One of the biggest, most depressing political con jobs in recent memory was the one pulled by George W. Bush in 2000. Somehow, the Ivy League-educated son a former Vice President and President managed to sell himself as a Washington outsider, riding into town with his muddy work boots and six-shooter to teach them Yankee elitists a thing or two about governin’. Of course, you can argue that Al Gore’s lock box or Ralph Nader’s candidacy or hanging chads or the Supreme Court were more responsible for Bush’s (s)election, but the point is he ran on a blatantly false premise and won.
Ever since (and also before), many candidates have tried the same thing. People who have no business running as outsiders do it anyway — and it often works. A recent, local example: Duke Aiona, current Lieutenant Governor and Republican candidate for Governor, sat down with The Maui News last week. Here’s one of the quotes he gave them: “People here are fed up with local, state and federal government. There’s going to be a big change this year.”
So: Fed up with state government? Elect the guy who’s been second-in-command for the last eight years. Logic!
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