In terms of her personal style, says Goldstein, Napolitano is "both wonky and charismatic. When she's ticking off the details of her new children's health insurance proposal, she reminds you of Hillary Clinton -- except you don't get the sense Napolitano has had to practice to come off as funny or natural in public." One of her supposed handicaps -- rumors about her sexuality (she's never married) -- doesn't seem to have hurt her in her relatively conservative state. And as Goldstein notes, her "story" has some interesting chapters: "This is a woman who has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and survived breast cancer."
Goldstein suggests that Napolitano's great ambition in life is to become Attorney General of the United States. But don't be surprised if she eventually makes the veep shortlist. She could help Obama keep McCain very occupied in his Arizona base, and could help in other western states as well, without appearing provincial (she was actually born in New York City).
The Other Woman, Part 2: Janet Napolitano??
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
Updated On: 7/8/08 at 10:51 AM