Paul Wellstone

Paul Wellstone drove me nuts. I, voted for him twice, and would have a third time, if I could have. I agreed with him on many things. I also felt that many of his positions were not practical. I remember telling people that the Senate needed about five Paul Wellstones, but any more would be a problem. I still believe that. Paul was a great man. He was absolutely incorruptible. You could trust him completely, even if you were his political opposite. I believed that he was a moral compass in the Senate. I think that other Senators felt the same way.

I went to Paul's funeral and, although the second to last speech was inappropriate, it was nothing that the press made it out to be. It still pains me that we do not have Walter Mondale as our Senator. I cannot believe that Minnesotans gave up that incredible opportunity. I think they regret it now. They should.

When I was in college, Paul was a professor at my school. One of my roommates was a political science major and had a lot of his classes. He said that Paul was a relatively easy grader.

We always knew that Paul could put principal over pragmatism. In my junior year Paul was instrumental in getting the contract kitchen staff to go on strike. Our college did not allow cars so the college food service, SAGA, was our only access to meals. It was Winter, and the closest grocery store was a couple of miles away. They were not prepared for 2000 students and many of us had no way to cook food from a grocery store anyway. Thank goodness the managerial staff of SAGA stepped in to fill the gap. No matter what, Paul always looked out for the little guy. He did it 'till the day he died.

Like I said, at the time, I did not agree with him at least half the time. I think he had something to teach us all. As I get older, I find myself agreeing with him more. I miss him. Politics could use Paul again.