The passion of the mayor

If you were watching "FlashPoint" with Dave Wagner on WCNC-TV Sunday morning, you heard Pat McCrory say something rather telling about the state of the mayoral campaign -- and the candidacy of his close friend John Lassiter.

It came during a brief discussion of the race before a commercial break. (Video here; the discussion starts at 8:18, McCrory's comment at 9:14.) Wagner, McCrory and Charlotte attorney Mike Daisley were talking about whether the race so far has been too civil and "boring."

McCrory:

"I think there's going to be a low voter turnout unless major conflict occurs. Probably my recommendation to both of them from a political science viewpoint is, both of them have got to get some passion. They both have reviewed their resumes extremely well, both talked about things they want to do, but you've got to have some passion, and I think that might differentiate the campaign the next four weeks."

Hmmm. Maybe Mayor Pat was speaking genuinely as an impartial observer of the race, someone looking for political theater that's a bit more riveting.

Right. We don't think so, either.

McCrory and Lassiter are buds. Their political and civic philosophies are virtually identical. Both are, of course, Republican. It's hard to believe the mayor is encouraging the Democratic candidate for the seat he's held for 14 years -- and the GOP for 22 -- to shift to a higher gear. Besides, it'd be bad form for him to offer partisan political advice on "FlashPoint."

And Anthony, while unfailingly civil, has shown plenty of energy on the campaign trail -- at his public appearances, at the debates, talking to civic groups. The first sentence of his closing statement at last week's debate at Queens University was, "I'm excited about the potential of being Charlotte's next mayor," and he said it like he meant it.

No, McCrory's talking to Lassiter -- the mumbler, the details guy, the gray-haired man in the gray suit who insists, as if to reassure us, he can do the job of mayor without short-shrifting his family or business. Mayor Pat clearly knows what it takes to win elections in this town, and he's looking at his pal Lassiter and thinking: Dude. Come on. Let's ramp it up.

We'll see if Lassiter takes the advice. Regardless, it's an indication of the obvious: John Lassiter is a profoundly uninspiring candidate -- as uninspiring, we can presume, as he'd be as mayor.