Tuesday's Election Results (local)

[ceebeegee]

There seems to be a lot of second-guessing about Bloomberg's smaller-than-expected margin of victory over Thompson--apparently it was only 5 points instead a projected 12 or so. Second-guessing and what seems to me to be an attempt to force this into a narrative, that being Bloomberg's supposed erosion of influence. Frankly I think all it means is that not many people here in the city voted on Tuesday because they all knew that Bloomberg would win. Thompson was nothing, a cipher. All he had going for him was that he wasn't Bloomberg, but he stood for nothing and he made a lot of basic, amateurish errors in his campaign (misspellings on campaign materials and in commercials, poor coordination with staff, etc.). A hapless effort overall.

I said something about this on Alex's FB page but to expand on it--I have a problem with the Democratic party in New York State. They're this well-entrenched party machine, like Tammany Hall, especially here in the city, so the only way to break through is to put in your time and eventually you'll get rewarded with a slot on the ticket. And so we, the voters, are presented with a bunch of talentless party hacks for our Democratic choices--I mean, Bill Thompson? Ferrer? Paterson? The ONLY way Paterson got on the Spitzer ticket for Lt. Governor was because he'd put in the time--he has zero leadership qualities and is unelectable. And with anemic choices like Ferrer and Thompson, we get trounced by more charismatic mavericks like Bloomberg and Guiliani--guys who actually have a chance at breaking through the pack because the pack is so much thinner in the NYC Republican party. Bloomberg was a Democrat originally--he had to switch parties to have a shot at the nomination. (And then switched again to become an Independent.) And look who he ran against in 2001? Mark Green, whom I actually don't mind personally or as Public Advocate, but is a bland, by-the-numbers leader. I think he does better snarking on the side, because he diesn't really impress me as a leader--I reacted quite badly to his negative campaigning in 2001.

The exception to this is Anthony Weiner, who is a NYC Democrat and I love him. He's like a charismatic geek--kind of like Bloomberg, now that I think of it. Very intelligent and a hard worker. I'd like to see him run again in four years.

Comments

[jayspec.livejournal.com]

I voted against Bloomberg (and not so much for Thompson) specifically because of his self-dealing of a third term, and the massive, massive amount of money he spent trying to destroy Thompson. I don't know if you saw this when I posted it on Facebook, but every time I saw yet another anti-Thompson ad, especially in a ridiculously expensive spot like during the World Series, It reminded me of a wealthy man continually kicking a puppy just because he can.

I'm very uncomfortable with the idea of politics becoming entirely the province of wealthy people extending their power. Bloomberg spent more on this campaign than John McCain did to get the Republican nomination for president. While being able to completely and utterly drown out your opponent's message isn't a guarantee of success (see: Golisano, Tom) it sure helps an awful lot. This is also why I'm not entirely upset that Corzine lost, either.

Anthony Weiner is a pretty great guy, isn't he? Too bad he didn't run this year because he knew he'd be massively outspent by Bloomberg!

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

All valid points. (I did see your FB post, BTW.) I can see the discomfort with the idea of politics becoming exclusively the province of the wealthy because, obviously, a lot of good potential leaders may be excluded. I will say, with Bloomberg, his wealth is entirely the result of the good idea he had and turned into a very successful business. He didn't inherit it, he made it. That sort of thing doesn't necessarily correlate to effective political leadership but it's a good sign. I also have to appreciate someone who doesn't take the polls for granted (Bloomberg's campaign spending) and actually campaigns, although I can certainly see how it could be interpreted as poor sportsmanship. Whereas Thompson's campaign was a bit of a joke. Interesting article here on that. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/nyregion/23thompson.html?scp=5&sq=thompson%20misspell&st=cse) How you run your campaign is definitely a harbinger of how you execute the office--I can't respect a leader who doesn't show up, or whose press releases misspell his own name.

I love me some Anthony Weiner. I liked him four years ago and there was an interesting article (http://nymag.com/news/politics/powergrid/59907/) about him a few weeks ago in NY Magazine that made me like him even more.