New York and CarpetbaggersOne of the more bizarre rituals of American politics is the formation by an all-but-announced candidate for some pubic office of an "exploratory committee." In California, former Governor and current Attorney General Jerry Brown, who was first elected to statewide office 40 years ago — when Richard Nixon was in the White House — has announced his exploratory committee (what's left to explore?) for his expected 2010 gubernatorial campaign. These committees are invariably stocked with incurable optimists who, wherever they explore, come back with the same sunny conclusion: Voters overwhelmingly want The Unannounced Candidate to run! Between the presidential election of Sen. John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Sen. Barack Obama in 2008, 36 U.S. senators, after getting a green light from their encouraging exploratory committees, ran unsuccessfully for the White House. Which brings us to the interesting case of former five-term Memphis congressman and 2006 Tennessee U.S. Senate nominee Harold Ford Jr., who is, without a formal exploratory committee but with the urging of some prominent New York Democratic kingmakers, openly considering a 2010 U.S. Senate race in New York. Not known for their warmth either to each other or to strangers, New Yorkers welcome outsiders and newcomers when electing U.S. senators. Sens. Robert F. Kennedy, Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Hillary Clinton were born, respectively, in Boston, Tulsa and Chicago. So the fact that Harold Ford is an interloper, or even a carpetbagger, probably will not hurt him with Empire State voters. There is no 2010 Senate vacancy in New York. The seat to which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2006 is now held by former Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed to the Senate by New York Gov. David Patterson. Full Disclosure: I have known and liked Harold Ford since he was a young man.
No, it's the simple 'what kind-of-a-guy-are-you' query. To the question all red-blooded New Yorkers face about their preference between the Big Apple's two professional football teams — "Jets or Giants?" — Ford in his answer did not mention any of the Giants greats ... no Tiki Barber or Lawrence Taylor or Y.A. Tittle. Nor did the names of revered Jets — Joe Namath or Marvin Powell or Curtis Martin — ever pass his lips. No, this is what Ford said: "I have breakfast every morning when I am in town ... at the Regency. I see my friends the Tisches — Steve Tisch is my close personal friend. I have been to more Giants games. ... I had lunch over the holidays with Woody Johnson. We met for the first time. I am happy for his team." Why this matters: The Regency is not your neighborhood coffee shop. It's a luxury hotel in Manhattan. Steve Tisch is the chairman and co-owner of the New York Giants, the man who received the trophy when the Giants won the 2008 Super Bowl. Woody Johnson is the owner of the New York Jets. I am sorry, Harold, but authentic fans' loyal devotion to their team is not determined alone by who owns that team — or whether they know them socially. Maybe some eccentric tax-phobic conservative who demands a square deal for the Terminally Rich might, but no fans or primary voters living in the Bronx, Staten Island, Queens or Brooklyn. New Yorkers have demonstrated a high tolerance for carpetbagger candidates for the U.S. Senate. But anyone who aspires to take a large bite politically out of the Big Apple must first understand that New Yorkers, like the great majority of Americans, root for their favorite team not because of, but in spite of, the people who own them. To find out more about Mark Shields and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM COPYRIGHT 2010 MARK SHIELDS
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