Beto

Last November, shortly after the election, I received an email from a name I barely recognized.  It began:

Amy is watching Last of the Mohicans in the other room with the kids. We started it last night after Ulysses’ basketball game. Pizza, carrots, Mohicans and then early to bed.

This morning, before everyone got up, I went on a run with Artemis and then made breakfast. Scones, German pancakes, bacon, eggs, and some bread that Jim and Christine brought by last night with butter and jam on it. Some coffee from beans that a friend in Austin sent to us last week. It’s not Whataburger, but...

After breakfast, we went on a hike in the Franklins with friends and dogs. Glorious morning in El Paso, crisp and clear, you can see for miles at the top of Crazy Cat.

Listening to the war cries and shots firing from the TV speaker in the other room, I’m smiling because we are all together again. Doing something -- just hanging out, just being around, just being -- that I haven’t done in almost two years.

Who is this guy, I wondered?  The email was from a guy named Beto O'Rourke.  A name I just barely remembered from the election.  I knew that Ted Cruz had hung on for a very close win to his Senate seat, but I hadn't really paid much attention to the guy who'd almost beaten him.

But what a great guy this Beto sounds like, I told myself.  When once asked why he named his kid "Ulysses," he replied that they hadn't had the nerve to name him "Odysseus."  His dog's name is Artemis, for god's sake. 

Yeah, a great guy.  Or, more cynically, I think, what a great public relations staff he has!  

And now, he's running for president. And asking for my "friendship."  And perhaps a few dollars?

It feels like another Jack Kennedy or Barack Obama moment.  A guy with a photogenic face and a likeable personality.  A guy who generates ecstatic support from certain portions of the population.  Is he the guy to beat The Donald?  The Donald has already attacked the manner in which Beto gestures with his hands, suggesting that he looks like he may be "crazy."  Classic Donald. Classy Donald.

I don't know.  I wish I knew what the country wanted, what it's looking for.  In his letter yesterday, telling us of his decision to run, Beto said all the right things.  Liberal, but not wacko.  Positive campaign.  Pride in country, but not weirdly nationalist.  Drawing people from all walks of life together.  In last year's Texas campaign, "I saw firsthand how the purpose and function that we all crave can be found in serving others and serving this country."

Talk's easy, of course.  The questions I have are about his lack of experience.  We've had two years of a president who, whether you like his politics or not, you have to admit has shown a lack of ability to deal with other politicians, to understand issues, to understand how government works and how to unite a majority of the country behind him.

Beto O'Rourk is in many ways the un-Trump.  But he shares with Trump a lack of political experience.  That concerns me.  He also has been wandering about the country since his November defeat, trying to "find himself," to figure out what he wants out of life.  Viewing him as an individual, I find that very attractive.  But should I consider it a pro or a con in the personality of a guy who would be our president?

I don't know.  I'm interested in him.  He's a different brand of politician from the other possible candidates.  Is that difference a positive?  And he's a white male.  Is 2020 they year when the electorate turns against white males?

We have a year before the first primaries.  That's good.  It gives plenty of time to evaluate not only Beto, but many of the others who are seeking the Democratic nomination.

In his third email to me today (!) he asks for $5 to get his campaign fund growing.  I can afford five bucks, just to keep my foot in the door.  In case I someday want an ambassadorship under an O'Rourke administration.