Wendy Greuel's 'throw all the spaghetti against the wall' campaign

How do you possibly explain union enemy Richard Riordan endorsing the same person that just received the backing of the city's most powerful labor organization? Well, you really can't - other than to point out that L.A.'s mayoral campaign has captured cross-currents that defy the usual ideological agendas. Besides, at this stage of any campaign, endorsements tend to make strange bedfellows. Riordan, of course, is the guy who called for a major overhaul of the city's pension system that would involve lower benefits. Greuel is the candidate who took issue with pension changes that were supported by her opponent, Eric Garcetti (and which were strongly opposed by the unions). Why would Greuel need or even want Riordan? The basic answer is that Greuel can't win without the support of both labor and business - even though the two sides sharply differ on how to deal with L.A.'s fiscal problems. The unions feel they've done pretty much all they can on the pension front, while business interests (Greuel also has the backing of the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce) believe the work is only just beginning. These issues are nearly impossible to resolve, and Greuel, along with Garcetti, have offered only the vaguest ideas for dealing with them. But of course that's been the basic strategy of the entire campaign: Say as little as possible, and line up as many constituencies as possible. In other words, throw all the spaghetti against the wall and hope for the best.