There are times you read something truly amusing and you may never really know if the person who conjured it was trying to be funny; then there are times you know.

Brooks McCabe

Yesterday I read a tweet by @BrooksMcCabeWV that still has me laughing.  He had my vote for the next governor of West Virginia long before this, but now I can just tell one story and explain why he is the man for me, as well as why I believe he is the candidate our state needs in that office.

The tweet was a faux head-scratching over a journalist’s evaulation of him as “too erudite” for most voters.  The exact critique was this:

McCabe has some minuses as a candidate — he doesn’t exactly take command of the room when he enters, and with a doctoral degree from WVU, he can come off a bit too erudite for his audiences.

I don’t know about you, but I am sick and tired of a governor “taking command of the room.”  It’s philistine and tiresome and more often than not a glaring wart on a man’s character if he has to act that way.  The story I heard from the business summit at The Greenbrier was that McCabe quietly took a few steps up in a large hallway and, un-mic’ed, began talking about his vision for West Virginia.  He gathered a large group that soon crowded the area and listened to him intently and respectfully.  My clearance goes through rumor, but I also understand that quiet talk generated $20K in campaign support on the spot.

There will always be people who need someone to “take” command of them; who look for a big guy with too much hair product and a macho background to make them feel taken care of and important.  West Virginia has no shortage of these dudes salivating in the wings.   Then there are other people who appreciate a leader with an education, a respectful mild-mannered approach to others, and a flawless wit.  That leader is Brooks McCabe.

His tweet?  “Looking up ‘erudite’ in the dictionary.”  You gotta love it.