If charity begins at home, maybe "heartfelt" needs to begin at local politics
Being truly "heartfelt" and politics are not the best of bedfellows. However I have been watching the Mayoral race in Los Angeles for some time, because Los Angeles needs a heart transplant with all its traffic, financial, educational, business travails and because I live in Los Angeles.
The race has come down to two Democratic candidates, Wendy Gruel and Eric Garcetti. Being both Democrats, many have said that they are pretty similar. There are differences in their political agendas and they are well covered by political analysts.
What I am more interested, as you might guess, is who is the more "heartfelt leader?"
Being both Democrats, I was thinking about other Democratic politicians who have appeared "heartfelt" in the way they governed (as opposed to the way they have lived their private lives). I'm not saying that President Obama is not "heartfelt" in the way he leads, but the two Presidents who came to mind were Presidents Clinton and Kennedy.
As I reviewed President Clinton's speech at the 2011 Democratic National Convention below:
(Although Clinton endorsed Wendy Gruel, possibly for political reasons)
And President Kennedy's Inaugural Speech below:
what occured to me about each is that they had the following qualities:
- Listening - Clinton has been famous for causing people to feel that they are the only one in the room when he is in a conversation with them, especially when they were in pain or fear, i.e. he really does appear to feel people's pain
- Comprehending - Clinton and Kennedy seemed to follow what people say, withouth racing to a premature response
- Quick Study - Clinton and Kennedy appeared very smart and able to pick up things quickly
- Deep Study - Clinton and Kennedy appeared to have a deep grasp of what they were listening to vs. a superficial, rush to judgment
- Deep Understanding - Clinton and Kennedy appeared to deeply understand situations, where people were coming from and what people needed and wanted in such a way as people felt understood
As I have listened to interviews and debates between candidates Gruel and Garcetti, I am inclined to say that Garcetti appears to possess more of the above qualities than Gruel. I'm not sure if it's because of their education or their experience, but Gruel comes off as more transactional and somewhat less thoughtful (not to say she is thoughtless) than does Garcetti.