Wool Over the Eyes

I saw the obituary for Eugene DePasquale in the PG today; I wasn't around here at all when he was in office, so the name was new to me, but what struck me was the summary paragraph on the PG homepage:

Eugene DePasquale was a devoted practitioner of old-school politics, wherein deals were cut and favors traded in back rooms, and jobs were awarded through the patronage system.

Not exactly the most flattering portrayal...certainly not what I would want to have as a summary paragraph of my life and career. Reading the whole obit, I found it interesting that at the same time that he was known to use the system for his own benefit, he was also celebrated as a "champion of the little guy."

I'm vexed and intrigued at how people can look at a guy who basically used political systems for his and his friends' benefit and seems to have personified the worst of old-boy network politics, and see him as a friend to the underdog. Sure, he may have started out as an underdog, but when you're cutting deals and awarding jobs based on loyalty, you can't really lay claim to being an egalitarian breath of fresh air. But, says Joe Pittsburgh, he got that pothole fixed, so he's a great guy. Wait, isn't this kinda how we ended up with W for eight years?