David Vitter marches toward pinata status

The somewhat misguided issue of “who would you rather have a beer with” has become a perennial question in modern presidential polling. And it’s something reporters and consultants sometimes kick around in Louisiana’s race for governor.

U.S. Sen. David Vitter, the frontrunner who is equal parts Rhodes Scholar and practitioner of hardball politics, doesn’t exactly fit the mold of drinking buddy. But there he was last week, with a pint in hand in sight of photographers, hamming it up with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has crafted his own alpha male persona.

That was something, because the buttoned-down senior senator definitely needs some softening around the edges. Many political watchers probably don’t know there’s a human side beneath that tough exterior. Besides beer, the politico has a serious sweet tooth and once told me one of his favorite foods is ice cream. Vitter painted Mardi Gras floats for his first job, loves architecture so much that he drafted the initial design of his family home, plays tennis, likes “The Sound of Music” and re-watches “Fawlty Towers” on occasion.

A beer can lead to such conversations. A beer can help turn a white collar blue. But as soon as Vitter hoisted those hops, he came under fire. And it came courtesy of the race’s Mr. Nice Guy, Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne. In a press release, Dardenne called Vitter an “absentee senator” for missing a vote on the U.S. Senate’s first budget passed in six years. Vitter’s vote wasn’t needed, and he probably got more political mileage out of the Christie event, but Dardenne saw an opening and seized it in what was a sign of things to come.

Read more: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/opinion/columnists/2015/05/12/david-vitter-marches-toward-pinata-status/27153817/

[font color=green]Unfortunately this story came out too late for Cinco de Mayo. Shucks.[/font]