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Politicians Beat Buzzards Back To Tampa Bay

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By STEVE OTTO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 21, 2008

This week brings the first days of autumn, which still isn't exactly sweater weather around here.

It is a sign of change. The trees aren't changing colors, but mold on building walls does turn kind of a dark greenish black. Weeds down by the sign announcing that Trump Tower soon will rise along the Hillsborough River are getting pretty high, and the sun is setting a little earlier over those empty condo towers by the channel.

It won't be long before the buzzards that roost in the downtown towers and around the area are back for the winter, feeding off of whatever it is they feed off of.

But they won't be the first scavengers to come flying into Florida, looking for what they can get from the rest of us. With little more than a month before the general election, those same politicians who not only ignored Florida in January but who said we needed to be punished for trying to step up in line and be counted in the decision-making process are descending on the state.

They make the poor buzzards, which are actually turkey vultures, look like amateurs. All the poor birds want is a free meal. They don't pretend they are something they are not. I mean, you can put lipstick on a buzzard and it's definitely still a buzzard.

Those same politicians, who wouldn't come earlier this year but had their surrogates putting the squeeze on Floridians for money, now want your money and your votes. Florida is that microcosm of all the issues that confront the rest of the country.

Florida, Florida, Florida

And it is a state - if you believe pollsters - split smack down the middle. The numbers I saw going into the weekend were 48 percent for Sen. John McCain, 48 percent for Sen. Barack Obama with 4 percent probably waiting to see if somebody better comes along.

Florida is once again at center stage and, like it or not, the contenders and their minions will be pontificating until about the time you finally throw out those Halloween pumpkins that having been sitting on the front porch for a week and are getting pretty ripe.

Sarah Palin is scheduled to be in Florida today over at The Villages near Ocala. My friend Bob, the Vietnam veteran who is usually more into the Bucs or buying his own tank, has developed a sudden interest in politics and wondered if I wanted to drive over this morning and see the Republican vice presidential candidate.

I asked him if he had gone down to the convention center last week when McCain was in town but he said he wasn't quite that interested.

Today In The Big Guava

Even the "Today" show is scheduled to be in Tampa this week, now that they have decided The Big Guava is at the heart of this highly contested state. They are going to be broadcasting from the University of Tampa, and I can only assume that since it is the "Today" show they will be perched in one of the minarets.

It's too bad they won't stay long. Tampa is a rich, diverse community. We have more than our share of people on fixed incomes and our streets are lined with "For Sale" signs. Insurance rates, taxes, disappearing jobs and a sense of foreboding permeate neighborhoods. Yeah, if I was one of the TV people I would just set up shop in one of those minarets, settle in with a cup of cafe con leche and take a look at real America just below.

Keyword: Otto Graphs, to read or comment on Steve's blog.

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