Up Close, with Peter Sage: Easy Sunday: Jon Ossoff is the real deal

Democrats have a plausible candidate for president.

I saw him audition in Portland yesterday. He sounds like a president.

My wife and I attended a fundraising event for him.

The event had the usual elements of a higher-dollar fundraising event, plus some extras. Huge home, splendid hors 'd'oeuvres, valet parking, good sound system, a professional photographer who will send photos to guests. It sends a message that Ossoff is a top tier candidate.

It was a warm day, mid-high 70s. Ossoff wore this open-collared shirt.

The event followed the usual format. First, a brief pre-gathering where Ossoff met with the "hosts," i.e. the people who invited their networks of friends and made leadership contributions. Then 45 minutes of visits, handshakes, and photos with guests. Then the hostess took the microphone to acknowledge other event organizers. She then introduced the headline introducer, Senator Jeff Merkley.

Merkley spoke for five minutes praising Ossoff's hard work and effectiveness in the senate.

Then Ossoff spoke for about 20 minutes. I have heard well over a hundred presidential campaign speeches. Ossoff's was at the highest quality, comparable to Pete Buttigieg, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, speaking within the genre of serious people presenting a story of America's condition and what needs to be done to address it. He sounds like a smart, professional, urban, or suburban politician; not "folksy good-ol-boy." Trump and Bernie Sanders both lead with grievance. Ossoff is more optimistic. He presents as can-do and forward-looking. There is a JFK "new generation of leaders" vibe to Ossoff.

Ossoff offers something Democrats desperately needed but lacked in a Biden presidency. He is articulate and persuasive. He didn't meander. He didn't check off a list of policy proposals and proposed laws in the way that both Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren did, which had the effect of making them come across as policy staffers, not leaders. He did not sound canned and over-practiced.

He did not hide from trouble spots for Democratic politicians. He said that for Democrats to establish a "durable majority" in the senate, Democrats must diversity on some issues. Democrats need to win in red and purple states to get to 50-plus senators. He warned that we might not want to hear this, but Democrats were crazy to have drummed Joe Manchin out of the party. "Who else is going to win in West Virginia?"

Ossoff is Jewish. An inaudible question from the audience asked him about Israel. Ossoff is generally aligned with the J Street Group, a pro-Israel, pro-peace group advocating both security for Israel and a negotiated two-state solution that condemns Israel's settlements in the West Bank. Ossoff set out what I perceived as a middle course: sharp condemnation of Prime Minister Netanyahu but within the context of support for Israel continuing to survive and be recognized by Muslim countries of the region. It is possible that his position will satisfy no one among Democrats, and the division will break up the party. Alternatively, it may be that a liberal Jewish critic of Israel is the only person who can thread the needle and hold the party together. Parties are stitched together by rhetoric and personality.

Here is how he presents himself in his official senate photo. Serious. Black suit, black tie. He is compensating for his youthful appearance.

He is 39. He is married and has a three-year-old and one-year-old. He married in 2017 to a woman who kept her birth name. He graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service; he earned a Masters degree from the London School of Economics.

An astute female guest at the event told me she thought Ossoff was exactly the right amount of good-looking to win in politics. "Ossoff is a nine," she said. "The perfect spot. Ten is good in Hollywood, not politics. Newsom is a ten, and he has too much hair and looks too slick, and comes across as untrustworthy. Ossoff is just right."

She added that anyone from California will have a hard time winning a presidential election. "Georgia is a good purple state. Of course I would vote for Newsom over any Republican. I just hope I don't have that as my choice," she said.

Scenes from the event: short visits, photos.