![]() ![]() It takes a little jolt of levity and thirst memes to remember what a competent leader looks like," Randy Blevins of Louisville told me. "But would a little 5 o'clock shadow kill you, Andy? So we know you've been working those late nights." "It's rather a shock to see someone so calm and in command. ![]() And yet, given the responses I've observed over the last two weeks as he's led Kentucky's efforts to be proactive and transparent in fighting the spread of COVID-19, Beshear now has a standing invitation to step on many necks - even as it is widely understood that he, a married father of two, would never, which is surely also part of the appeal. But let's be clear: Andy Beshear is the clean-cut son of a former governor, not a parking lot skateboarding, punk band bass-playing erstwhile bad boy like Beto O'Rourke. And yet his emergence as a sex symbol during this anxious time doesn't actually seem to have much to do with his looks, which I would describe as "former captain of your hometown's least-druggy high school sports team." If church and court are your thirst-trap hot spots - he's both a deacon and a lawyer and dresses like it - then sure, this tracks. Here's where we stop to acknowledge that yes, Andy Beshear is by most standards a conventionally handsome man. Rogers explaining calmly that the world is in fact on fire, but he definitely knows where the extinguisher is and also he's gonna teach me to stop, drop, and roll." How thirsty are some Kentuckians now for the Democrat who beat roundly despised authoritarian Republican Matt Bevin in a squeaker of an election last November? "Like I just ran a marathon in the Mojave," a fellow writer and Kentucky native explained to me. "It's like hot Mr. He's not mad he's just disappointed. And constituents stuck at home, anxious and restless, are getting extremely horny for this big dad energy. On Saturday, Beshear all but shamed a company by name that bragged about offering employees six weeks of unpaid sick leave. "Please don't be that organization that acts like you're doing something great when your people need so much more from you," he said. He coaches folks applying for unemployment about processes and deadlines and reinforces that there's no stigma in filing for assistance. When needed, he scolds. He talks openly and directly about why mental health is important too, and why empathy and caring for others is non-negotiable. He mourns the Kentuckians who have died from the virus (there have been three fatalities so far). Turns out competence and empathy, perhaps, are the biggest turn-ons.ĭuring Beshear's daily talks - a sort of Fireside Chat for the Facebook Live era - the governor gets visibly emotional about the sacrifices Kentuckians are making with regard to their livelihoods, extended family contact and religious practices in order to help flatten the curve. They're not alone just in my social circle I've noticed Andy Thirst where before none existed. When I reached out to ask her about her post, Collier told me that was her response to "a lesbian friend of mine who said that she was starting to develop a crush" on Gov. "Govern me, daddy," cracked Natasha Collier of Lexington on a Reddit thread in response to Beshear's decisive leadership. "Those parlors cater to an older and more at-risk crowd." Forget being brave enough to face the toilet paper-hoarding supermarket crowds, there's a new benchmark for courage: Andy Beshear's not scared of angering stir-crazy grandmothers in order to protect his people. Eastern time, have become must-see and -listen events for Kentuckians thanks to Beshear's combo of trustworthy information, empathy, and uplifting we're all in this together messages. "If you are a bingo parlor in Pike County, you ought to be closed by the end of today," he said, with unmistakable concern in his eyes. These updates, live-streamed daily at 5 p.m. Andy Beshear, 42, delivered a loving yet stern call-out during his press briefing Wednesday to defiant bingo halls that weren't closing to enforce social distancing to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Or rather, here we were until Democratic Gov. Of all the wild turns 2020 could have taken, I doubt anyone had "Kentucky's new governor becomes a sex symbol during the coronavirus crisis" on their bingo card, but here we are. ![]()
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