Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better

Politics is all about 'compare and contrast', candidates doing all they can to differentiate themselves from their opponent. Political parties try to paint each other as unacceptable, too extreme, and untrustworthy to govern. In an effort to make that differentiation clear, campaigns use endorsements – as a show of force and strength, to demonstrate organization, and to paint themselves as the inevitable. The rhetorical question of Catch Me If You Can comes to mind: "Do you know why the Yankees always win?  Because they have Mickey Mantle? No, because everyone can stop staring at those pinstripes."

In the current race for County Executive here in Rockland, both sides are trying to one up each other, bragging about this endorsement versus that endorsement. Let's take a look and compare at the endorsements by elected officials, both current and former, along with community leaders:

David Fried

President Bill Clinton

Governor Andrew Cuomo

Senator Charles Schumer

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Congressswoman Nita Lowey

State Senator David Carlucci

Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee

Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski

Assemblyman James Skoufis

District Attorney Tom Zugibe

County Sheriff Lou Falco

County Clerk Paul Piperato

Chair of the Legislature Harriet Cornell

County Legislator Nancy Low-Hogan

County Legislator Aney Paul

County Legislator Alden Wolfe

County Legislator Jay Hood

Clarkstown Supervisor Alex Gromack

Haverstraw Supervisor Howard Phillips

Orangetown Supervisor Andy Stewart

Stony Point Supervisor Geoff Finn

Nyack Mayor Jen White

South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian

Former Sheriff James Kralik

Former Legislator Connie Coker

Former Legislator Denise Kronstadt

Ed Day

County Legislator Joe Meyers

Suffern Mayor Dagan Lacorte

Former Governor George Pataki

Former District Attorney Michael Bongiorno

Former Legislator Bob Jackson

Former Legislator Bruce Levine

County Executive Candidate Vladimir Leon

Um, Ed...I'm not all that impressed. Actually, his endorsement list begs additional questions. Why hasn't Senator Bill Larkin endorsed? Why hasn't former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani endorsed? If he was so beloved in Baltimore, why hasn't Ed managed to get the endorsement of the then-Mayor of Baltimore and now Governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley? Wouldn't that be coup of an endorsement, Cuomo's biggest Democratic gubernatorial rival?

Maybe Ed's lack of support, particularly among Republicans, is his betrayal of the Republican Party. Rumblings in Albany are that Republican State Chair Ed Cox is furious with Day for pushing voters to Row G, Preserve Rockland – that push is costing down-ballot Republicans votes. Basically Ed is asking voters to go Row B for Supreme Court, Row G for County Executive, Row B for County Clerk, and dependent on the town you live, stay on Row B or go back to Row G, unless you're in Clarkstown, which for Town Council, he wants you to go Row G for Supervisor and one of the council candidates, then back up to Row B. Sound confusing?

Ed has managed to earn the endorsements of a number of local unions. Part of that is owed to his support of the proposed desalination plant. Now Ed's supporters would point to statements Ed's made that seem like he opposes the plant. But look carefully – he's never said he doesn't support the plant. Instead, he's challenged United Water to prove that it's workable. He's even laid out conditions under which he'd support the plant – that's not opposition, that's trying to have your cake and eat it too. As to police endorsements, that should be expected, owing to Ed's extensive law enforcement resume. But what should be noteworthy is that his support from police unions is far from unanimous. When the County Corrections, Sheriff's Deputies, and Superior Officers support Fried, it shows significant cracks in Day's uniformed support.

As to newspapers, Ed has only one paper of note: the Rockland Review. What's interesting there is that, according to campaign finance disclosures, the Rockland Review made campaign contributions to Day's campaign. The idea that a newspaper would donate to a campaign makes their endorsement hollow. Fried, on the other hand, scored the surprise endorsement of Our Town Newspapers, with the editorial board calling Day's budget plan "unworkable in the public sector". Later, Fried picked up the support of The Journal News, noteworthy after the paper had endorsed Scott Vanderhoef for most of his 20 year career.

Moving forward, both campaigns, through endorsements, will try to distinguish themselves from the other. Some will be more impressive than others. Vladimir Leon versus Bill Clinton, Michael Bongiorno versus Chuck Schumer, etc. In a week, will see how things all play out.