The Winner of the Mayoral Debate? Michelle Fenty
Today's mayoral debate between Mayor Adrian Fenty and D.C. Council Chair Vince Gray wasn't much of anything new. Fenty highlighted the results his administration has produced, but admitted that the speed and intensity with which they had occurred had left many residents feeling left out. Gray promised to be a better, more inclusive chief executive.
But the big newsmaker of the day may have been First Lady Michelle Fenty -- who during the post-debate media scrum not only spoke on her husband's behalf, but nearly broke into tears when describing the misconceptions surrounding him. "Everything he has done has been for the community," she said, her voice shaking. "There are so many misconceptions about him, about us, about our family, I think it's important for me to speak up." When asked why she was speaking up so late in the campaign, she responded, "The [Washington Post] poll solidified what our worst fears are...the poll was so striking to me." (The City Paper caught the snippet above.)
That she was even speaking to the media was news in and of itself, but that she appeared so emotional in defending her husband was really something to watch. Any motivations aside, her comments and the emotion behind them highlight that, despite what many in the District seem to think, Fenty is a loving family man who cares for the community around him. Some cynics pointed out that the emotion she showed coincided nicely with the Fenty campaign's new strategy of openly admitting fault and promising a kinder, gentler Mayor Fenty should he win re-election. Others argued that much like Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's wife, who broke down during a confirmation hearing, the personal intensity of the mayoral campaign may just have gotten to her.
In the end, will this matter? While Fenty delivered a strong closing statement in which he admitted to his personal failings, its delivery with less than two weeks left in the campaign may not be enough to close a gap that has grown to as large as 17 points. Then again, every election has its one moment, and this may have been it. Michelle Fenty's emotional defense of her husband could be enough to balance off her husband's aloofness, one of the traits that so quickly lost him popular support over the last four years.