Hahn's (fill in the blank) plan.

Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn has been around politics all his life--certainly long enough to understand the importance of having your name attached to big things--courthouses, freeways, parks and, yes. airports. But what happens when those big things go awry? That's where the political spin cycle begins.

So here we have the latest iteration of the modernization plan for Los Angeles International Airport--not Hahn's $9 billion monster, but a more palatable stripped-down version cobbled by L.A. City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski. Her plan focuses on getting the uncontested stuff done first (including a new facility for rental cars and a tram connecting the airport and the end of the Green Line) and deferring what had been the mayor's showpieces: a passenger check-in facility in Manchester Square and the tearing down of three LAX terminals.

Hahn, who for months had been insisting through his henchmen Troy Edwards and Ted Stein that his plan was a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, has now turned on that spin cycle. Edwards and Stein, both under the glare of a grand jury investigating how contracts are awarded at the airport, are gone, and Hahn is sidling up to Miscikowski, who just a few months ago found herself on the mayor's enemies list for her criticisms of the airport redesign.

Hahn, of course, is looking to cut a deal. Most any deal will do. He is up for reelection in nine months and needs to concoct at least a few bullet points to convince Angelenos that he should remain mayor.

Figure three bullets might do the trick. So far, he has two: beating back the secession effort in the San Fernando Valley and hiring William Bratton as police chief. Never mind the details, such as how the anti-secession fundraising effort helped create a "pay-to-play" climate in city contracting that is now under investigation. Or that Bratton, while being a terrific front man, still straggles with a department that's badly understaffed.

Never mind any of that--as with most incumbencies, details tend to get lost in the slogans and sound bites. That's why Hahn has an excellent chance of serving another four years.

But first, he must get that third bullet item: the airport fix.

Everybody is pretty much in agreement that LAX can use an overhaul, but for all too many L.A. voters, assessing the particulars is someone else's problem. If it's good enough for the mayor and members of the City Council, it's probably good enough for them. And here's the best news for the mayor: Because Miscikowski's compromise is built around the environmental impact report that was prepared for Hahn's $9 billion blueprint (she says that commissioning a new EIR would take too much time), he still gets to call it the Hahn Plan.

He already has.

"We need to modernize LAX now," Hahn told airport and planning commissioners during a hearing on the compromise last week. "Your approval of my plan will bring us a huge step forward in our goal of upgrading the airport for the first time in more than 20 years."

His plan? But wasn't it Miscikowski's plan? For someone who for months insisted that a Manchester Square check-in facility was a crucial component to the well-being of LAX passengers, the mayor seemed to push the eject button pretty fast. But then again, he's running for re-election and needs that third bullet point, no matter how cynical and self-serving he looks in the process.

Before the City Council signs off on a compromise plan in two or three months, shouldn't voters be looking past bullet points? They might be amazed at what they find.

Mark Lacter is editor of the Business Journal.