Others have remarked on the dullness of Dallas’ mayoral race. But, watching the TV debate last night among the four candidates, the concept of “likability”–always a staple of big-time political polling–also came to mind. None of these guys, in a nutshell, seems like someone you’d want to be stuck in an elevator with. That said, here’s a quick take on their “performances:”
David Kunkle had a sort of stunned-to-be-here look, like he was afraid somebody in the audience was going to whip out a weapon on him. Mike Rawlings showed flashes of humor in his exchanges with moderator Doug Dunbar. Otherwise, though, he came across like an efficient automaton, one who said all the right things, pandered to all the right constituencies.
Ron Natinsky looked like the world’s most earnest insurance man or–as someone who watched the debate with me said–like “the boring uncle you get stuck sitting next to at Thanksgiving dinner.” And Edward Okpa, the one nobody gives any chance to win, ironically seemed to be the most independent, original thinker of the bunch. When you could understand what the hell he was saying.
