How’s the Granny Card Playing?

Sen. Paul Wellstone by Ismael Roldan

Wellstone made an early mark in Washington. Shortly after his election, he said of his colleague Jesse Helms, “I have detested him since I was 19.” At his initial meeting with the first President Bush, just before the Gulf War, he pestered the commander-in-chief with anti-war rhetoric—prompting Bush to ask, semi-famously, “Who is this chick ensh?” Not long after, Wellstone held a weepy press conference at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in an ill-advised attempt to turn a sobering national emblem into a crass political symbol. On the Hill, he was seen as undisciplined; he had trouble keeping staff.

About the Author

Ramesh Ponnuru

Ramesh Ponnuru is the editor of National Review, a columnist for the Washington Post, and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

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Sen. Paul Wellstone by Ismael Roldan

Wellstone made an early mark in Washington. Shortly after his election, he said of his colleague Jesse Helms, “I have detested him since I was 19.” At his initial meeting with the first President Bush, just before the Gulf War, he pestered the commander-in-chief with anti-war rhetoric—prompting Bush to ask, semi-famously, “Who is this chick ensh?” Not long after, Wellstone held a weepy press conference at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in an ill-advised attempt to turn a sobering national emblem into a crass political symbol. On the Hill, he was seen as undisciplined; he had trouble keeping staff.