Yang masters the politics of authenticity

The last one helped put Donald Trump in the White House. Love him or hate him, Trump grabs our interest -- and won't let it go. In 2016, he was more interesting than a dozen or so Republican presidential also-rans, and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

For most people, the first step to being interesting is appearing different from the pack. You say or do something extraordinary.

Not Trump. For him, "interesting" comes from talking and thinking like the rest of the pack. He's the guy on a stool at the end of the bar, telling anyone who will listen how the world ought to work.

It's a simple concept: If you're running for office for the first time, and you want to get media attention, the first thing you have to do is get the attention of the media. You do that by making news.

But it's also an important concept. It scuttles the assumption that it's the job of the media to make candidates interesting. Actually, it's their job to say, or do, things that are interesting. If they can't do that much, they shouldn't run.

Meanwhile, two less-than-interesting candidates recently left the field of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, we hardly knew ye. And many of us had just learned to spell your names.

Some candidates seem to think that the way to appear interesting is to jump on top of tables, or imply their opponent is a racist, or shout during debates.

Yang came across as interesting, and got my attention, when he did something that seemed to come naturally. He sobbed.

On Aug. 10, Yang was at a gun-safety forum at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. A woman in the audience shared a personal tragedy. Her 4-year-old daughter was struck by a stray bullet and killed in 2011, and her son -- the girl's twin brother -- saw it happen. Yang, whose two children are ages 6 and 3, was visibly shaken and asked the woman if he could give her a hug. She agreed. Afterward, Yang returned to the stage, still shaken. Placing his hand over his face, he wept quietly. Referencing his own children, he explained: "I was imagining it was one of them that got shot and the other saw it. I'm so sorry." Then, again, he broke down in tears.

More of this, please. America is a real place full of real lives. It deserves to be led by a real person.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.