Electoral Enchantment (the Udalls !)

[janx]

http://egan.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/electoral-enchantment/?ex=1213329600&en=fec00ecde9b173be&ei=5070&emc=eta1

SANTA FE, N.M. — He is bamboo-thin, relies on a pair of walking sticks to help him up a canyon trail, and has lost most of his vision. But at age 88, Stewart Udall, patriarch of the first family of the American West, politics division, has seen enough history to recognize a Big Moment when it’s staring back at him.

“I think we’re moving into a new era,” he said. “There’s something very pleasing and hopeful going on, a resurgence after a long drought of positive conservation sentiment.”
Stewart Udall at his home in Santa Fe, N.M. (Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Geissler)

He was talking about love of land and passion for place, and how it can crystallize in a political shift once every generation or so. For Udall, one of only two surviving members of President John F. Kennedy’s original cabinet, that time first came with the 1960 election.

Much more at link! A beautiful read!

[blondeatlast]

1. When I think of Arizona politicians, I think of the Udalls. Good to know they are

keeping the spirit still.

[funflower]

2. They are cousins with republican Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon,

who is no friend of the environment or anything else the Udalls stand for. I've always thought this was weird (although maybe not that weird considering the political persuasions of my extended family).


Excuse me, I meant "soon-to-be-former Senator" Gordo Smith.

[janx]

3. Mark Udall came to my house when I was gone one evening.

This is when I lived in Colorado. Given my absence, he still came in and spent time talking to my (then) 14-year-old son. It was an experience my son will never forget--he's now 26 and lives in Alaska.

I now live in NM, and Tom Udall is running for the Senate (as is Mark in Colorado). These guys are genuine, as the column points out. They've been involved with conservation for generations. I love them.

[Bob Dobbs]

4. I am working on Mark's campaign in Colorado.

We can't allow a psycho conservative scum bag like bob schaffer to sneak into the Senate.

Mark Udall is a really awesome person and a true Democrat, unlike that rat bastard DINO ken salazar that we were hoodwinked into electing in 2004.

[janx]

5. Allard used to really piss me off.

I could never understand how a veterinarian, a scientist, could be so disingenuous. I remember the primary election that rendered Salazar. I'd never call him a bastard, but he clearly had a lot of money behind him.

In any case, cheers to the Udalls! I love Stew's message to his grandchildren.

[jwirr]

6. Thank you for the information about the grand old man Stew Udall, nt