Keller @ Large: Tom Menino The Envy Of Every Politician

BOSTON (CBS) - What made Tom Menino great?

The same things that earn any man or woman that adjective. Love for and loyalty to his family and friends. Profound decency, and a wicked sense of humor. Honesty, a strong work ethic, and a love of Red Sox baseball.

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But while Tom Menino was a regular guy, he was no ordinary person.

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He manifested three qualities that for me mark the dividing line between a good person and politician, and a great one:

COMMITMENT

Menino never sought higher office despite sky-high popularity ratings statewide, and the sight of so many of his peers using their public offices as launching pads for bigger things. For Menino, nothing was bigger than being Mayor of Boston. And that lifelong commitment both enhanced his power and cleared the way for him to focus relentlessly and effectively on the city and its needs.

HUMILITY

Menino lived modestly, shunning the fancy city-owned Parkman House or some other more prestigious address. He never put on airs, never got pompous, never isolated himself from regular people, and always stayed true to his class, ethnic and neighborhood roots.

LOVE

He loved Boston, its people, and they life they gave him, the son of working-class immigrants who became CEO of the place. From the council to the mayor's office, he found work that gave him a way to show that love every day. And in return he earned the love of most and, from the few who didn't love him, respect.

Commitment, humility, love, and a legacy that should be the envy of every politician in America.

What more could any man want?

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