You may not get to read Lee Cataluna’s column today, since it’s tucked safely behind the newspaper’s paywall, although there’s a chance this link will work (“Governor shows no aloha for island tourism industry“).
Basically, it’s a nasty jab at Gov. Neil Abercrombie and his wife, Nancie, for winging off to Paris to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
Cataluna writes:
In general, it isn’t anybody’s business where a couple goes on vacation. But when you’re governor, everything you do is heavy with symbolism. The governor of Hawaii flying off to a romantic vacation in Paris is like the governor of Michigan driving a Hyundai.
Cataluna follows with a somewhat gratuitous reference to the always-campaigning Mufi Hannemann, Governor Abercrombie’s long time personal rival, now once again a candidate (is anyone surprised?).
If Hannemann had become governor, you can bet he wouldn’t have blown town to take Gail on a romantic European vacation. Hannemann would more likely island-hop from Koele Lodge to Hyatt Poipu to Disney Aulani and tweet about the great service and aloha spirit he encountered at every stop, posing for pictures with Unite Here! members and joining the lobby pianist for a medley of Don Ho tunes.
That’s the problem. For the relentlessly ambitious Hannemann, absolutely every occasion is a campaign stop, even, if Cataluna is correct, his anniversary. Cataluna seems to think that’s a positive. I don’t share that view. Insisting on making everything political isn’t a virtue, it’s an affliction.
For the governor, there is no privacy in Hawaii, whether it’s in a high priced resort or walking through downtown Kahului. Cataluna recognizes this, noting that when you’re the state’s chief executive, “people take note of everything.” But apparently she’s unable to empathize, or perhaps just unwilling to empathize with the governor.
Call me old fashioned, but to celebrate a deeply personal occasion–and I think a couple’s 30th anniversary makes the cut–a modicum of privacy isn’t unreasonable, even for the governor and his wife. If that’s not possible to find in Hawaii, and I doubt it is, then take that romantic trip to Paris. Shouldn’t we also celebrating that there’s still romance to share in Nancy & Neil’s relationship?
So to Neil and Nancie, congratulations! Enjoy your trip. Get out of the political bubble for a couple of weeks, and come back ready to roll.
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Whatever the comments of the nattering classes, Neil and Nancie will always have Paris.
And 30 years. Not too shabby.
I believe Lee Cataluna was being satirical. Please don’t treat her words as the words of God. This is her brand of humor!
Hubby and I spent our 30th wedding anniversary in Hong Kong last year. Anything wrong with that? Sometimes, it’s nice to get off the rock and away from the same old people we know.
Sadly I don’t think Cataluna is being satirical. She’s just getting out of touch, and the righteous indignation seems hypocritical, especially the Mufi imaginings. Hey, if Abercrombie can be criticized for not vacationing local, can’t Cataluna be criticized for not living local?
I often – not always – agree with much of what Cataluna writes, but she seemed a little mean spirited in this rant.
Maybe the mainland is rubbing off on her and she needs to chill a little?
Excuse me? If someone’s acting like a jerk, it’s because “the mainland is rubbing off on her”? Nice bigotry/xenophobia.
The mistaken belief that nobody outside of Hawaii can possibly be a nice person is troubling.
“Maybe the mainland is rubbing off on her…”
With regards to an earlier topic on this blog, when people in Hawaii refer to “the Mainland”, what they usually mean is Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Most of the continental US and most of any other society is composed of small towns, and the ethos there is not really that different from Hawaii. Hawaii is not that special, except for a few places on the outer islands that are on the verge of extinction, largely thanks to Oahu.
I do suspect that Cataluna was in part taking a clever and subtle jab at Hannemann in her “rant” that he is always running for office.
I took time to think about my response. You know the Governor is at work pretty much all the time no matter where he goes in Hawaii. He is that kind of guy. In order to get some real off time they chose a Great City Of The World in which to relax and enjoy their anniversary. He also is an intellect and Paris would undoubtedly provide stimulus for his and her mind…
i thought the same thing when i read it. just a complete lack of decency on her part. talk ab0ut out of touch with what really matters in life. I hope Neil and his wife enjoy their holiday.
