If you’ve lived in Boston, even if you’re not a native Bostonian, you are well aware that the trust of the people of Boston is not easily earned, but once you’ve earned it, you have it. Former mayor Thomas Menino knew this, having served as Mayor of Boston from 1993 to 2014. He was Boston’s longest serving mayor, and he was loved by the people of his city even after his unfortunate passing on October 30, 2014. He stood at the helm of the ship, steering Bostonians through crises like the Boston Marathon Bombings. The shoes he left to fill were massive, dauntingly so, but Marty Walsh stepped forth to accept the challenge.
During the first six months of this position as Mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh was put through the gauntlet. Record-setting snow fell almost every week between late January and early April of 2015 almost as if old Mayor Menino had sent it himself as a way to test Walsh’s medal. By the end of that absolutely miserable winter, however, Mayor Walsh had proven himself more than capable of leading the city through sticky situations. He earned the trust of Bostonians, and on Tuesday, July 26, Marty Walsh earned the trust of Democrats throughout the nation as he spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
When he stepped up to the podium Tuesday night, he introduced himself, “Hello, my name is Marty Walsh, and I’m an alcoholic.”
Marty Walsh’s introducing himself as an alcoholic makes him more trustworthy to the Democrats because he’s openly admitting that he struggles with addiction, and has been struggling for almost three decades. By announcing his battle with alcoholism, he opened himself to criticism. Conservatives are just that — conservative. They tend to be hesitant about admitting mistakes they’ve made in the past, about airing their dirty laundry. And we all know how Donald Trump loves to exploit what he views as weakness. This would be the perfect opportunity for him to criticize Hillary Clinton for having a drunken Irishman backing her. No doubt Marty Walsh knew this, but he introduced himself like an alcoholic anyway. If you don’t trust him, you at least have to give him respect, because what he did took courage. More courage than Donald Trump has.
