He should have waited to light up
He should have waited to light up
Seeing the March 25 front page picture of J.J. Cafaro being driven away from the Northeast Ohio Correctional facility puffing on a cigar makes me wonder what he is thinking.
The stereotypical cartoon image of the detestable fat-cat political wheeler-dealer is that of an obese, cigar-puffing man being chauffeured in a limo while flashing a sneer that broadcasts his disdain for the Average Joe.
If Mr. Cafaro has any public relations advisers, they need to be fired. If not, it may be a case of his legal team being totally ignorant of the impact and consequences of such coverage. Or perhaps it is Mr. Cafaro’s arrogance that leads him to ignore how he appears to the public.
I realize that he can’t change his corpulent stature in a short time frame, but certainly he could refrain from reinforcing the negative impression the public seems to already have by forgoing the luxury of a cigar until he is in private.
Doesn’t he realize the damage he is doing — and has done — to the stellar reputation his father so rightly earned? Doesn’t he realize that the suspected and actual involvement of his brother, sister and himself in many of the most sinister political dealings in the Valley leaves little room for such mistakes? Doesn’t he care about his daughter’s political future, which is being tainted by his projection of an attitude of superiority and being above the law?
Perhaps six months or more under federal confinement is what J.J. needs to seriously assess his life and get back on track. Perhaps along with some soul searching, he can use the time to tame some of his vices, whether it is gluttony or addiction to tobacco.
I will continue to pray for him because of the respect I had for his father. I doubt, however, that he can ever recover the esteem this community once had for the Cafaro name.
T. L. Wagner, Youngstown