Bluey Blog - Official Blog of Robert B. Bluey

The Quotable Ken Blackwell

Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell spoke at the opening lunch of the the 30th annual Resource Bank today in Philadelphia, offering one of the best lines I’ve heard in a long time. (More photos from the speech available on Flickr.)

Describing what life was like growing up in public housing in Cincinnati, Blackwell told the crowd of more than 600 attendees that his mother would often find out about young Ken’s bad behavior before he got the chance to tell her.

“Kids today have the Internet, but back when I was growing up, we had the Auntinet,” Blackwell said to laughter from the crowd. “Trust me, information moved just as fast.”

The quip reminded me why I enjoy listening to Blackwell. He’s an inspirational person who brings a can-do attitude to every place he goes.

As he was wrapping things up today, Blackwell quoted Winston Churchill: “Courage is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” Blackwell, who lost his bid for Ohio governor last year, told conservative not to lose faith and to remain upbeat. With people like Ken Blackwell leading the movement, that shouldn’t be a problem.

UPDATE — April 27, 12:22 a.m.: Mary Katharine Ham posts video of Ken’s speech on YouTube.