L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa Seizes the Day -- From Gov. Candidate Angelides

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: Mayor Seizes the Day -- From Angelides
As the gubernatorial candidate speaks, Villaraigosa goes to the aid of a fainting seventh-grader.
By Duke Helfand, Times Staff Writer
September 9, 2006


DR. MAYOR: Antonio Villaraigosa, right, helps a student who was overcome by heat at an event for Phil Angelides.
(Luis Sinco / LAT)

The event at the Foshay Learning Center was billed as a momentous occasion: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa endorsing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides.

But while cameras trained on Angelides' speech, a smaller moment occurred off-screen: A 12-year-old girl standing on the stage in the hot auditorium crumpled in a faint, and Villaraigosa scooped her up in his arms and carried her outside.

The episode this week, as memorable as anything in that day's speeches, stands as a reminder of several enduring facts of politics: It's sometimes better to be lucky than good, it always pays to be quick on your feet and, for all the effort given to script and choreography, the surprise moment is often the most lasting.

As Villaraigosa bolted from the room, the girl slumped over his shoulder, bewildered by the sudden turn of events. Once outside, the mayor laid her on a lunch table, folded his jacket and placed it beneath her head. Angelides, meanwhile, was left standing to one side, his show stolen by Villaraigosa.

It was, some reflected later, a metaphor for the arc of these two men, both leading Democrats in California — of Angelides' difficulty in connecting closely to the electorate and of Villaraigosa's extraordinary luck and seeming ability to overcome almost any obstacle with a burst of charm....

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mayor9sep09,0,7411338.story?coll=la-home-local

[AX10]

1. Antonio want to be the Governor in 4 years.

He is overated and self-serving. Antonio would allow for four more years of Ahhnuld just so he could get the the job himself in 2010.

[msongs]

2. Exactly correct - he is in it for himself - Lieberman CA version

the hijacking of the public schools is a PR stunt for his governor's campaign now in progress.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[1932]

5. BS. With term limits, he's more likely to become Governor if Angelides

wins and they save the state from becoming Diebolded and save the middle class from becoming slaves to wealthy corps.

[Zhade]

4. I wondered. I mean, good on him taking care of her, but...

He's supposed to be really progressive - which is why, when he came to tour my facility in his HUMMER limo, I was shocked.

Doesn't he realize what a waste - and what an image - that limo represents?

[1932]

3. Geez. CA media hated Villaraigosa...until they figured out how to use him

to hurt Angelides.

Now they pretend that they like him and contort this story into a negative against Phil.

Why do they want Arnold to be Governor so bad?

[imouttahere]

6. Because the CA Media, like all other media in the U.S......

serves only their neo-con masters!