It's lunch time already?

Former Texas Land Commissioner, gubernatorial candidate, and close Clinton friend Gary Mauro came by today to give a talk that was part pep-rally, part political commentary. Mr. Mauro talked candidly about everything from working on George McGovern's and Jimmy Carter's campaigns and befriending Hillary and Bill Clinton, to being Texas Land Commissioner and taking a lead in environmental issues both in Texas and nationally.

Mr. Mauro left us with an impression that we are at the cusp of a historical election; that this is a 'change' election as opposed to an 'incremental' election. In change elections, Mr. Mauro stressed, we have to think big. He called the opportunity for change in this election as a 'leap of faith' kind of change. Mr. Mauro thinks this election is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build a governing majority that could last for the next twenty years. To build an effective governing majority, Mr. Mauro said, Barack Obama needs to select Hillary Clinton as his running mate.

Mr. Mauro also gave us practical political advice. One of the biggest mistakes campaigns can make, Mr. Mauro said, is to try and reinvent the wheel. Everything has been done before, even the internet. The internet makes things easier, but we still need to be careful to not forget the lessons learned by the people who came before us. With that being said, we still need to think outside of the box and remember that everyone wants to protect the status quo at some level.

The wisdom and folksy nature of Mr. Mauro left all of us captivated. Not only did the Academy ask more questions of Mr. Mauro, but lunch was postponed due to Mr. Mauro's talk. And trust me, it takes pretty much an act of God to postpone lunch around here.