By RAY ADLER
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Having lived through several elections, experience has taught me that one cannot always tell jokes during the political season without having the joke misconstrued or misused by political opponents.
Years ago, I made what I thought was a casual joke that I was helping a local candidate so that I could be appointed administrator of Riverview Hospital. Pushback came within days from those who took it as a serious statement.
Sometimes a joke is merely a physical event at an inappropriate time. For instance, I remember the packed house where one prominent politician was accused of being full of hot air and promptly blew a large amount of “wind,” causing those nearby to nearly turn over the tables in an effort to get away.
One of my favorite local attorneys once jokingly counseled me that when putting up yard signs in favor of a candidate, one should act in the most environmentally correct way. By that he explained, you should put up two signs and harvest only one.
I had become crosswise with one prominent politician years ago and so did not attend his funeral. A friend of mine reported that he had attended. I asked him why he had done so as I thought he too was crosswise with the deceased. He reported that it was the largest funeral that had ever occurred in Hamilton County. When asked how many attended, he said that he counted five mourners, and the rest of the remaining crowd had attended to make sure.
Holding political office is serious business but sometimes a deft response answers questions without really answering them.
A reporter once asked Abraham Lincoln if he polished his own shoes. Lincoln replied, “I sure don’t polish anyone else’s.” Another time, a candidate was asked, “Are you in favor of abortion?” He replied, “Some of my friends favor abortion and some of my friends are against abortion and I will always stand with my friends.”
In this political season, let us remember the words of former sheriff candidate, Bill Clifford, who said, “We were friends before the election, we’ll be friends afterward, so let’s all act like we’re friends.”
Educational material and not legal advice, written by the team at Adler attorneys. Email andrea@noblesvilleattorney.com with questions or comments.