By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Politics in Hawai'i: It's not what you know, it's where you grad.

Of course, it's not that simplistic. But sometimes, it seems as though that's the first cut.

This election year, the folks pushing the "insider" button most frequently are the candidates themselves. From the carefully selected rainbow of ethnically diverse children they pose with for their "I support education" pamphlet photo to the choreographed drop-ins at cultural events, the essence of campaigning is playing that "I'm one of you" card.

Except it is impossible to be "one of you" for every ethnic and socioeconomic group in Hawai'i. Some of the attempts to portray the myth are downright disrespectful.

It's not unique to Hawai'i. All across the country, homegrown politicians remind voters that the soil of the land runs through their veins while the other candidate just recently showed up with "outside" ideas, even if the "just recently showed up" person has lived there for 25 years. (A billboard spotted outside Montgomery, Ala., this past summer bore the slogan "One of you" — and the guy was running for county coroner.) Candidates will put on cowboy boots, get their pictures taken eating local delicacies and slip in a few choice colloquialisms in the pursuit of that perceived connection to a place and its people.

What is unique to Hawai'i, though, is that there's not a clear "in crowd." There are many layers and variations to being "local," each with its own set of rules for belonging.

Instead of just being who they are, too many candidates put on the figurative cowboy hat, say "y'all" a bunch of times and try to pass for as close to "in" as they can get.

Politics in Hawai'i: It's not what you say you'll do, it's who you say you'll do it for.

So there were Duke Bainum and Mufi Hannemann speaking at the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu over the weekend, each trying to be more Filipino-friendly than the other.

I went to the Philippines.

I went there first.

I brought economic opportunity.

I brought meds.

I'd hire Filipinos in my administration.

I'd hire more.

Did I mention I love cascaron? (OK, neither said that. But both probably would have if they thought it would help.)

How insulting that the discourse would be so superficial and pandering. All Hawai'i voters deserve real discussion of issues, not the "ice cream for lunch!" campaign cheers of a kid running for fourth-grade class president.

Hawai'i voters do take note of a candidate's connection to a set of cultural values. The candidates know that. What they don't seem to remember is that, though we may be too polite to call them on it, we also take note of posers.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.