It being Christmas, my thoughts turn naturally to the baby Jesus and the man who looks onto him at city hall.
If you believe the buzz at holiday parties, the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Ken Salazar is John Hickenlooper’s for the taking. And if you buy the chatter around Civic Center, Denver’s mayor wants it bad.
Which brings me to the Christ child.
Hickenlooper has an opinion about the Nativity scene outside his office on the city’s front steps. He has voiced it to me strongly and colorfully.
But like many of his views on controversial topics, he insists they be off the record and not printable in this column.
You may remember when Hickenlooper announced plans to make Denver’s seasonal display more inclusive by replacing the “Merry Christmas” sign above the manger with one reading “Happy Holidays.” Outcry by the Christian right prompted him to reverse his stance few days later.
“I apologize to anyone who may have been offended or mistakenly felt I was being anti-Christmas,” he backtracked. “Hickenlooper might have two o’s, but I am not ‘Scrooge.’ ”
That was quintessential Hickenlooper — lighthearted, middle of the road and straining to be all things to all people.
Those qualities — not to mention his statewide popularity and fundraising prowess — might make him Gov. Bill Ritter’s obvious pick to replace Salazar. That is, if Democratic politics were all that mattered.
But they aren’t. And Hickenlooper’s tendency to avoid tough stances may not work in D.C., where senators actually have to take positions publicly.
Denver’s crèche, though bitterly debated since the 1940s, pales compared to war, recession, corporate bailouts, national health care and other controversies that senators weigh in on. And, unlike his flip-flop of Christmas past, Hickenlooper wouldn’t be able to retract votes whenever a few constituents complained.
Denver’s formerly beer-brewing mayor coasted into office with the image as an Everyman who didn’t own a suit.
Turns out that his message has been more tightly tailored than that of any mayor — or governor or senator — in memory. We know little about where he stands on major issues because he long has dodged questions about them.
His predecessor, Wellington Webb, regularly expounded on affirmative action and gun control. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom likewise has dug in his heels on same-sex marriage. And Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is crusading to freeze foreclosures until we fix our economic quagmire.
The Hick hasn’t spoken loudly on national policies, nor indicated that he even much cares.
On issues that he does weigh in on, he often does so under the radar. Like this summer, when he raised the ire of environmentalists by quietly urging them and Ritter’s administration to scale back proposed regulations on oil and gas drilling. This from a mayor known more for his Vespa-riding and tree-planting than for his links as a former geologist with the petroleum industry.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for the Hick as a booster for Denver, a first-class marketer who knows how to float a bond and throw a party.
But shouldn’t Colorado have higher expectations for one of its senators, especially after Ben Campbell’s party defection, Wayne Allard’s inaction and Salazar’s resignation after less than a term on the job?
The adage goes, “What would Jesus do?” This year, a similar question stands for the guy in the office behind the manger: What would Hickenlooper do in Washington? The answer, I’m afraid, none of us knows.
Susan Greene writes Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach her at 303-954-1989 or greene@denverpost.com.
