Hey Democrats, Klobuchar could be The One

SAN DIEGO -- Hello, Amy Klobuchar! Where have you been all my life? Or at least -- the whole Democratic presidential primary?

It's not often that someone comes in third in the New Hampshire primary, and then gives what amounts to a victory speech. And it all sounds pitch perfect.

"My heart is full tonight," she told supporters. "We have beaten the odds every step of the way. We have done it on the merits. We have done it with ideas. And we have done it with hard work."

I've been slow to give the Minnesota senator her due. That's partly because my first impression was not a positive one.

In September 2018, Klobuchar was marketed as a feminist warrior who battled white male privilege and the creeps whose boorish behavior led to the #MeToo movement. Still, you would think that a former prosecutor who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee would know that defendants have the right to be treated fairly. When Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh was nominated, that did not happen. As someone who knows her way around a courtroom, Klobuchar is adept at drawing pictures. And the picture she tried to draw of Kavanaugh was not flattering - or based on evidence.

But now, I feel better about Klobuchar. A lot better.

For one thing, as she noted in her remarks Tuesday night from New Hampshire, she can pull herself off the mat when life knocks her down.

"America deserves a president who is as resilient as her people," she told the cheering crowd.

When Klobuchar launched her campaign for president -- as a moderate from a purple state in a crowded field of Democrats darting to the left -- not many political experts gave her a chance. And I can't imagine anyone back then thought that, once Democrats started voting, she'd be doing as well as she's doing now. At first, she didn't raise a lot of money, and her poll numbers were dismal. But slowly she began to rise.

What turned things around? The debates. Klobuchar is extremely strong in that forum, taking jabs and telling stories and pouring her heart out while

opponents respond to questions with stale, robotic and rehearsed answers intended to pander to special interests.

Here's what Democrats are supposed to learn from the rise of Klobuchar. To borrow a phrase: It's character, stupid.

Democrats in New Hampshire were confused and angst-ridden as they cast ballots this week because they were trying to strategically pick the candidate who can beat President Trump.

Not a good plan. Gaming the system almost never works. Too many variables. Candidates lie. Voters are fickle. The media gets it wrong. Elections are

unpredictable.

The question for Democrats is not electability, or who comes from your corner of the ideological spectrum, or who wears the label you most identify with,

or even -- in an argument that Klobuchar makes often -- who can win over disaffected Democrats because she has previously found support in a swing state.

None of that matters. The only thing that matters is character. We can't always define it, but we know it when we see it. And when a candidate shows

flashes of honesty, empathy and authenticity, that's character.

Klobuchar seems to check all those boxes. When it comes to personal qualities, she runs the board. Everyone else in the top tier comes across as a

phony, an opportunist, or a quick-change artist.

What has a lot of Democrats buzzing is the same thing that likely fueled Klobuchar's surge in New Hampshire: the final two minutes of her outstanding closing remarks in last week's debate in Manchester. She raised $3 million after the exchange. And it's no wonder why. She delivered an impactful and memorable statement of who she is, what she's about, and why she's running. And she didn't forget to ask people for their votes.

Klobuchar argued that Americans are in a crisis of empathy -- one that starts with the charlatan in the White House. She reminded us that a great president needs to "know" ordinary people and feel their everyday struggle. To do that, you have to start by thinking of yourself as smaller than the country you serve.

Don't sell Klobuchar short. She has the most important quality Americans should look for in a president: character.

That is Trump's weakness. He can't run against character. But it's not his fault. He's not the least bit familiar with the concept.

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