The comments have been getting too personal and nasty. My point was not to attack Lee, but to take issue with her column.
In the interests of fairness and a modicum of civility, I’m won’t be approving further comments in this thread that just attack the columnist.
I hope you all understand.
“afflication”
Ian, do you mean “affliction”?
I need all the editing I can get! Thanks!
Cataluna is right.
Sure, us guys can go celebrate anniversaries in Hong Kong and the like, but the Governor should not.
It’s like Colin Cowherd says, Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers can wear piercings, but Cam Newton can’t, because Newton is the quarterback.
Same with Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys, who’s been on the news a lot lately because of his rib injury.
Notice in all his recent news conferences his ever present cap is now turned around and worn the right way?
He was told he can’t wear his cap backwards anymore, all because he’s the quarterback.
Quarterbacks as leaders of their teams have to live by higher standards of appearance and perception.
Governors too.
My first reaction yesterday was to think that if Neil, as governor, has some kind of responsibility to support Hawaii tourism in where he vacations, doesn’t a columnist whose words and actions reflect on Hawai`i tourism perhaps more so that Neil’s have to refrain from all those Las Vegas trips Lee speaks of with such reverence?
And, I had no idea Lee was “living” on the mainland but find it exceptionally germane because of her subject matter which can be said to often be “what it means to be local and live in Hawai`i.” I have no problem with the fact, just the lack of disclosure/disclaimer.
Can we agree on the issue? Is it that the governor of Hawaii, a state heavily, perhaps perilously, dependent on tourism, should not go on out-of-state vacations because it looks bad? If this is the case, then Lee Cataluna should have put on a Garry Wills cap and written in a more serious and laconic style. Instead, she wrote with her local-tita cap on, employing her usual rhetorical flourishes. The column did not work. It fell flat. For example, she writes: “Since he [the governor] first hollered onto the Hawaii scene in the 1970s with the long hair and the yellow taxi, his schtick was that he’s a free agent and a blunt talker.” This is not description, it’s caricature. It is this not very well disguised personal animus (there is also the graceless parenthetical offer of congratulations: ”congratulations, by the way”) that invites personal criticism.
I hope Cataluna will show the big-hearted spirit of a true local girl (“Eh, I’m human, we’re all human, I make mistakes, too”) and apologize to the governor and his wife. Neil has made mistakes since becoming governor, but going to Paris to celebrate his 30th wedding anniversary is not of them. I wish him and his wife many more years of happy married life.
a cheap shot indeed — but I think folks are taking it all too serious — Cataluna’s jab only works because the governor has already set himself up as being out of touch and up on a pedestal — that part is his own doing
From now on, Hawaii’s governor should only vacation in Hawaii.
Yes, that will really help resolve our economic woes, educational woes, rail disputes, homelessness and government woes.
Much ado about jack squat.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I swore either the Star Advertiser or Lee herself mentioned many months ago that she was cutting back on her column, going back to school and moving to the mainland to be with her family? As for Neil and his anniversary, good for them, but I hope he has some deal with UPW settled before APEC. If he does not then those two weeks of vacation should have been postponed or spent more wisely.
“With regards to an earlier topic on this blog, when people in Hawaii refer to “the Mainland”, what they usually mean is Los Angeles and Las Vegas.” California in general. But the implication is the reader is intelligent enough to know without the bumper sticker needing additional verbosity “Slow down. This ain’t the mainland in particular California or Las Vegas”
Okay I knew I wasn’t imagining things, here is Wayne Harada’s column from January 2011:
http://www.staradvertiser.com/columnists/20110123_Frigid_winter_weather_leads_celebs_to_Valley_Isle_visits.html
I guess many of you missed or overlooked this mention in his column from 9 months ago.