With today’s gigantic primary-and-caucus-fest hanging over America’s political consciousness like the Southland’s stormy weather, two candidates have best demonstrated what has come to define elections: take what you can get no matter how you get it.
While Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., claimed “victory” (read: no contest) in Florida’s primary, John McCain, R-Ariz., accepted the support of his failed colleague, embattled ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Although both decisions may have proved strategically savvy, they point to the candidates’ readiness to turn towards unscrupulous campaign practices.
In Clinton’s case, the former first lady and junior senator paid no heed to the pleas of her own national party. The Democratic Party denied Florida its 210 delegates after the state moved its primary up in an attempt to play a bigger role in selecting the front-runner come August’s Democratic National Convention.
The fact that she rebelled against her own party, however, is hardly the main issue. By campaigning in a state where no opposing candidates are to be found, Clinton effectively took what was a no-contest situation and twisted it for her own political gain.
Senators Barack Obama and John Edwards were not to be found in Florida, thus rendering the primary null and pointless. Yet Clinton, who obviously “won” the state, wants its results to count in the delegate race.
“Floridians wanted their voices heard,” she said in her staged “victory rally.” “I am thrilled to have had this vote of confidence you have given me here today.”
According to CNN, Clinton took in 50 percent of the vote, with Obama and Edwards pulling 33 and 14 percent, respectively. That is without campaigning in the state at all.
By trying to twist the results as a resounding victory over the other candidates, she was playing the worst kind of politics: dishonestly attempting to do anything that she thought would stay the momentum Obama had accrued following his South Carolina victory and now famous “Yes We Can” speech.
Florida also played a key role in exposing John McCain’s penchant for cheap politics. After finishing a dismal third place in Florida, which was essentially the state he hedged his entire campaign on, Giuliani bowed out of the race, throwing his support the way of the war veteran and second-time candidate McCain.
At first glance, it seems only natural that the ex-mayor’s ally would accept his support and instantly label him his right-hand man, implying a possible vice presidential or cabinet position in a would-be McCain administration.
And yet, a recent expose in ““ of all places ““ Gentlemen’s Quarterly magazine (also known as GQ), uncovered the political beast, character assassin, and noncompliant that McCain’s new friend really is.
According to the article, which is entirely composed of quotes from those who worked extensively with the mayor in his controversial reign over the city, Giuliani ran the gamut of detestable deeds: he refused to meet with black politicians (including the borough president of Manhattan and the state comptroller), he called and derided reporters who published negative stories on him, and he is said to have incited the 1992 NYPD race riots. The article quotes Jerry Hauer, the former director of the New York City Office of Emergency Management, as describing Giuliani as “out to screw anybody that doesn’t go along with what he wants.”
Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch asked Giuliani why he would not meet with blacks, and according to GQ, Giuliani replied, “I don’t agree with them.”
All of this without mention of Giuliani’s knack for experimenting with life as a drag queen; the former mayor is spotted in YouTube videos in full female regalia, fake breasts manhandled by fellow New York icon, Donald Trump.
But why shouldn’t McCain take any endorsement he can get? Why shouldn’t Clinton trumpet the airless horn that is Florida? In an epically long campaign such as this one, candidates must undertake any means they can to stay alive for the two-year stretch.
But what we have to keep in mind is that candidates must not be judged solely on the poll numbers that precede the election, but by the ethical lines they toe in hopes of gaining America’s confidence.
Today, on this Super Tuesday, UCLA students, Californians and Americans should not fall prey to such deleterious practices. They should vote for whomever they wish, but for the right reasons. Change should be effected by those willing to compromise in their politics, not their morals.
Skipping over the names “Clinton” and “McCain” on your ballot today? E-mail Makarechi at kmakarechi@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.