Mayor Gavin Newsom is ready for his life after politics as a wine store clerk. The former gubernatorial hopeful says he is ready to step out of politics and back into the wine industry, where he made millions before becoming the mayor of San Francisco and later struggled with a drinking problem.
The quick descent of the once rising star in the Democratic party to the media shy wine clerk is documented in an interview with the New York Times national columnist Maureen Dowd this week.
Newsom explains why he is done with politics and his disappointment with President Barack Obama, who was once mentioned in the same breathe as Newsom as the future of their party.
“There were five of us. A guy named Obama. I’m like ‘Why is he in here? This is ridiculous. I mean, he’s a state senator. I’m kind of insulted,’ Newsom told the Times. "Life was really good, and then it came crashing down. ‘You’re not going to be speaking at the convention. We overbooked.’ And then it becomes the house of cards with the Democrats excusing themselves from visits to this city and being in the same room with me.
Newsom lambasted Mr. Obama and his party for not following his lead on gay marriage.
"It’s fundamentally inexcusable for a member of the Democratic Party to stand on the principle that separate is now equal, but only on the basis of sexual orientation," he said.
His rift with the Democratic party is just part of the reason he says he is ready to hang up his political mitts. But the threat is one the mayor has made before.
“This is it. God bless. It was fun while it lasted,” he said. “Guys like me don’t necessarily progress very far, which is fine.”
If Newsom does live up to his threat, let us be the first to say it was interesting covering the always colorful mayor.
