Last night, attractive dad and former ’90s rock band member Beto O’Rourke announced his intention to run for president. The Texan had spent the last few months hemming and hawing about his political future, but it was abundantly clear that he was most probably going to run.
O’Rourke tends to get stellar press: For example, he’s the next cover subject for Vanity Fair, with Annie Leibovitz photos to boot. He seems like a guy who knows how to say what his audience wants to hear. But one persistent criticism about O’Rourke’s presidential ambitions was tweeted last night by investor and Silicon Valley activist Ellen K. Pao:
Sigh. Beto is like the board members who tell CEOs to add diversity to the board–but are unwilling to step aside to make room
— Ellen K. Pao (@ekp) March 14, 2019
It’s is a pretty concise thought: O’Rourke spends a lot of time discussing progressive ideals, and yet his very presence somewhat goes against what he’s saying. Other observers on Twitter noticed his (at best) obliviousness to gender politics:
i am so sick of wives being forced to silently gaze!!! why even include her? ?? when i run for president my husband will be in the background feeding our cats https://t.co/UdsqCKzK6U
— Audrey Gelman (@audreygelman) March 14, 2019
Imagine the reaction if a female presidential candidate made this kind of lighthearted, self-deprecating joke about parenting. https://t.co/XoUNrwZsSY
— andi zeisler (@andizeisler) March 14, 2019
Despite the fact that he certainly piqued the nation’s interest when he was running against fellow Texan Ted Cruz for Senator, it should be remembered O’Rourke still lost. It’s certainly interesting that he decided to go forward with national ambitions (despite a decidedly full playing field) when there are other more local campaigns he could take on.
These online observations are something to mull over while considering the many potential Democratic presidential nominees, though perhaps O’Rourke hasn’t thought about it from that perspective.
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