I am going to say something very controversial for some...

[CBHagman]

179. I've seen this sentiment so often online that I'm tempted to remove my eyes with a melon baller...

...because litmus tests based on birth date, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation or lack thereof aren't the answer to shaping public discourse and moving the United States to a more compassionate, decent society. We can't afford to keep nice long lists of people who don't make the cutoff for one reason or other.

And on top of that, leadership is dependent on so much more than whether candidate X excites one element of the base. You aren't going to get a charismatic Barack Obama or John F. Kennedy every time out, and in fact you shouldn't.

I've heard a lot of denigration lately of leaders whose service to progressive causes is measured not only in years but half centuries, and from people who've neither kept a caucus united or put their lives on the line for voting rights.

In fact all I want to retire is the damn political ice floe people keep threatening to use. What people accomplish with persistence and resilience, including during years of setbacks and outright defeats, matters more than the birth year on their passports.