Public people's alter egos

Pignanelli & Webb: If you think about it, election season and Halloween have a lot in common. Tremendous media hype surrounds both, leading up to the scary events. Immature individuals disguise their real personas as they walk neighborhoods, invade homes, demand attention and solicit favorable response to a brief sound bite. The main message, "Trick or Treat!" is pretty much the same for both.

Voters and candy-givers pray for a speedy conclusion to all the commotion. Participants in both festivities spend far in excess of the rewards achieved (Frank is commanding his children to trick or treat for 10 hours on Wednesday to recoup some of the $150 he spent on costumes). Although both events are integral features of our culture, serous discussions are annually conducted to adopt changes. But nothing really happens, and society repeats the spooky rituals all over again each year.

The most important part of Halloween is the costumes. Children trick-or-treaters and adult Halloween partygoers plan and stew for months over what they will wear. Great psychological significance is manifest in the selection of costumes. A costume reflects one's personal agenda and secret desires, what one would be and do if no one was looking.

Because of this significance, we reveal here what costumes we would assign some well-known people for Halloween night:

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.: Casper the friendly ghost.

Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert: Robin

State representative and nuclear advocate Aaron Tilton: Electrical power icon "Reddy Kilowatt"

Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan: The Monopoly game character (this works on so many levels)

Sen. Chris Buttars: Elton John

Sen. Curtis Bramble: Hulk Hogan

Senate President John Valentine: Mr. Rogers

Rep. Jim Matheson: A Teflon pan (nothing sticks to him)

Gateway developer Kem Gardner: Donald Trump

Rep. Greg Hughes: Ronald Reagan

Speaker Greg Curtis: Genghis Khan

Mitt Romney: A chameleon

Eagle Forum (the Gayle Ruzicka group): Quagga mussels (the invasive species of mussels threatening Utah's waterways)

Community activist Pamela Atkinson: Mother Teresa

Sen. Patricia Jones: Joan of Arc

Ute coach Kyle Whittingham: Ron McBride