A true moment of humanity

The Chris Matthews book is still pretty enjoyable. He is really enamored of Tip O'Neill...as the reder is reminded every tenth page or so. A thread that runs through the entire book is the idea that lessons from politics can be applied to other areas of life-- friendship, family, work, ambition, etc. The part I'm reading right now is about rivalry, and Matthews shares a sweet story. While Ronald Reagan was incapacitated and recovering from an assassination attempt, he was guarded very closely by his chief of staff. Tip O'Neill, a major Reagan rival, came to visit, said a prayer, and held Reagan's hand. Matthews describes this is glowing terms, as a "moment of humanity"...and for some reason I started crying reading the passage. I like learning about the imperfect, emotional, and personal elements of politics; I like knowing that these brilliant and powerful people are more than the sum of their war chests, speeches, and policies. Instead of talking about O'Neill salivating at seeing a political rival in such a weakened state, Matthews talks about him visiting a friend in need.

Over the past year, I've come to the conclusion that succeeding in life comes down to two basic, and alliterative, traits: grace and guts. I'll delve further into my conclusion tomorrow. Woot!