JustASC

Blair Levin tells this story in the Times, about his time working for Tom Bradley, the former California gubernatorial candidate:

I worked for Bradley in his 1973 mayoral campaign against Sam Yorty, the incumbent. Bradley was holding his own. But a key group, Jewish voters, was up for grabs. One Sunday, I drove Bradley to a banquet with a Jewish group. Walking in, I noticed many men wearing yarmulkes. I had one in my jacket and gave it to Bradley. He put it in his pocket.

When the event began, Yorty was called to the podium and given a yarmulke, which he put on. Then Bradley was called up. When offered a yarmulke, he said, “I have my own,” reached into his pocket, took it out and put it on. The response? Laughter, applause, smiles. It sent a message not of pandering – “I am one of you” – but rather, “We are all in this together.”

Of course, a cynic might say it also sent the message, “I’m not above a little deception to earn your vote.”

This entry was posted on Friday, October 24th, 2008 at 9:15 am and is filed under JustASC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.