Chicago Tribune editorial writers are no more able to recognize character than they are to understand how badly the present their product to their regular subscribers
Braun's character
6:21 PM CST, January 31, 2011
Late in the first joint appearance of the four leading contenders for mayor of Chicago, Carol Moseley Braun lectured on the importance of a mayor's temperament. The date was Jan. 14, the setting was the Tribune editorial board, and the candidate on Braun's griddle was Rahm Emanuel. Electing him mayor, she suggested, would import to Chicago a sharp-elbowed style of Washington politicking:
"None of us (opposing you for mayor) have a reputation for sending dead fish to people, … poking people in the chest, cussing them out," Braun instructed a silent, attentive Emanuel. "I mean, the question is one of temperament — whether or not you bring that kind of temperament to the city of Chicago. This city is the 'city of big shoulders' and we're considered to be tough Grabowskis and all of that. But we're not mean-spirited and nasty. …"
With that last sentence Braun pivoted to her right, toward Emanuel, and gently dipped her head. She let "mean-spirited and nasty" expand to fill the high-ceilinged room. Her words and her body language sought to convey not only her relative propriety, but her nobility as well.
On Sunday, though, Braun abandoned any semblance of those attributes, real or theatrical. At a South Side forum, fellow candidate Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins criticized the former U.S. senator and ambassador for returning to politics after being "missing in action and lost somewhere" during years when parts of Chicago had struggled. As personal attacks go, this was fairly tepid and, coming from a candidate who barely registers in the polls, not so threatening to Braun.
Yet Braun retorted with a vicious, and evidently wrong, overreaction: "Patricia, the reason you didn't know who I was for the last 20 years is because you were strung out on crack. Now you have admitted to that. You also were in a cult. You have admitted to that. … I was not strung out on crack. I don't have a record."
Watkins, 53, has told the Tribune she used marijuana and cocaine for several years as a teenager, has never used crack cocaine, and has been sober for 25 years. What she said in a subsequent statement rings true: "Carol owes an apology to me and to every person who has struggled with an addiction in the city of Chicago. This says a lot about her character and shows she is not ready to be a leader for Chicago residents."
We're slow to call on politicians to apologize for their wretched excesses. Each of us has voiced cruelties we regret. Had Braun apologized to Watkins on the spot, Chicagoans could relate not only to her ugly words, but to her contrition.
What's remarkable is that, at this writing, Braun has displayed no regret whatsoever. With her silence, she has parlayed a momentary hurt into what's now something more serious: a calculated refusal to get straight with Watkins and the people of Chicago. The people Braun aspires to lead.
That this campaign's discussion of temperament started with Braun lecturing Emanuel is instructive: Emanuel employs a strong tongue and strong tactics, but we don't recall any such outburst from him in any public setting.
So what is it, Ms. Braun? You say "We're not mean-spirited and nasty"?
Are we, instead, reckless with our words and then too stubborn to say we're dead wrong?
The question, you said Jan. 14, is one of temperament. Thanks for displaying yours now, when voters see it implode.
