When Meiselas asked him (Ben Rhodes) what a 2028 candidate needs to sound like, Rhodes pointed to three figures he sees doing something right. Jon Ossoff, he said, is connecting systemic corruption not just to abstract democratic values but to kitchen-table outcomes, like high prices, inaccessible healthcare, job insecurity. James Talarico in Texas is speaking from an authentic place of personal faith and moral obligation in a way that feels genuinely his own. And AOC is demonstrating that anger and joy aren’t mutually exclusive. That you can be furious about oligarchy and inequality while making people want to show up.
I am not an Obama worshipper; I never voted for Obama, nor would I ever vote for him. Ben Rhodes is a former deputy national security advisor to President Obama.
I am not writing a book, nor am I looking forward to writing one. I don’t work for any campaign. I don’t ask for money. My time and resources are spent doing what I like, just like when I buy flowers to make my yard prettier for the bees and butterflies, and myself.
It boggles my mind that if someone is a famous singer, actor, politician, or whatever, their statements are considered more important than those of the common person. Certainly, the common man and woman seem to think so; they hit the like button, forward the message, etc.
We have been so conditioned to think so little of ourselves that we become willing servants of the Elites. So many of us claim we don’t want the elites dictating our lives, and yet so many of us are willing to do so willingly.
I have no doubt that many politicians start out believing what they state, and maybe it will remain strong within them. But that is not what I have noticed. Being a politician is not a job, nor should it be. Is it a calling like becoming a priest? I have no idea. I have not been called to be anything. I am who I am, no more than that, and still a work in progress.
Looking at the three people mentioned, I doubt any of them will win the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028. I would be surprised if any of them attempted to run. I would be surprised if Talarico even wins in November. If he loses, he could run and follow in the footsteps of Beto O’Rourke. That is an attempt at humor.
