While I was out in the wilds of New York, I got word from Harold Cook that a fellow named Daniel Melder had criticized Land Commissioner candidate for his most recent press release, the one about the guy in Indiana who was using a photo of Uribe on his dating profile, and in doing so pointed to my post about that to say that he was glad to see that he’s “not alone in thinking that the Uribe campaign is bringing mockery upon itself”. I’m not sure why he cited my post for that purpose, since I reiterated my position that Uribe was my favorite candidate of this cycle in it, but once and for all, for the record, I do not believe Uribe’s use of humor, in this matter and in previous releases, brings any mockery upon himself or his campaign. To the contrary, I think he’s hit exactly the right notes, and has used the funny in a very effective way. My advice for the Uribe campaign is don’t change a thing.
I don’t want to be too hard on Mr. Melder, who raises a perfectly valid question. Lord knows, after suffering through five years of Kinky Friedman’s schtick, I totally understand Melder’s concern. The key difference is that humor is just one facet of Uribe’s campaign. He’s not afraid to make a joke and get a little attention for it, which is something that all candidates farther down on the ballot try to do, but if you’ve been following his campaign, it’s clear there’s a lot more to him than that, and that unlike some other candidates who have been derailed by trivial pursuits, Uribe is taking this all very seriously. He just doesn’t take himself too seriously, which frankly is an example we could all follow.