Politicians misjudge our limits

By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

A few years ago, former Gov. John Waihe'e and his family attended a theater performance in downtown Honolulu.

At a reception after the play, Waihe'e was asked to pose for a photo with an actor who played the character of the mayor of a small town. Waihe'e agreed, but made the actor put down the cup of soda he had in his hand.

"Here's some advice," Waihe'e told the actor. "When you're in politics, never be photographed holding a drink in your hand."

"But this is soda!" protested the actor.

"Doesn't matter," said Waihe'e. "People will see the picture and think you're a drinker."

It seems politicians all hold this belief. They have advisers walk around with them at parties and make sure they're only seen holding bottles of Dasani or cans of Hawaiian Sun. No politician wants to be thought of as a capital D "Drinker," with all its potentially negative connotations.

Jon Yoshimura must have had this in mind when he committed that bang-and-split two years ago. He must have had this in mind when he denied he had been drinking that night — all the times he denied he had been drinking that night.

So what does he have in mind now?

While no politician wants to be thought of as a Drinker, it's much worse to be thought of as a liar.

Can we fault Yoshimura for coming clean too late? Well, better late to the truth than never. At least that's what we'd tell our kids. But there's so much about Yoshimura's recent confession that just doesn't feel sincere.

Yeah, it's good that he finally owned up, but his bout of honesty seems tainted by self-interest and calculated politicking for higher office.

Would he have called a quickie press conference to talk about his one secret drink if he wasn't running for lieutenant governor?

Can we make the jump from a lie about one drink and leaving the scene of an accident to a blanket judgment that this guy is no good and can't be trusted? We all know people are more complicated than that. We all know people make mistakes and sometimes act terribly out-of-character.

Yet, politicians think of us as so quick to judge that if we see a photo of them with a glass in their hand, we'll decide they're alcoholics. They expect us to be that judgmental, and sometimes, that leads to some bad judgment on their part.

All that being said, it's refreshing to see at least one of our City Council members stand up and say, "My bad."

Yoshimura is surrounded on the council by a chorus of "I didn't knows" and "It's not my faults" — from Rene Mansho's campaign fund violations to John Henry Felix's wedding business to Steve Holmes' mystery diplomas, and the biggest "Wasn't me" singer of all, Andy Mirikitani.

That Yoshimura admitted any wrongdoing at all is amazing in a world where people think saying nothing will make it all go away.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com