Earlier this week my buddy Reid mentioned that he was thinking of Senator Paul Wellstone, and how if he was still alive the face of American politics would probably look very different. I agreed and agree, and it is rare that a week passes without my thinking of and remembering well and mourning the loss of the Senator.

Paul Wellstone and his wife Sheila, along with their daughter Marcia, and five campaign personnel, were killed in a plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota, 13 years ago today. He was one of the only genuinely entirely good people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. He had connections to both of my alma maters, teaching for many years at Carleton after receiving both his BA and PHd from Carolina.

The fact that he is gone, and has been gone this long, still shocks me sometimes. He would hate what this country has become. He would want us to do better. For Senator Wellcome, I try to do better every day.