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?
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?
posted by Uncle | 23:43
2 Comments:
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.
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)?
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