Wednesday, November 10, 2004
I have started reading a new book- The Conscience of A Liberal, by Senator Paul Wellstone. Wellstone served in the U.S. Senate from 1990 until his well-publicized death in a 2002 plane crash that also took the lives of his wife, daughter and 2 staffers. Wellstone preaches a grass-roots, power-to-the-people approach to politics. So far, it has a couple of memorable quotes, and you can tell that Wellstone wasn't your average scum-sucking politician. His first chapter is peppered with such quotes as "Vote for what you believe in," and "politics is about the improvement of people's lives, lessening human suffering, advancing the cause of peace and justice in our country and in the world." I'd like to not be so cynical and jaded that this isn't all a crock (according to many liberals who knew Wellstone, it isn't) because it all the warm fuzzies in a political book are really refreshing and Wellstone comes across as very likeable and honest. Hopefully, I won't be disappointed.
