Not long ago, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon sent the federal government a letter – an open letter, of course, for all the media to enjoy – asking the government to investigate Sheriff Arpaio’s crackdown on illegals for civil rights violations.

 As the AP reported:

In an April 4 letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Mayor Phil Gordonasked the agency and the Justice Department's civil rights division to examine what he called discriminatory harassment and improper stops, searches, and arrests by sheriff's deputies in Maricopa County, which encompasses the metropolitan area.

 "Overthe past few weeks, Sheriff Arpaio's actions have infringed on the civil rights of our residents," Gordon wrote. "They have put our residents' well-being, and the well-being of law enforcement officers, at risk."

 Justice Department officials said they would review Gordon's letter but declined to comment further.

 For those of you outside of MaricopaCounty, it’s important to understand that the Phoenix mayor is far from the consequential figure that mayors in other cities are. His power is limited, checked by the board of supervisors and other political forces. Consequently, the media pay him little mind, and he is rarely seen, let alone heard.

 But the mayor has grander ambitions.Governor Janet Napolitano second and final term is coming to an end, andjockeying for the next campaign has already begun. With no clear leader amongeither the Democrats or Republicans, a host of pretenders imagine they can be the One.

It’s an easy bet that Gordon is eyeing the gubernatorial job, and he needs at least one big issue to differentiate himself from other candidates. As a Democrat, taking on the sheriff might have seemed like a smart play. Gain publicity, earn the gratitude of a constituency, carve out an identity that’s sorely lacking.

Good short-term thinking – accrued both media attention and rallied like-minded - not so bright long term. No, not too bright to pick a fight with the overwhelmingly popular sheriff, not too bright to make his stand on ludicrous legal grounds, and not too bright to take on a sheriff who has the support of the same federal government the mayor wants to stir to action against him. Again, from AP:

Arpaio said it's ironic that Gordon wrote the letter the same day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials observed his deputies arresting residents and illegal immigrants in the town of Guadalupe and approved of the sheriff's work.

"I think the mayor is disconnected from the people he represents and he doesn'tget the point," Arpaio said Saturday. "Now he's going to Washington to confuse the issue and try to get the public against me."

The mayor "is degrading my office and my deputies by insinuating that they're violating all these civil laws. We don't profile," the sheriff said.

I have no argument with anyone who stands up for principle, and if that had been Mayor Gordon’s guiding star, than I would have no argument with him. But it’s not, it’s sheer political posturing. Only a few months before, Gordon had angered the same people who were now cheering him on when he announced a reversal to the long-standing policy of keeping the Phoenix PD stay out of the immigration business. In other words, the mayor no longer backed Operations Order 1.4, which prevents the police from asking about a person’s immigration status.

Quite a dramatic change in attitude.Startling, you might say. But that’s what happens when a politician decides he wants a promotion.

Easy prediction of the day: It won’twork.