A touch of class at a campaign photo-op that went unseen

Following yet another mass shooting in our country last year, a candidate for president visited the survivors to offer sympathy and support. If you didn’t know about that visit, here’s the reason: there was no photo-op.

The news media wasn’t notified in advance. The unannounced, unrecorded visit was private. Just the candidate and the survivors. No cameras. No microphones No press releases. Simply an act of compassion with no poll points to be reaped.

Long after it happened, the visit was mentioned last week in The New York Times. In keeping with my policy of keeping this column as apolitical as humanly possible, I won’t identify the candidate by name, gender or political party. Still, I think the incident is worth reporting, because it showed a touch of class seldom found in political campaigning these days.

Apparently photo-ops are nearly as important to candidates as bragging about their humble roots; if their speechwriters are to be believed, every candidate who ever ran for president descended from humble roots. With the possible exception of Nelson Rockefeller.

So we see photos of candidates eating hot dogs at county fairs. Video of candidates just happening to drop in at small town diners for a cup of coffee. Just about the only image you’ll never see is one of a candidate dining at a three star Michelin restaurant. (Sometimes those backfire deliciously.

While a candidate for mayor of New York, a photo-op showed Bill de Blasio eating pizza in Staten Island — with a knife and fork. No telling how many Italian-American votes he lost for that.)

Call me a cynic, but if eating hot dogs and humble beginnings qualified someone to be president, Joey Chestnut should be living in the White House today. I don’t know about his beginnings, but he swallowed 71 hot dogs this year in the annual wiener eating contest at Coney Island.

An adviser for the candidate whose mission of mercy wasn’t announced seems to feel that way, too.

“Let’s be clear about this point,” he declared in The Times article. “If somebody wants a candidate who is going to make health care a right, raise wages, deal with immigration reform and criminal justice reform (name of candidate) is your candidate. If you want somebody who’s going to talk about their cooking, their dog, their wardrobe, travel habits or favorite books (name of candidate) is not your candidate.

“This is not a popularity contest or a find-a-friend contest.”

All this being said, I’m not saying whether I’d vote for his candidate next year. My vote will go to the candidate I feel is honest, intelligent and capable. If any.

Still, a touch of class wouldn’t hurt.

Contact this columnist at dlstew_2000@yahoo.com.