This week, the editor of a major weekly news magazine recounts the hard-hitting investigative techniques he used to assess a presidential candidate’s fitness for the job:
On the bus that summer day, I asked him about trust. I told him that I
have young children growing up in New York City, which no doubt remains
a terrorist target. Why should I put their safety in his hands? [He]
answered instantly: “Because I know how to fight,” he said. “I grew up
in a place where you had to know how to fight to survive.” The words
came from the core; in them, there was a glimpse beyond and behind the
artifice of a lawyer-candidate.
Heck, I’m convinced. If the words hadn’t come from the core, giving me a glimpse beyond and behind the artifice, I might still maintain some skepticism. But, no, this insight convinces me I should line up behind this candidate.
Yes, the preceding paragraph is designed to exhibit sarcasm. The quoted passage is one of the silliest bits of drivel I’ve ever read. For some reason, that exchange reminds me of one of my favorite movie scenes.
(If you’re wondering, the editor is Jon Meacham; the publication, Newsweek; and the candidate, John Edwards.)
