Rebecca BuckVerified account

Rachel Maddow, who knew Cory Booker from their Stanford days, summed him up perfectly in Feb last year. She said he “is so different than anybody I have ever known on earth” and “such an absolutely unique embodiment of moral energy and moral earnestness.”

At the time, I thought that sounded hyperbolic. But as I covered Booker more and spent time with him and his campaign team, I discovered it wasn’t. He is unlike any candidate, maybe any person, I’ve ever encountered.

Booker wanted to win, but there were limits to what he would do to achieve that end. He resisted attacking his rivals, even if it might have been to his benefit. And he didn’t deviate from his core message of love and building a “beloved community.”

Inevitably, some people viewed Booker’s earnest message with skepticism. Like, Is this guy for real? It might be why Booker often converted people into supporters at campaign events, when they could see his conviction and passion for themselves.

Booker’s campaign events were also unique. Possibly due to his past success on the paid speaking circuit, they often felt more like TED Talks or sermons. People cried! He cried! It was Oprah’s presidential campaign without Oprah.

He is preternaturally interested in other people, a total extrovert. When Booker meets you he starts asking questions until you realize you’ve somehow divulged your entire life story to a presidential candidate. And he’s so excited about and interested in all of it.

Booker’s exuberance could come off as goofy — not what many people expect of a would-be president, and maybe one reason he didn’t catch on. Booker wanted to talk about policy, sure, but he also really wanted to tell dad jokes. So many dad jokes.

Reporting on Booker was challenging in a weird way. Although he was accessible to the press, and happy to answer questions, he wasn’t interested in making news for news’ sake — probably to his detriment. (This is someone who was known for media stunts in Newark!)

It was also fun. During my first IA trip with him in October 2018, he hopped on J.D. Scholten’s RV and almost immediately insisted that everyone sing along to Bruce Springsteen (“Born To Run,” obvs). He was always like this — singing, yes, but also incomprehensibly upbeat.

It’s one of the reasons his team was so loyal. Booker hired some of the most in-demand campaign staff this cycle — and even though he never had a breakout moment, they stuck with him because they truly believed in their candidate.

They also believed in what he was trying to do, which was ultimately pretty simple. Booker viewed the presidency as a moral post from which to inspire and heal the country. He was running for “spiritual reasons,” he said in Iowa recently.

Maybe that was too esoteric for most voters, or they were too risk-averse in this cycle to choose someone like Booker. Or the media didn’t give him enough attention. Or all of the above. See any number of why-he-didn’t-take-off thinkpieces out there.

There were obvious shortcomings of Booker’s campaign operation. His fundraising was weak, in part because he didn’t build a grassroots list before he launched his campaign. And his timing might have been off. Was his *moment* actually when he was mayor of Newark?