They’re back.
After the briefest of interludes, political yard signs are now sprouting again like quadrennial toadstools. Municipal elections are March 1. The most notable signs are those for mayoral candidates. Most notable of all, the one for Dick Greco featuring a bright orange handprint.
It’s the graphic version of a tagline that Greco, who’s been elected mayor four times, has been working into speeches: “Gimme five.” As in a “high five.” As in a “fifth term” in office.
Most observers assumed this was the product of consultants who thought it beyond clever. Maybe a focus group loved it. Actually, it’s all Greco. He came up with it.
The “high five” symbol obviously moves on several levels.
*It’s certainly eye-catching. More than the media have noticed. Have they ever. *It presents Greco in a kind of casually hip and contemporary sort of context. And that can help when you’re the 77-year-old candidate with enough history to warrant your own statue. *It’s also a reminder that he’s an appealingly old-school, highly tactile politician always on schmooze control.
The “fifth term” reference is a not-so-subtle reminder that Greco’s experience dwarfs everyone else’s. He’s done this job before. Four times. He was mayor when Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were president. When others were on the county commission, city council or still in school.
But there are, as we’ve been hearing, signs of possible downsides. For openers, the handprint lends itself to parody. Everything from Michael Jackson’s glove to ironic “Stop Greco” and good-bye wave messages.
Another less mischievous downside: “Gimme five” sounds, well, presumptuous. It hints at “I’m back!” entitlement. His opponents will point that out. Don’t expect them to take the fifth on such a rhetorical opening at the presumed front runner.