Kamala Harris made me feel seen when no one else looked

My wife Diana and I met Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff in the summer of 2015, when Harris and I were both preparing to run for Senate. And by preparing to run, I mean traveling the country fundraising, because the amount of money it takes to run for the U.S. Senate requires you to spend more than a year flying around gathering up cash, like a marathoner accepting little cups of water from strangers. Harris won her Senate race and I got a silver medal in mine, but we stayed in touch and I would visit her sometimes during trips to D.C. We were friends, but not super close, which is common for friendships in politics. Just like that, I went from what the political world cynically calls a “bold faced name” to a vet with no job other than growing a beard, going to therapy, and trying to learn how to be useful around the house. Despite losing that Senate race, my political profile continued to grow and for a time I was among the couple of dozen Democrats preparing to make a 2020 run for the presidency. But in the latter half of 2018, I dropped out of the 2020 presidential mix, and then out of public life for a while, to go to the VA to seek therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. I’d been putting it off since serving in Afghanistan with the Army over a decade earlier, and it caught up to me rather abruptly. Just like that, I went from what the political world cynically calls a “bold faced name” to a vet with no job other than growing a beard, going to therapy, and trying to learn how to be useful around the house. She would sometimes call just to catch up, or sometimes she had a big speech or meeting coming up with a veterans’ or national security group and I’d be a sounding board. I don’t know how much she actually needed my advice about that stuff when she asked for it, and I don’t know how much I helped, but her asking made me feel valuable at a time when I’d sort of given the world permission to forget about me. I remember answering her call one day while pushing a cart through Costco. This was well after she was headlong into the 2020 campaign, and she had her veterans’ policy person on the line because she wanted to run some language by me. I remember answering her call one day while pushing a cart through Costco. I’m also excited because, in my experience, she’s a downright decent person who shows people respect and makes sure they feel seen. At best, we’re friendly acquaintances who used to work in the same field. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/kamala-harris-made-feel-seen-no-one-else-looked-rcna167341