Nicholas Kristof was convinced that he could help save Oregon, so he ran for governor until a state Supreme Court decision ruled him ineligible. But failure has not dented his optimism, reports Olivianuzzi
Illustration: Zohar Lazar By the time I arrived in Yamhill, Oregon, Nicholas Kristof’s political career had already ended in a face-plant. “I didn’t feel any burning ambition to be a politician whatsoever,” he told me. Good thing. From start to finish, from his decision to quit the New York Times to the state Supreme Court decision that ruled him ineligible to hold the office, his campaign for governor lasted all of 114 days.
He cited “The Man in the Arena” in his final Times column, the Theodore Roosevelt speech beloved by athletes and politicians: “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles … The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” It was time, Kristof said, “to move from covering problems to trying to fix them.”
“I wouldn’t be in favor of barring alcohol in general. I think that wine can be, or cider can be, a social good and can create social capital. Things that bring people together, I think, are good for society. I think alcohol can do that, and I think that’s true of wine and cider. I take your point that some people start with nice Pinot Noirs and then… ,” he trailed off.
“This kind of reporting is an act of hope. A belief that if there’s more attention called to a problem, there will be more resources that go to it,” he told me. “It’s a belief that reporting about these things really does make a difference, which is the opposite of cynicism.” Oregon’s secretary of state, Shemia Fagan, a civil-rights attorney with the word vote tattooed across her radius, was not convinced. “I have nothing personal against Nick Kristof. I don’t know Nick Kristof. I’ve read his books. I think he has an interesting perspective,” she told me. “I wanted to make the decision that I believed was in line with the Constitution.
That last thing was half-true. Asked if he would consider a state office besides the office of governor, he said, “In Oregon?” He paused. “If I’m trying to figure out how I can bring about the greatest change on issues I care about, I’m just not sure that that’s how I can do it.” Besides, he added, “one of the advantages of losing one’s job very publicly is that you get a lot of job offers. Running a foundation, running a news organization, running a couple of universities.
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