Winter-Warner event: Part 3

What Bill Winter said.

Bill Winter is a brave guy. He volunteered for the military. Twice. He donated a kidney. And now he's running against Tom Tancredo, and Tancredo supporters aren't known for not threatening your life.

Why does Winter do what he does? Beacause he believes. He believes that he's bound by the military oath he took to defend America. He believes that healthcare is a right and that the war has gone on long enough. And he believes that Americans have a duty to be involved in civic life. He ended his speech tonight by saying, "You have a duty to stand up."

What Mark Warner said.

Yeah, Mark Warner is running for president. Yeah, I was able to stand ten feet from him, shake his hand and talk to him one-on-one for about three minutes. National-level politicians are enormously charismatic people. They manage to be confident and humble at the same time. In person Warner reminded me of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. I brought up his website and he talked easily about his belief that technology and science could open up new doors for American industry and healthcare.

Warner's speech in front of the large crowd (Maybe a few hundred? We packed Cool River.) balanced these technocratic ambitions with fiscal conservatism and social liberalism. He even drew a clear distinction between himself and George W. Bush. "My biggest problem with this president isn't something he's done. It's something he's not done. The president of the United States has never leveled with the American people."