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This is even less convincing than your Friday column. You mention instances where Fenty & Co actually did back down in the face of popular opinion. This is upposed to convince us that he's unresponsive? the first time a Mayor Gray does something boneheaded, people will remember where Fenty backtracked. beyond placing Gray, worts and all in the possible light and then being cranky about fenty, it's pretty obvious where you stand, but it's a posture that doesn't necessarily win over those who are the fence. the discussion of who Gray would appoint, for example, completely ignored the performanceof people who've worked for him--did he make good picks? are his current staff responsive to ordinary DC citizens? Unfortunately, much of the pro-gray coverage seems to follow a similar course. fenty has enraged or disappointed many people. I voted for him because i thought Cropp was an empty suit who'd been a round far too long, with too little political courage. It would be easy for me to use my annoyance with fenty in much the same way, except Gray's strength seems to be a willingness to listen that also sounds like it can get more moushy than substantive. A little more substance about Gray could convincingly win over many more people. Despite Gray's lead in the recent poll, many are undecided. Often the undecided vote is mystifying (e.g., Bush v. Kerry or Obama v. Bush), but here you have similar broad outlines, but different style. We know that fenty's style has grave problems, but I have yet to see good illustrations of the pos/cons of Gray's style (other than , perhaps, the streetcars) based on his past performance.

by Rich on Aug 30, 2010 2:40 pm • link • report