Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.
•••
You know the recipe for a traditional political convention: Political star power, celebrities, a lot of preaching to the choir, standing ovations, speeches that run long and cutaways to delirious delegates.
And then there’s Gwen Walz, aspiring Second Lady and professional-grade empath. For all the marquee names, she is, I believe, a tremendous stealth asset — particularly among women her age and up, who are moving toward the Democratic ticket, but not as quickly as younger voters are.
Note to campaign organizers: Gwen Walz can help because she is hardwired to understand and share the feelings of others, which is what being empathic is all about. You can tell just looking at her.
The first-night roster was full of speakers I knew I wanted to hear, like Hillary Clinton, and speakers I didn’t know, like Olympics basketball coach Steve Kerr. And yet what mesmerized me was Gwen Walz, who said not a word but sat quietly and watched the proceedings.
I paid as much attention to her reactions as to the speakers who elicited them. As she listened to Hillary Clinton and the quartet who spoke about personal tragedies and reproductive rights, her eyes welled up, and she set her mouth the way people do when they’re trying to hold it together. Sometimes she managed a small and sympathetic smile, a rueful shaking of the head, or a glance heavenward, as though trying to regain her composure. Any woman who’s ever tried not to fall apart will likely recognize the moves.
A cynic will say she was looking at a big screen somewhere, but Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff were looking straight ahead.