Not 'born to be in it': Beto O'Rourke strikes more humble tone as buzz fades

[nitpicker]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/14/beto-o-rourke-vanity-fair-cover-humble-tone-reboot-campaign

Not 'born to be in it': Beto O’Rourke strikes more humble tone as buzz fades

Ed Pilkington

Tue 14 May 2019 21.19 BST

If Beto O’Rourke were a Hollywood movie star, there would have been no better publicity than a Vanity Fair cover with a portrait by celebrity photographer Annie Liebovitz and the headline: “Man, I’m just born to be in it.”







The astonishing disappearing act of Beto O’Rourke




Read more

But O’Rourke is no Hollywood star, and, as one of more than 20 Democrats vying for the presidential nomination, the fallout of that glossy start to his campaign has been anything but cheerful. On Tuesday, the former Texas congressman confessed that he looked on the cover with regret because it came across as an expression of white privilege.

Asked by the presenters of ABC’s The View if the cover was a mistake, he replied: “Yeah. I think it reinforces the perception of privilege. The headline saying I was born to be in this … nobody is born to be president of the United States of America, least of all me.”

O’Rourke’s striking about-face is an indication of how sobering the early weeks of the presidential race has been for this constitutionally upbeat politician.

Since he announced his bid in March, coming off a high as narrow loser to Ted Cruz in last November’s senatorial contest in Texas, he has been bombarded with criticism, the most searing of which has been that he takes his advantages as a well-off white Texan for granted.

Ridiculed for folksy ways such as his tendency to stand on counter-tops to address voters, his popularity has taken a pummeling: several recent polls have put him as low as 3%. Now he is attempting to reboot his campaign, shifting its focus and priorities in the hope of winning back some of the faded buzz.
(snip)

[Dennis Donovan]

1. I really like him, but I think he would serve the country better by taking Cornyn's seat. n/t

[JI7]

2. it's unlikely he could win that seat , Cornyn is not as unpopular and hated like Cruz is

but Trump is even more unpopular than Cruz which is why he has a better chance winning against Trump in a presidential race than in a senate race against Cornyn.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

3. That might be true...just glad to see Beto striking a more humble tone as he reboots his rollout...

Beto's realization and acknowledgement of his white male privelege is a good start and certainly helps keep him on my Top-10 list of Democratic primary candidates. Good for Beto... my hat's off to him for his appearance on The View!!




Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[JI7]

4. he has always been humble and acknowledged the reality of race in this country unlike some

other candidate.

[Indygram]

5. Oh FFS, just stop...there is a great WOMAN running against Cornyn

And this is just another misleading article that completely distorts what Beto actually said. Ironically it seems that the overwhelming majority of the misleading hit piece articles posted on here about Beto are being posted and propped up by the supporters of one candidate and it's NOT Bernie Sanders supporters this time. Jesus...

[RLG]

9. This meme has got to stop.

Plus, there is a credible candidate for that seat. M.J. Hegar, who barely lost a congressional seat and is a veteran.

[rzemanfl]

13. Gotta wash socks. BBL n/t

[PDittie]

6. Somebody said

"You never get a second chance to make a good first impression".

The good news? The filing deadline to run for the US Senate against John Cornyn is not until December. If Beto is as smart as some people believe he is, he'll cash out of the White House sweepstakes after he bombs in the debates this summer.

[Indygram]

7. MJ Hegar is running against Cornyn, Beto is running for President

[essadaw]

8. Another distortion of what Beto actually says

the born to it comment was with regard to public service. The MSM and supporters of other candidates have a hard time coming up with real criticisms of Beto, so somehow they feel the need to take things out of context and distort

[RLG]

11. I am still holding out for Stacey Abrams to run

But after reading some of the comments regarding O'Rourke, I am thinking about supporting him on DU.

Some of the responses about him here are quite ridiculous, to say the least.

The debates have yet to begin and opponents keep saying he should run for the Texas Senate seat against Cornyn where there is no guarantee that he would defeat Cornyn nor would he win the nomination.

[peggysue2]

12. I never took that comment . . .

'born to be in it' as flip or egotistical. To me, O'Rourke was expressing his enthusiasm for campaigning, for reaching out and talking to people across the country. He impresses me as someone who actually thrives off those encounters, enjoys the break-neck schedule of moving from one city to the next.

Honestly, I don't know what he's apologizing for, other than reacting to a bunch of negative nonsense. Which in itself is not a good sign. He needs to own his words and attitudes, particularly on small-potato stuff like this. Otherwise, he'll be eaten alive. 'Perception of privilege?' Oh, please! That's journo psychoanalysis tinged with jealousy. He needs to throw a snide comment like that right back at them.

Don't sweat the small stuff, Beto!