THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

At the 2008 Republican Convention in Minnesota, I had the pleasure of meeting Howard Wolfson.

Howard Wolfson was the campaign manager for Hillary Clinton. Despite this, as much as it kills me to admit it, the guy is likable. He is funny, and self effacing. I would love to have reported that he screamed at me for 10 minutes while extolling the virtues of Hillary, but that would be completely untrue. He was extremely pleasant, and it was fun talking with him.

I have often remarked that once people turn off the cameras, the hyperbole and arguing is replaced by handshakes that are genuine. We can be opponents without being enemies. More importantly, we should.

Given the lull between the election and the inauguration, I have found time for my interviews with those left of center. This is a vacation from hyperpartisanship, which should return soon enough for Mr. Wolfson and myself.

With that, below is my interview with Howard Wolfson.

1) What are the most important issues of 2008?

HW: “The economy and Iraq.”

2) What issues are most important to you personally?

HW: “Freedom of choice, reproductive rights.”

3) Who are your 3 favorite political heroes?

HW: “Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Roosevelt. In fact, both Roosevelts, Franklin Delano and Teddy.”

4) How would you like to be remembered 100 years from now? What would you want people to say about Howard Wolfson the person?

HW: “If I am remembered at all, I would want people to say that I was drawn to politics to make the world a better place.”

5) Given that the Republicans offer John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, while the Democrats off Barack Obama and John Edwards, are the Democrats bigoted against the follically challenged? Are we finally able to crack the glass ceiling in the modern era and elect a bald President?

HW: “Democrats are not bigoted on this issue. I am one myself, and we do what we have to do. The party has welcomed me in and accepted me as one of their own. We Democrats truly are a big tent. We are diverse, and that diversity extends to bald guys. I am absolutely sensitive to the needs of bald Americans, and so is my party.”

6) So even though John McCain is one of your band of brothers, that is not why you are here at the GOP Convention, and you’re not crossing over?

HW: “I do have that bond with him, but it is not enough to make me cross over. I am a proud Democrat.”

What made Howard Wolfson so delightful was that while he was answering the questions about the follically challenged, he was patting and rubbing his head the entire time. He had a great sense of humor about the issue, and appreciated that, while I am not a liberal, I do occasionally come from left field.

I have to admit that I had a tough time not laughing as he spoke to me with one hand while patting and rubbing his head with the other hand.

It was a genuine pleasure meeting him.

I deliberately did not ask him any questions about Hillary Clinton because I report honestly. He would have said something positive about her, and I would not have edited the remarks or taken them out of context.

I am fair, but I am absolutely biased. This is a conservative blog.

Nevertheless, it was a very pleasant experience meeting Howard Wolfson. I cannot in good conscience wish him success politically, but in his personal life I wish him the very best.

eric

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 at 3:50 pm and is filed under POLITICS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.