Kathy Sullivan: My thoughts on Williamson and O'Rourke

[TexasTowelie]

I HAD THE opportunity to meet two more presidential candidates recently: author and lecturer Marianne Williamson and former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke. If you have the chance, I would recommend seeing each of them.

-snip-

When it comes to media attention, Beto O’Rourke started his campaign at the other end of the spectrum than Williamson. Having raised tens of millions of dollars in the 2018 Texas senate race, he came close to defeating incumbent Ted Cruz in that deep red state. His success in garnering grass roots support across the country propelled him into the presidential race. He was able to raise more than $6 million in the first 24 hours of his presidential campaign, more than any other Democratic candidate, and all of it raised online.

At lunch with a small group in a Concord lunch spot, O’Rourke was serious and sincere. Like Kirsten Gillibrand, he carries a small notebook to take notes on what he is hearing. We were a bit of a tough audience, as our all-women group was somewhat frustrated with the media attention being given to male candidates and not to the female candidates.

He handled it, however. He listened carefully — a talent not all political figures share. When asked if he would commit to picking a female running mate if nominated, he would not, saying it would be disrespectful to make the assumption that a woman might not receive the nomination. When a couple of questions were tossed at him for which he did not have an answer, he straightforwardly said, “I need to learn more about that”, instead of giving a glib answer to make us happy. I liked that.

Read more: https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/columnists/kathy-sullivan-my-thoughts-on-williamson-and-o-rourke/article_30e221b1-3681-531a-ad6d-93b6b75f3b77.html

[JI7]

1. he is so empathetic and honest