Tough-guy stance working for Emanuel
Boosters of Rahm Emanuel, the front-runner in the Feb. 22 mayoral sweepstakes, wax on about his perceived assets: He is an indefatigable campaigner, a vacuum of millions in campaign contributions, a congressional dealmaker and a White House veteran, they say.
According to my own correspondents, Emanuel�s greatest asset harks back to a tried-and-true, all-American value. Think Marlboro Man, John Wayne, Sylvester �Rambo� Stallone. Chicago�s own Rahmbo may be the candidate to beat for one big reason: He�s a macho man.
Regular Chicago voters, especially men, tell me Emanuel�s unsmiling, take-no-prisoners persona assures them he is the best candidate to tackle the massive budget hassles, union ire and intractable City Council that awaits Chicago�s next chief executive. And you might be surprised about where that sentiment is coming from. I sure was.
My Uncle Leland doesn�t warm up to politicians easily. My longtime readers know that back in 2003, he branded a certain U.S. Senate candidate as an out-of-touch �elitist.� He�s has since come around on Barack Obama and, now, his former chief of staff. �Laura, I know you are going to beat me up for saying this,� he told me the other day. �I�ve got nothing against Carol Moseley Braun and [state Sen. James] Meeks, but they don�t have the financial means � and moxie.�
Leland Cain, an 86-year-old retired railroad worker, is no race man. He takes candidates as they come, and supports African-American candidates when he can. This time around, he says, we need some �tough� stuff in City Hall.
Emanuel �can pick up the phone and talk to people who can get help for the city,� he said. Black voters will split the vote between the competing African-American candidates, he predicts. Emmanuel is �going to win big. He�s got the moxie.�
Across town, Ruben Alvarez agrees. Alvarez, a business acquaintance of my husband, knows a thing or two about macho. He is the proprietor of Belrich Screw Products, a Bucktown company that makes tough-guy toys like tire gauges and parts for F-15 fighter jets.
�I was born with mechanical abilities,� Alvarez says. �Seems like Emanuel was born with political abilities. He gets things done.�
The 42-year-old Mexican immigrant has noticed that Emanuel has been stumping in Latino neighborhoods such as Pilsen. �He will make some changes in the Hispanic neighborhoods. That�s what will help him win the race.�
I have heard the same from other manly types. (I don�t have the heart to tell them that Emanuel took ballet lessons in his youth).
Emanuel�s edge is reflected in a poll taken on Nov. 22. The survey, commissioned by the Chicago Retail Merchants Association, gave Emanuel a sizable lead in the mayoral sweepstakes. Thirty-nine percent of Chicago voters surveyed favored Emanuel. Braun received 12 percent and Gery Chico came in third at 8 percent, according to the survey. There was scarce gender difference in Emanuel�s support. Female voters weighed in at 39.7 percent, and 40.2 percent of male voters opted for Rahmbo. It may be sexist, but both men and women associate manliness with political success.
Emanuel�s opponents dismissed the poll, arguing that the campaign is still in the early stages and that voters are reacting to the blitz of favorable media coverage the former White House chief of staff has enjoyed since he left the Obama administration to mount his mayoral run.
This race has a long and twisting road to go. Still, image is everything in politics. As that old Village People ode goes, �Macho, macho man. I�ve got to be, a macho man.�
Monday, November 29, 2010
Tough-guy stance working for Emanuel :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Laura Washington
via suntimes.com
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