Those of us in magazineland whom Eric Celeste left in his wake when he sailed off for other career opportunities have watched closely how he has handled his new role as the communications director for the district attorney’s reelection campaign. Today’s paper brought us an indication that Eric just might make it after all. To wit, the following quote from him in response to Republican challenger Danny Clancy’s recent campaign mailer, which asks, “Isn’t it time for a DA who makes headlines for fighting crime, not political scandals?”:
“Saying the district attorney doesn’t fight crime is like saying Kobe Bryant doesn’t make baskets. The conviction rate is so perfect it doesn’t make headlines. If they want to make the campaign about fighting crime, we’re happy to go there.”
The sports reference, the bravado, the willingness to “go there” — these are the hallmarks of a man who is sure of his place in the world. You read a quote like that, and you know you’re dealing with a guy who probably owns an Ed Hardy t-shirt that says “Sinner” across the front. Good luck, Danny Clancy. You’re gonna need it.
10 comments
Love it! I’d be willing to bet that Eric has the tailor over at Watkins’ office right now fitting him for a flight suit — and is ordering up some “Mission Accomplished” banners for the election pre-party.
A bespoke flight suit with French cuffs and a “reverse” collar.
I guess the only baskets Kobe Bryant makes are slam dunks.
If Eric wants to make the campaign about lousy analogies, then I have a feeling he’s going to regret going there…
I would venture to guess Eric has LOTS of Ed Hardy t-shirts, and maybe a bluetooth earpiece.
I am not sure that Kobe Bryant is the best athlete to reference when bragging about conviction rates…
It’s a pullover, not a T-shirt. C’mon, Rogers. Fact-check something.
I found a picture of Eric at the press conference: http://www.popandpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/james-carville.jpg
Air ball!
Conviction rates are a useless measure – you can have a high conviction rate if you only try easy cases. Or if you do a lot of generous plea deals.
Henry Wade and Bill Hill also had stellar conviction rates. And we all know how that worked out. The fake drug scandal and something like 23 DNA exonerations and counting?