Rand Paul: A Real Man?
Interesting single data point on how Rand Paul has impacted the public consciousness post-drone filibuster from a stemwinding typically men's mag style overly thoughtful Esquire magazine feature, "1000 Miles of Men," about writer Tom Chiarella asking hundreds of common folk across this great land of ours: What is a man?
One response:
At the bar of a Cheesecake Factory, I asked a woman, a lawyer in her late thirties sitting by herself, a regular of some sort or a friend of the bartender: What is a man?
"I'll tell you what I like," she said. "Someone who's willing to say what's on their mind. I don't like dodgy men. I think Marco Rubio is a man. You know. I also like Rand Paul."
I had not counted on the possibility of role models, public figures. "I'm looking for a definition," I told her. "Not endorsements."
"Well, I also like President Obama, for sure," she said, not listening. "I did, anyway. For a while. I lost my interest. Now I just think Rand Paul is braver. He did that filibuster. That was hard. That took courage."
Me in March at Reason on Rand Paul and his three post-filibuster problems.