Giannoulias

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Readers are always asking why we only write negative stories. Here’s a positive one. I just watched one of those little incidents that always seem to happen if you follow around politicians long enough, and tends to remind you (against most of the evidence) that they are in fact human.

An elderly gentleman tumbled down the limestone stairs outside the front of the state Capitol. A half-dozen people who had been in the vicinity came running — including state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, who had been entering the building for a press conference. Giannoulias sat and talked with the guy until the security people arrived with a first-aid kit. I can attest that there were no cameras in the area, and the candidate’s concern seemed genuine.

Helping someone who has fallen is easy; here’s what I thought was more interesting, at least for a politician who’s trying to look flawless: At one point, the guy indicated he was embarrassed about tumbling down the steps. Giannoulias immediately and emphatically answered, “Oh, I’ve done that before,” which I’m assuming was a polite fib — and maybe not the easiest thing for a politician to say in front of witnesses.

I talked to a woman nearby who said the man is her brother. They’re from northwestern Illinois and were in Springfield taking in the Lincoln stuff. She said she’s a Democrat; she’s not sure how her brother votes, but thinks the episode might have some influence on that.

(So there’s the nice story. For the record, we’ll continue watching to see if Giannoulias continues using a federal campaign law loophole to transfer his Illinois political money to his Senate campaign.)