Do we need to “like” a political person in order to back him on Election Day?

I’ve already seen several times the new political broadcast spot in which Mayor Rahm Emanuel admits he’s not the most likeable of people.

The fact that I’m seeing it air so often is testament to the amount of cash the Emanuel campaign fund has, and its ability to get out a message it wants known publicly.

IF THERE IS a reason why Emanuel wins re-election as mayor come the April 7 run-off election, it probably is that. Not because the people of Chicago “forgive” Rahm for his brusque temperament, or even because we agree with him.

But this whole idea about likeability has had me wondering just how relevant should it be whether we’d want to socialize personally with a government official?

Personally, I could care less on what type of person Emanuel is. My concern is about what his priorities would be, and his ability to get his political promises done.

After all, any candidate can say he (or she) will do anything. Should we have any reason to trust them to be capable of keeping their word? That’s what matters!

NOW I PROBABLY should state at this point that I often have been described by people who encounter me as being less than agreeable personally. Yes, I’m sure there are some individuals out there who are now screaming choice obscenities to describe me.

It’s not something I lose any sleep over. I don’t worry about it. I try to do my best at whatever tasks I take on, and don’t care much if the people I encounter come across as feeling all warm and fuzzy from the experience.

I figure that if I do my work properly, they’ll be satisfied with the result – even if they also have a personal thought about what a grump or grouch I was while doing it.

So the idea that Emanuel has a tough exterior that can be blunt-spoken and leave some people feeling put off? The fact that he has been known to use certain terms that are considered to be obscene language?

IF WE’RE REALLY trying to pick the next mayor of Chicago based off who the nice guy is, or who is more popular? Then perhaps we have reverted back to the mentality of a junior high school Student Council election.

That would be sad. Perhaps we were better off having so few people bother to turn out to vote (about 34 percent) back in the February municipal elections. I’d rather have no votes than stupid votes – although what our society really needs is an electorate that shows enough concern to figure out what issues are relevant.

So what should we think of Emanuel’s new commercials? I suspect nobody is going to be swayed. The people who think Rahm is the ultimate pompous @$$#*!% aren’t going to be swayed one bit.

In fact, I have stumbled across some attempts at political commentary that claim Emanuel’s ads are a failure because they didn’t specify what exactly Rahm is apologetic for!

ANYBODY WHO EXPECTS the mayor to go on camera and run through a list of political screw-ups is delusional. Just envision how quickly the opposition would take excerpts from the ad and put it together as their own spot – along the lines of “Mayor Rahm tells us in his own words why we shouldn’t vote for him.”

I suppose it’s nice to see Emanuel try to offer up the lighter side of his personality, although I think it comes across about as sincere as if he were to show up at U.S. Cellular Field wearing a White Sox warm-up jacket on Opening Day. Nobody would buy it. Only Daleys seem to be capable of pulling that sartorial combo off.

For all I know, even the ball club would hate the idea of Rahm wearing the black-and-silver of the Sox.

And I can’t say any of this influences my own thoughts about the Emanuel/Garcia political brawl that we’re going to face in coming weeks.

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Campaign ’12: Who do we hate more?

I think it’s pretty clear that no one this year is going to be voting for Mitt Romney.

ROMNEY: Not Mr. Excitement



I don’t doubt that ballots will be cast for the likely Republican presidential nominee, but those are going to be from the segment of our society that remains appalled that Barack Obama got elected president in 2008 and will do whatever they can to oppose him this time around.

EVEN IF IT means voting for someone they personally could care less about, and really don’t trust.

That’s what the 2012 election cycle has come down to; people voting against the candidate they despise. Because this isn’t a phenomenon limited to the ideologues of the world.

I’m sure many of the people who wind up voting for Obama come Nov. 6 will be doing so because they despise the people who are willing to hold their noses while casting their votes for Romney.

I bring this up because it was the reaction I was having when I read a pair of stories in the news cycle on Wednesday – the one that had former House Speaker Newt Gingrich conceding what the rest of the country realized a long time ago.

HE’S NOT GOING to get the GOP nomination. The United States isn’t ready for a first lady named Calista. Yet even though the Republican field of candidates is now down to just Romney and Ron Paul, there still isn’t much in the way of enthusiasm for Mitt.

Why don’t they?

In large part, it was because of the second story – the one about his foreign policy adviser and spokesman deciding that after only two weeks on the campaign payroll, he didn’t want to work for Romney any longer.

OBAMA: Do his 'fans' hate less?



That particular person was Richard Grenell, who doesn’t see any reason to have to cover up the fact that he is gay. Which, of course, bothers the ideologues.

IN SAYING THIS week that he’s leaving the campaign, Grenell said there was a “hyper-partisan discussion of personal issues” that made him think he would not be comfortable working to get Mitt Romney elected as president.

Which really means he was getting harassed from the ideologues who want to view him, and anybody else who doesn’t fit their own image, as the problem that needs to be eradicated from our society.

Anybody with sense knows the real problem is those people with such an attitude who are upset that the majority of our society does not want to live in a world of their narrow-minded creation.

Which means the Romney campaign is being badgered by people who are never going to truly trust him. It’s going to be a long, drawn-out brawl that takes place between now and Election Day – and it’s going to feel like an eternity.

AND IT WILL be the reason why his campaign is likely to fall short – despite the economic travails that would take down any other candidate and the mistrust felt toward Obama by certain segments of the political composition (Latinos) that usually comprises Democratic support.

I couldn’t help but notice that on Wednesday, the Gallup Organization had Obama with a 49 percent approval rating – with 46 percent disapproving. I suspect the approval will continue to rise in coming weeks, and a gap will grow between those who can’t stand the president and those of us who have real lives to live.

Personally, I’m already tired of this election cycle, which hasn’t even officially started since some states have yet to express themselves in the primaries. Which reminds me all too much of the year 2000.

That was one of the most boring campaign seasons I can recall. Al Gore versus George W. Bush.

IT WAS A totally forgettable experience – until the day AFTER Election Day, when all the legal antics began that are the only reason anyone recalls that year.

Let’s hope that 2012 doesn’t become another year where the political intrigue steps up a notch come Nov. 7.

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