Karen on Paul
September 29, 2009| Posted in PROFILES, Videos
So, I’m really excited because during the next year, people are going to get the know the Paul that I know. They’re going to see someone who’s absolutely capable of solving our most complex problems. They’re going to see someone who’s tough and who’s going to be able to stand up to the Republicans. They’re going to see somebody who empowers people all across the state to become part of the process to become part of how we make Minnesota great. And they’re going to see somebody who is really strategic and who thinks not just about today but about what’s facing Minnesota on the horizon.
People who have gone to school with him or who have worked with him are always telling me that he’s the smartest person that they’ve ever worked with. And yes I get a little sick of hearing that. But I do agree. He’s never shied away from the most complex of school work or legislative work or legal work.
I have seen him with the health care budget. It dwarfs the budget for, say, the City of Minneapolis. I’ve seen him sit with it and figure out how it is he’s going to cover 40,000 more kids, because 40,000 more kids need health care and there wasn’t a dollar more to spend on it.
People over and over again have said that they’ve never seen a politician who is such a good listener. And I think that’s a great compliment.
Paul is definitely not a career politician. Paul was extremely happy with his law practice, he was very successful. He was doing a lot of community service and that was always really important. It sort of came out of the blue that he said -You know, I think I’m going to run for that legislative seat. And I remember being surprised, because he had never talked about it before. But I thought, -Well, it sort of makes sense. He’s a great advocate and it’s public service. So it fits those two pieces of him together pretty well.
There was an incumbent at the time. But we got all of our friends together and launched a true blue grass roots campaign with a bunch of people who had never done politics before. And we won. To the surprise of everybody. And that was the beginning.
One thing I love about Paul is that he’s an incredibly loyal friend. He has this group of friends here in Minnesota that he’s been friends with since literally he was four or five years old. The same group of guys. And they’ve been together forever though thick and through thin. And really it’s that kind of friendship that’s very indicative of the kind of person that he is.
In law school Paul was much more soft-spoken than he is today. He was always the stealth student who would all of a sudden without any bragging whatsoever miraculously appear on the top of the honor rolls. He was always the dark horse. But he kept achieving pretty notable things nonetheless.
On Saturday evening Paul and I got to enjoy the unique experience of driving right into the State Fair grounds, minus the fair crowds, and parking in front of the Education Building where we went to celebrate DFL Founder’s Day. It was incredibly special to celebrate the DFL party’s 65th birthday. Paul’s speech was great, because it focused not only upon what he plans to do for Minnesota, but also honored those who have paved the way for all of us: Walter Mondale who stood up and spoke the truth during the 80s when it was unpopular to be a Democrat: Paul Wellstone and his unwavering commitment to the disenfranchised. This campaign has such a hectic pace — it was nice to take a moment and reflect upon what makes the DFL great and all that we are trying to build on.
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