Carol Marin Saturday column in the Chicago Sun-Times compares and contrasts the personas and personalities of Pat Quinn and Dan Hynes.
Characterizing them as Walter Matthau (Quinn) vs. Jack Lemmon (Hynes), Marin says the governors race in Illinois “may boil down to which guy you’d rather have a beer with.”
Right now, I’d like to have that beer with Pat Quinn.
As a fellow Domer, I probably should lean Dan Hynes, but I like Pat Quinn’s down-to-earth style. While I probably shouldn’t characterize people by the schools they attended, Hynes is also a product of the aloof St. Ignatius Prep School.
A longtime politico of the Democratic-Irish-Catholic persuasion, who hates to see his/her name in the newspaper, explained the race to me this way: “It’s been very personal and getting worse. Hynes has worked hard and is smart and capable but not a great campaigner. And Pat Quinn is viewed as the outsider . . . but ended up in the right place at the right time. . . . Right now I do my best to stay out of it. We have long Hynes connections, but I like Pat Quinn. He connects to people, he’s honest.”
The pol added: “At a White Sox game, he sits in the upper deck, not in a skybox.”
Quinn (Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown) and Hynes (magna cum laude from Notre Dame) are among this state’s brainiest politicians. And this contest should be decided based on who has the best, smartest policies to pull Illinois out of the worst financial crisis, perhaps, in its history.
I hope these guys campaign on what they want to do as governor. I don’t want to watch an endless stream of commercials attacking or responding to frivolous political attacks. Right now, I’m just not sure how these pols differ ideologically. They both seem very intelligent and honest. I just feel more comfortable with Pat Quinn right now.
Let the games begin.