say: “Now take my candidacy. Please.”
* “Consolidation.” This was Dingfelder’s cut-to-the-chase answer to the Tiger Bay question: “What is an appropriate and pragmatic relationship between the city of Tampa and the rest of Hillsborough County?”
* “Tell everybody you know the transportation-tax vote has nothing to do with the high-speed line from Orlando.” — John Dingfelder, a transit-tax proponent who senses a disconcerting level of confusion by part of the electorate.
* “It really needs professional help.”–Linda Saul-Sena, District 5 candidate, in assessing the County Commission.
* “You want a commissioner who is not only committed, but who shows up.”–Linda Saul-Sena. Yes, that was aimed at Ken Hagan who, as it turned out, was unable to attend.