Detectably Damp?

On one of the hottest days in recent memory — with record-breaking heat — mayoral candidates still have to campaign:

A politician’s lot is not an easy one, especially when the temperature hits a record 99 degrees, as it did yesterday in New York City.

It was the hottest day in the city in four years – whine-worthy enough for anyone venturing outside, especially for politicians locked into long hours, numerous campaign speeches and serial pressing of the flesh.

But none of the major Democratic candidates seeking to become the city’s next mayor were complaining about the weather yesterday.

Campaigning in Queens, C. Virginia Fields, the Manhattan borough president, shrugged off the heat and humidity and said, “It’s a real challenge to be out here, but that’s where the voters are.”

It was the hottest Aug. 13 in Central Park since recordkeeping began in 1869, according to the meteorologists at Pennsylvania State University. At La Guardia Airport, the heat unofficially soared into the triple digits, with a recording of 100 degrees. The humidity made the “real feel” temperature peak around 108.

New York hasn’t been this hot since Aug. 9, 2001, when it was 103 degrees. Moreover, yesterday was the sixth straight day of temperatures of 95 degrees or more. That kind of streak hasn’t happened since 1955, when there were seven such days in a row.

If ability to deal with heat is an indicator of front-runner status, Council Speaker Gifford Miller may be in the lead:

Yesterday, Gifford Miller, the City Council speaker, who is running against Ms. Fields and others for the Democratic nomination for mayor, seemed to recall that tradition as he campaigned in Union Square. Dressed in khaki pants and a long-sleeved blue shirt, he did not appear to be detectably damp.

“I actually don’t mind the heat,” Mr. Miller said. “You know, if you want to be mayor, you have to be able to stand the heat.”

At a later stop at the Whitehall swimming pool in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, Mr. Miller campaigned among swimmers in their 60’s and 70’s, some of whom noticed his perspirationless poise.

Erika Firat, lounging in the cabana, said, “After Nixon’s debate with Kennedy, politicians don’t sweat anymore.”

As for the rest, we learn that C. Virginia Fields dislikes long, sweaty hugs on hot days, Anthony Weiner tans unevenly and Fernando Ferrer would like to jump in a wading pool with a cool Rolling Rock.

Wildly Off-Base Prediction: The Times will endorse Gifford Miller for the September primary.