Double trouble

Castro twins
Originally uploaded by mwthomas87.

I can't tell you how thoroughly unscandalous I find this switcheroo story
involving San Antonio mayoral candidate Julian Castro and his twin brother Joaquin Castro.

People watching the River Parade on Monday may have thought they were seeing mayoral candidate Julian Castro waving as the San Antonio City Council barge floated down the waterway.
But if they did, they were wrong.
Julian Castro was hosting a neighborhood association meeting that night in District 7, which he still represents. His identical twin brother, Joaquin Castro, was on the boat.

So Joaquin, who happens to be a State Representative, filled in for his brother by riding on the parade float and waving to the crowd. And this is a scandal because...... some people might have thought they were seeing Julian? Yawn. Excuse me while I try to work up some outrage over this.

Cincinnatus, who is backing Judge Phil Hardberger in this race, manages to work up a healthy dose of outrage and calls the whole ordeal "shameful." Meanwhile, P.M. Bryant is more forgiving and accepts the Castro brothers' explanation.

If the other mayoral candidates thought that making a fuss about this would play to their advantage, I'm afraid they were sadly mistaken. It has instead worked to the Castro brothers' advantage by focusing attention on their most distinguishing asset. This is what people expect with twins. They eat this kind of thing up. I'm sure somebody is busy right now writing a movie script about this race that they will be pitching to Walt Disney.

I could be wrong, but the way the national media is playing up the humorous, novelty side of this story is exactly the kind of thing that plays to a politician's favor. And I just heard this morning that the Castro switch was played to great humorous effect on Good Morning America. In addition, there are now rumors that the brothers will be invited onto the David Letterman Show next week as well as countless other news and entertainment programs.

Want to watch your political opponent leave you in the dust? Help to turn them into a national media celebrity a week before the election.
I won't be surprised to see Julian win this race now in a walk.