Not just a curmudgeon

Barry Rascovar's defense of William Donald Schaefer is incredibly off the mark. Treating the Governor's young female aide as a sexual plaything isn't colorful or curmudgeonly -- it's wrong, even if it would have been winked at in an earlier era. Likewise with the Comptroller's remarks about Korean and Latino immigrants.

I also don't think the outrage over Schaefer's behavior has much, if anything, to do with political correctness or prudery, as Rascovar alleges. Speaking on behalf of the younger generation, I would say that we still like off-color humor, but what constitutes it has changed considerably since Schaefer's day. Sexism and racism may be out, but profanity is still au courant, as would be obvious to anyone who's watched an episode of South Park recently. Imagine a politican who spoke like Atrios or the Poor Man, and you might have an idea of someone the younger set might chuckle at in the same way Rascovar does at Schaefer.

Having said that, Rascovar's take on Schaefer's actual work as Comptroller and the current three-way contest is fairly accurate. Janet Owens is certainly running as a traditional administrator, which may have more mainstream appeal, and Peter Franchot is certainly injecting an activist agenda into his campaign platform. As I've said before, though, that may not be a bad thing.

(Edited for clarity.)

Tags: William Donald Schaefer, Maryland Comptroller, Peter Franchot, Janet Owens