I was privileged to be the only other person in the room in 1997 when both Paul Wellstone and Jesse Jackson were considering a run for President. After a little small talk, Paul laid out his reason for running, an intelligent argument based on mobilizing normally overlooked constituencies with issues that the Democratic Party had become more and more afraid to champion. He spoke of his RFK-type visit to Mississippi, going to see poor people in their own homes more than three decades after the War on Poverty. He told Jackson he thought he could make a difference in mobilizing forgotten people.

Then Jackson spoke, jokingly suggesting that Paul should do exactly that--by serving as chairman for Jackson 2000! Jesse then went on to set out a similar case for his own possible candidacy. The two of them talked for quite a while longer, neither of them committing to a campaign, both of them making it clear they were thinking about it, and both agreeing to stay in close touch as their potential candidacies evolved.

We then walked into Paul's Senate office, where Wellstone's staff was quietly watching to see what might have occurred in the meeting. Catching everyone by surprise, Jackson immediately yelled out: "Attention, everybody. I've got an important announcement. Attention! Paul has just agreed to serve as chairman of my campaign for President in 2000!" Paul immediately started laughing, waving his arms in that Wellstone way, and shaking his head no. The two of them then collapsed in laughing and hugging (as Paul's Senate staff exhaled). It's one of my favorite memories of the two of them.

STEVE COBBLE

***

Public Campaign lost one of its closest friends last week. He was with us on the fight for comprehensive campaign finance reform even before our founding in 1997, he was the lead sponsor of our "Clean Money/Clean Elections" full public financing bill and, most important, he was our voice in a chamber where cash, not citizens, is usually heard the most clearly. He wasn't just Minnesota's senator, he was democracy's senator.

Paul always spoke from the heart, and at the center of his heart was the principle of political equality. As he put it in April 2001, when he reintroduced the Clean Money/Clean Elections bill, "The people of this country, not special-interest big money, should be the source of all political power. Everyone must have equal opportunity to participate in the process of government."

Paul believed deeply in organizing, and in the power of average citizens to make a difference by organizing themselves to demand change. To that end, he was the keynote speaker at our founding conference of Clean Money activists, and his Senate office worked hard to support activists around the country in their efforts. We will honor Paul by continuing to fight for the things he believed in: a democracy where everyone has an equal voice, where the least of us matter as much as those with the most, and where the principle of one person, one vote reigns supreme.

NICK NYHART

***

Senator Wellstone was one of my advisers at Carleton. His passion for making a difference in the world around him and within the world of the classroom was truly remarkable.

I remember particularly well one class I took from him, "The Politics of Race, Class, and Gender" (I know, no surprise there). After watching a video that explicated the vast inequities between treatment offered at a private and public hospital in New York City, I argued that the comparison didn't apply to Minnesota--that residents in our public hospitals received comparable treatment to those in private hospitals (this was many years ago, so don't hold me to it today--times and Minnesota demographics have changed considerably since then). Other students (mostly from the coasts) chided me for being naïve.

Paul urged me to dig in and figure it out--for myself, and for the class. I ended up capping off my research by driving up to the Twin Cities and visiting HCMC myself. I spent my time walking the halls, talking to people in waiting rooms, trying to figure out what the wait-time was for patients to be seen, what the availability of specific drugs in the pharamacy was, etc. I returned and stood my ground.

Though certainly I was naïve, this idea of getting up and going, of seeing for yourself, and of believing you could use your knowledge to make a difference was integral to what Wellstone taught his students. He was eager to explore what worked and what didn't. He was eager to make changes that mattered concretely in people's lives. He was willing to laugh at himself and change tactics when necessary. Hi ability to say something to an audience of any size and make you feel like he was just there to talk to you was amazing.

But, most important for me as a student: He modeled the importance of making personal sacrifices and taking personal risks when necessary to support that in which you believe. He walked his walk.

He may or may not have been a paragon of virtue. I, too, was confused by his decision to run again for the Senate after proclaiming he wouldn't become a career politician. But, for me, he certainly was a beacon of hope, a reason for tempering cynicism, and a reminder to hold myself accountable for the way in which my choices impact the world around me.

His sense of humor, his emotional availability and his high regard for academics made him a wonderful teacher--and, of course, an extremely valuable representative of the people. I hope we have the courage and fortitude in the face of his loss to find someone of principle to send to the Senate in his place. The knowledge that there is no way one person could fill his shoes should be a call to action for each of us to do our part to make a difference.

SIRI ANDERSON

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