Scratches

Comments on life, the universe and everything from an aging Sixties survivor.

Name:
Location: Massachusetts, United States

Ummm, isn't "about me" part of the point of the blog?

Sunday, February 18, 2007

The Unasked Question

OK, Deval got a Cadillac instead of a Chrysler or a Crown Vic. When last I looked, the price point spread between the options is minimal. What we're talking about is reputation: a reputation that had mostly died out by the time I became old enough to buy grown-up cars instead of beaters, say 35 years ago.

Mostly.

The exception makes me ask the question that I have not seen posed elsewhere. If Deval Patrick were white, would we care if he chose a Caddy over a Chrysler?

2 Comments:

Blogger massmarrier said...

That is fascinating. This may not be as strident or offensive as watermelon allusions, but it is hard to ignore the laden images of Cadillacs and black Americans. I suspect if Romney were the governor in question, Crown Vic v. Caddy would not have been an issue at all.

Amusingly enough for me, I wonder why our states' governors need such a heavy, energy pig anyway. I'd like our head of government to be a car with some oomph and heft if needed for safety, both those bathtubs are awkward handling as well. I suspect he'd be safer and the ticket a little cheaper if they went with a (gasp) foreign model -- say Volvo, as so many European biggies do.

As a rolling office, the Caddy isn't any roomier. So other than a stereotype, what's the point?

Harrumph.

1:03 pm  
Blogger Uncle said...

We make much of Dukakis riding the T, but he couldn't take that to North Adams. Surely, there are more energy-efficient options that wouldn't squeeze a gov. and staff.

I'm amused by comparisons between Romney's Crown Vic deal two or three years back and Deval's Caddy deal today: apples and oranges? What would Mitt's ride cost now, and could the staties have gotten a better deal (for a white governor)?

10:35 pm  

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