Updated at 9:00 a.m. on Sept. 30.
Can't you feel it, that Olympic fever suddenly sweeping the nation? It's been coursing through my veins since Monday, when I heard about President Obama's "surprise!" decision to join Oprah and company in Copenhagen, where they'll lobby for the 2016 Games to be held in their beloved Chicago. So what if the Games are still seven years away? That vote's coming this week and the health care vote, to be mild, isn't.
There are, thankfully, ways to kill time until the Opening Ceremonies. In just the past week, for example, we've witnessed some truly spectacular "performances" by top candidates for high office in 2010. Their performances might not win them the offices they're seeking; actually, they're more likely to force them to withdraw. Regardless, their efforts should earn them some sort of medal. So, with no further ado, here are mine (gold, silver and bronze) for the most Olympian efforts to make politics entertaining in the past week:
Gold (tie): Senate candidates Charlie Crist (R) and Dan Mongiardo (D). Crist, the Florida governor, and Mongiardo, Kentucky's lieutenant governor, both stunned the judges with recent performances that were as shocking as they were distinct.
Crist backed John McCain's 2008 campaign effusively, then bent over backwards to earn Obama's affection. But just seven months after he became the only Republican governor to endorse Obama's stimulus package, he took to the airwaves last week to fire off some fighting words at the president: He played the Carter card.
"People wanted a change" in 2008, Crist said in a speech in Michigan. "They wanted a change back in 1976. You remember? Richard Nixon had been president. That ended. Gerald Ford took over. The people decided they wanted a change. They got one -- Jimmy Carter. Four years later, they took care of business -- Ronald Reagan. ... It may happen again. I believe that the people have seen that they wanted a change but not this much. Not this kind, and not this way. America is awake and we're coming back."
What caused Crist's conversion, which he repeated in a round of cable TV interviews this week? A lot can change in seven months, of course. But it just might have something to do with the persistently strong challenge he's drawn in the Senate primary from conservative Marco Rubio.
Meanwhile, Mongiardo was unlucky in Kentucky, where someone posted audio on YouTube of his profanity-laced tirade against Gov. Steve Beshear (D). Mongiardo is heard saying he's so frustrated with Beshear that he is "this close to saying f--- it all. I don't need this job. I don't need the U.S. Senate." Mongiardo also says Beshear, who has endorsed Mongiardo, will be remembered as the state's "worst" governor and that a "blowup" is coming. In case the point was lost on anyone, he adds, "Listen, there is no love."
The Democratic Senate primary in Kentucky has been dirty from the word "go." But Mongiardo's words could hurt him more than attacks from his well-funded opponents ever could. Beshear remains relatively popular in Kentucky, especially among the Democratic activists whom Mongiardo and state Attorney General Jack Conway (D) have been targeting for support.
Silver: Meg Whitman (R): More buzz that could pack a heavy sting emerged in California, where Whitman, the former eBay CEO who is running for governor, confirmed a Sacramento Bee report that she had never voted prior to 2002. Her silver medal-winning performance came Saturday in a press conference in which the Bee described her as "visibly flustered" and other participants said she may have inflicted irreparable harm on her campaign. Her primary opponent, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, quickly released an ad noting that Whitman never bothered to vote for Reagan for president or Pete Wilson for governor, or to recall former Gov. Gray Davis (D).
Whitman's explanation: She couldn't vote because "I was focused on raising a family, on my husband's career, and we moved many, many times." Huh?
While other politicians have overcome spotty voting records, the issue could derail this campaign, largely because it confirms a pre-existing perception among Sacramento insiders that Whitman, who has avoided debates and extensive interviews, is unprepared for the challenges of governing California.
Bronze: David Paterson (D): Yes, Paterson's appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" was hard to watch. But unlike many who say he did himself more harm than good, I believe the embattled New York governor helped himself set the stage to exit on his own terms. He won't be pushed out of office by anyone -- not the White House, not local Democratic bosses, not state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D). At least, not publicly. But, he seemed to suggest, he will leave office, eventually, as long as he can do so while maintaining some level of dignity.
It might be too much to expect Paterson to hold on to much dignity. But if he somehow manages, the governor could be better off than any of the other medal-winning pols. And, as they say, there's always next year.
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