Chicago: some cities don't care who is listed as a reference

I heard the Rahm "Deadfish" Emanuel ad on the radio again this morning. It was the Obama-giving-a-testimonial ad again. A testimonial is kind of like a reference. You're applying for a job and the prospective employer wants references. In Emanuel's case, though most employers ask for three, he has two significant references. One is the sitting president of the United States and one is a former president of the United States. I guess it's no wonder they're saying Deadfish is a shoe-in for mayor of Chicago. Of course, deep GeorgeSorian pockets don't hurt, either.

In same neighborhoods, those two references will play very well. It's just like going into a job interview with Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire as references. Those are well-known names. Both men had significant careers in a widely followed profession. Of course, both are strongly suspected, last I heard, of using performance enhancing drugs to further their careers.

There are some neighborhoods where people won't care that Sosa and McGuire may have tainted their reputations to get ahead. Some neighborhoods, however, might not look upon that kindly. Some prospective employers would not be impressed.

It's the same thing having Obama and Clinton as references while campaigning for the job of mayor of Chicago. In Chicago, those names seem to carry a lot of water. In other neighborhoods, those names would represent the kiss of death for a political career.

I don't like to criticize voters but this, in my opinion, doesn't speak very highly of the character of those who would elect Deadfish. Maybe if Obama and Clinton were current and former rulers of the land, it wouldn't matter that one chased a chambermaid around the thrown and the other seems to want to share the keys to the economy and defense with other countries, friendly or otherwise. Besides, if they were kings, we wouldn't have anything to say about their misdeeds to begin with.

The point is, I just don't feel any kind of "tingle down my leg" when someone says the word "president." It's not that I don't respect the office or that I see myself on an equal social and political footing. It's just that I'm an American. I don't bow to presidents and, if I did, I wouldn't be bowing to them; I'd be bowing to the significance of their position - all the people they represent. And, I'm not automatically impressed because they are or were presidents.

I think Ronald Reagan was quite possibly the best president since George Washington. Some people were utterly captivated when Reagan spoke. The media called him the great communicator. Well, I never felt a shiver down my leg when Reagan spoke either, at least not one inspired by the simple aural pleasure of hearing his voice. I was impressed with Reagan because, to use the words from a television commercial of his time, when he spoke I didn't have to ask, "Where's the beef." He made sense. And I didn't feel like he was selling to me. I felt like he was simply giving it to me straight.

Some people do feel a shiver down their legs when Obama or Clinton speaks. I don't see it. Even though it didn't happen for me when Reagan spoke, I could at least see why others might feel that way. With Clinton and Obama, it just comes off as too contrived. They're just too smooth. I listen to them and I feel like they could give Eddie Haskell lessons.

That, for me, speaks to their sincerity. But, when you put those names - Obama and Clinton - on your application as references, I want to know what kind of presidents they are or were. Did they or do they respect the office of the presidency? How about the Constitution - did/do they feel that their very lives were/are secondary to their oath to uphold the Constitution? If not, can I expect the same from you, Mr. Emanuel?

Recently, Deadfish took a commentator on WGN to task because the commentator didn't apply the title "president" before every reference to Obama. Clearly, Deadfish holds 'Obama' in high esteem. And, I suppose, that's why his commercials seem to play so well in Chicago. In Chicago, they don't care that Clinton used his office to get a little from a young intern or that Obama seems to think the Constitution is optional as he 'governs' from the White House.

Chicago is a neighborhood where liberal progressivism is well bought and paid for. It's in the lay of the land. In Chicago, the only reason McGuire isn't warmly received is because he played for a team from a rival city. But, in Chicago, it doesn't matter that Clinton is from Arkansas, or that he seems a little too rehearsed, as long as he's from the liberal progressive side of the aisle.