NM-Sen: Boots Made for Walkin' - Happy Birthday Tom Udall!

Click on photo to get the details on Tom Udall's boots

Rep. Tom Udall flew back to New Mexico yesterday for two main reasons: to cast his (paper) ballot on the first day of expanded early voting in Santa Fe for our June 3rd primary, and to celebrate his 60th birthday today with his family.

Happy Birthday, Congressman Udall! Now about those boots ....

Mary Ellen caught up with Rep. Udall at the Santa Fe County Fairgrounds where the media was invited to witness his voting. The only other person to show up was fellow-blogger Julia Goldberg. (You can read her account of the Udall voting experience here.)

Julia tried to get Udall to reveal who he's supporting in the NM-03 Congressional race and who he'll endorse for the Dem prez nomination, but it was no dice. Tom's the tall and silent type when it comes to revelations like these it seems, though he's a super friendly guy and down to earth as all get out. Take his boots, for instance. They're well worn, patched up and broken in. Udall seems as comfortable in his boots as he is in his own skin -- a trait we like in our politicos and our friends here in New Mexico.

It's clear that Tom Udall has walked many miles in his boots -- in the halls of Congress, on the campaign trail, along the sidewalks of our cities, the sandy paths of the high desert and the stream beds in the mountains. The boots tell a tale of hard work for constituents, moseying and mingling and touching base on the ground in every corner of the state.

Some slick pols like George Bush wear boots too, but they're almost always brand new boots without a crack, crease or speck of dust in sight. Udall is the real deal, as are his boots. Unlike Bush, who's afraid of horses (a fact), Udall heads out on horseback whenever he gets the chance. Martin Heinrich shared an anecdote the other day about a six-hour trail ride he enjoyed with Tom recently. Six hours. Martin admitted he had a bit of trouble walking when he finally dismounted. Tom got off the horse and didn't wince once. I bet he had his old boots on, too.

Asked about the state of his boots, Udall told the story of the famous photo of Adlai Stevenson and the hole in his shoe, worn into the leather by tireless political work and equally tireless campaigning. As Stevenson said then, better a hole in the shoe than a hole in the head. Amen.

Bucks to Honor the Boots & Birthday
To honor Tom Udall's 60th birthday today -- and show him how much we appreciate all those miles he's walked for us in his down home boots -- we're gonna donate a buck for each year that Tom's been on the planet to his Senate campaign. Click to do the same. If we want Tom Udall as our next Senator from New Mexico, we need to help him NOW. Just do it.

Oh, and about that voting yesterday ...

It was an intimate gathering in a distinctly New Mexican location -- 4H and animal feed company signs on the walls of an old fairgrounds barn. Tom's wonderful wife, Jill Cooper Udall, drove up in a Prius and met him in the parking lot. They chatted up the bloggers and the intrepid poll workers, voted and got on with their busy lives. It all went down very quickly. You can vote early and easy too -- click here to find out how.

Technorati Tags: