Election Day

Over the past four years, Mayor Adrian Fenty has:

-- Improved D.C. schools

-- Improved city services

-- Lowered the crime rate

-- Brought back the fedora

All good things. Especially that last one. Yet, today, he's probably going to lose the Democratic primary to Vincent Gray, which is essentially the same thing as the general election in D.C. And he's going to lose because he's a jerk. Or arrogant. Or an arrogant jerk, depending on who you listen to.

The local media, even the outlets that are often critical of Fenty, have all endorsed him. The Washington Post, the Examiner, City Paper...if there's a major media outlet that's come out in favor of Gray, I've missed it.

Here's how the Washington Post addressed the jerk factor in its endorsement:

He has made mistakes. Some were just silly, such as his refusal to share baseball tickets with D.C. Council members. His political enemies have overblown others, such as the fuss over the planned donation to the Dominican Republic of a fire truck that turned out to be virtually worthless. However, secrecy about his travels, an almost pathological unwillingness to consult outside his inner circle and the awarding of a few suspect contracts to friends raise unsettling questions about his judgment. Like many others, we've wondered why the mayor would allow stubbornness to endanger the good work being done by his administration. We understand that Mr. Fenty's determination to shake up the status quo was bound to provoke antagonism. But you don't have to be aloof or highhanded to move fast.

I wrote about the baseball ticket incident last year. And I truly believe that it, more than any other factor in regards to Fenty's public image problem, is why he's going to lose. There's something about a guy who won't share that offends everyone's sensibilities, regardless of their race, religion, or economic class. We all knew that one kid back in kindergarten who wouldn't share his toys. Who knew he'd grow up to be mayor?

Here's what I don't get, though: Everyone acknowledges Fenty's a jerk. In his campaign ads, even Fenty acknowledges he's a jerk. Yet various pundits immediately follow that up with why it doesn't matter and that only what Fenty's accomplished as mayor over the past four years--which, to be fair, is pretty impressive--should be taken into account on Election Day.

But why?

I mean, this isn't simply a case of a demanding boss. There legitimately seems to be something wrong with the guy. Temper tantrums. Cronyism. Firing people for political motivation or worse, seemingly on a whim. (Remember how a couple of days after winning the mayoral election four years ago, he fired his campaign spokesperson over the phone for wanting to take a little time off following the election?) Is this really someone with the temperament to be running a major city?

I don't have kids, so I won't even get into whether Michelle Rhee is the best D.C. public schools chancellor ever or a monster, but I do think it's distressing how Fenty refuses to issue even mild public criticism of her.

And let's be clear, it's not like Fenty's running against Marion Barry. Or some teabagger. I have no idea if Gray will be a great mayor, but is there any reason to think he'll be a bad one? I don't think so. If you're looking mainly to punish Fenty, Gray's not a bad guy to be casting a ballot for.

Honestly, I don't really care who wins. Either way, it's a Democratic mayor, and life in D.C. will largely be unchanged. And after Fenty gets over the embarrassment of losing, he'll go on to make a lot of money in the private sector or accept a cushy job with the Obama administration, so don't break out the violins for him.

But this might be the one and only time voters get to send the message to a high-profile public servant that it's not okay to get into office and start acting like, at best, an autocrat, and at worst, a raging asshole. And it seems like a pretty valuable lesson to teach. If Fenty wants to run again in four years with a new perspective on governing born from losing this election (as opposed to his current campaign ads where he simply promises to change), he's welcome to.

For now, though, I hope Vincent Gray becomes the next mayor of D.C.