Four fliers delivered to my mailbox this afternoon bring to mind instant images of Meg Whitman, your Republican nominee for governor of California. What follows is the actual order I pulled these fliers out of the box at Casa de Coker:
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From the National Tax-Limitation Committee: a red, white, yellow and green flier that reminds me of Whitman because she occupies the top spot in the list of all-GOP endorsements from the Laguna Niguel-based “independent organization” that is “not an official political party organization.”
From California Voter Guide: a red, white, blue and light blue flier that reminds me of Whitman because she is NOT among the dozen GOP members endorsed in this “Voter Guide for Republicans.” Torrance-based California Voter Guide is “not an official political party organization.”
From Meg Whitman for Governor 2010: a slick, glossy, full-color flier with what appear to be pages of books on a walnut-colored desk top. The top page features a photo of a man sitting in a beach chair on the sand facing the ocean with the message: “FINANCE: Want to Learn How to Retire at Age 55? Just Ask Jerry Brown.” Part of the “facts” presented inside were culled from a pension piece by former Orange County Register opinion-page writer Steven Greenhut. Whitman's campaign in based in Cupertino and, of course, is part of an official political party.
From The Cleaning Authority: A slick, glossy, full-color flier against a bright red background. The top page features a photo of parents holding their two little girls between the message: “Life's too short to clean your home. Win a year of free housecleaning.” The only thing that indicates where the company is based is the postage paid box, which includes the city of Durant, Oklahoma.
Nothing on the last flier indicates the residency status of Cleaning Authority housekeepers.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.