Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom recently dropped his campaign for the California governor's race. He took off unexpectedly and headed to Hawaii, his own staff had no idea where he was (though a search of the Appalachian Trail was considered.) He missed several scheduled appearances, and has been tight-lipped about the whole thing since returning. Here's some amazing footage of an interview with the local CBS affiliate here in the Bay Area. This doesn't mean much outside of the bay area, but it is interesting footage. I don't understand why he doesn't simply issue some statement and move on. But politicians often do amazingly strange things... <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?entry_id=52062" target="_blank">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/...id=52062</a>
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt I live in San Francisco and it is indeed strange to see Newsom unraveling right before my eyes. He started out on the right foot, but it looks like his second and final term will end with a bust.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox I agree. We've seen some really strange behavior from our past mayors. (Anyone else remember Frank Jordan singing in his shower with radio stars Mark and Brian?) But this is just plain looney. I'm grateful he dropped out of the governor's race. I'd much rather support Brown than Newsom.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Wow, he was a tad unhinged. Did you see the smiling, twitching, etc. LOL I miss my City!
Originally Posted By Mr X I would say there HAS to be more to that story. The guy was clearly on the defensive and very aggressive about it.
Originally Posted By gadzuux As a San Franciscan for the past thirtysome years, I'm inclined to give him a little slack. We've been through some surprises before with Newsom, over the past several years. If you've never seen him, he's movie star handsome, with all the hair and teeth a groomed politician will ever need. And his personal life has been a bit volatile the whole time. He married then divorced fox news 'hottie' Jennifer Guilfoil, who emerged out of a local dog mauling trial that rivaled OJ or MJ for tragic weirdness. He famously got 'involved' with his own campaign manager's wife, followed by a very public and embarassing series of revelations, and then admitted to a drinking problem. He recently married another starlet - I forget her name but I think she was in one of the 'scream' movies - with an uber:hip wedding in Montana (I'll bet there was a cabin involved) followed promptly by producing a baby daughter. Then most recently were the dizzying heights and perilous depths of his aborted campaign for governor. This guy would make a great reality show. In the meantime, I actually thought Newsom fielded that interview okay. He was confronted by valid but pushy questions, got testy, and rather than continue to be toyed with, he cut it short. He didn't rant, he didn't lose his cool - instead he took a hike and let the reporter know that he was "disappointed". He was being genuine but yet maintaining his dignity, and authority. I like Newsom - obviously - and I know people in my own life who find themselves wallowing through some erractic chapters in the course of their lifetime. Not everyone leads a solid stable uneventful unremarkable existence - some are fated to a bit more of the tumult and melodrama of life than others. Gavin's rich and famous and handsome and charming - and he's one of those guys who's "living the dream" of life at the top. That can be pretty heady stuff, especially when you spread it out over years - and there may well be times when someone would need to step out of the public eye to collect themselves. If this current bout of strangeness continues much longer, I may change my thinking. But for now, I'm just curious about what's cookin' THIS time!
Originally Posted By SuperDry Wow gadzuux, that's quite a message. I don't know much about Mayor Newsom, but I really understand what you're saying about certain people's lives. It's all too easy for many to judge from afar and not recognize that not everyone was destined for a "normal" life.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>I actually thought Newsom fielded that interview okay.<< Really? I thought he looked nuts. Overly defensive, and just this side of Nathan Therm. Good grief, I would have just said something like "Listen, I poured my heart and soul into a campaign for governor, it ended in disappointment. I don't expect people who have never experienced something similar to totally understand, but I just needed a few days away to recharge my batteries and get me ready to refocus on this city. Which brings me to the subject of the big deficit..." Instead, by getting in a snit, he looks spoiled and suspicious. Now I am wondering what he might be hiding (which may be nothing, but it was not a rational way to behave, so...) CBS-5's Hank Plante didn't come off looking like a bully. He just tried to get answers to the questions everyone around here has been wondering about. Newsom needs a PR person, stat.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Oh, and his saying that he doesn't read any of the news is almost as nutty as Sarah Palin saying she reads everything.
Originally Posted By SuperDry Perhaps the oddest thing was that his initial stance was to ignore the reporter's questions about his recent schedule, claiming he wants to focus on the huge deficit and not personal issues in the past. But then when the reporter wanted to talk about the deficit, he acted defensive about that, as if the reporter had pulled a dirty trick for even bringing it up.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Well, whatever his standing is in the Bay Area right now, he's a political dead man state-wide.
Originally Posted By gadzuux By the time the questions rolled back around to the budget issues, the damage was done and the interview was over. Newsom's usually very accessible to the media, and even to the general public - I've spoken with him briefly a couple of times just by approaching him at public events, and on the most recent occasion he remembered me from the earlier time. I also hear him on local morning radio quite often - KGO, KFOG, Alice, and probably others. He comes off particularly well in a radio show format because it's looser and more conversational. He picked a bad year to run for governor. He coulda been a contender against pretty much anybody other than Jerry Brown - who still hasn't even declared. Even if he doesn't run for office for awhile, he'll land on his feet. They don't get much more connected to money and power than Newsom.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Of course, that doesn't NECESSARILY guarantee anything politics-wise (lookin' at you, Steve Forbes).
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Let's not forget that it was Newsom's neener-neener soundbyte ("The door's wide open now. It's gonna happen whether you like it or not!") that provided a rallying cry for supporters of Prop 8. Hell, no one was more anti-Prop 8 than me, and I thought he sounded like a jerk in those ads. He's a smart guy, and can be likeable and interesting. I don't think he's tarnished goods forever. But he also is a bit politically tone deaf at times. This interview is another one of those times.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan (And , yes, I understand the quote was pulled from a celebratory moment after gay marriage became legal, so in the ads, it is out of context. But still...)
Originally Posted By Kilroy Somebody needs to tell Mathew Mc conaughey that it's best not to get all hot under the collar when being interviewed. As a San Jose native for many years I have seen Mat help San Francisco. I like the man. "if you want to get chicks you should take your shirt off. When it gets kinda hot and we should BBQ and take our shits off, chicks dig that"
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "But he also is a bit politically tone deaf at times." Yep, and that's unfortunately one of the major problems with most politicians in this city.
