The year was 2011. It was roughly 178 degrees that summer in St. Louis. The event was the Smart Girls Summit. Andrew was there to speak. I was there to sing. Neither of us was a particularly smart girl. I was set up at a table in the bloggers’ lounge when Andrew’s eldest son entered. “Where’s your Dad?” I said. He said “Starbucks,” and then went on his way, apparently to find a 12-year-old smart girl of interest. I, on the other hand, quickly called Andrew: “You still at Starbucks?” He said “Yeah, you want something?” And I said “a grande non-fat latte with two equals.”
About 15 minutes later, Andrew showed up, handed me the latte, told me he had to go talk to someone I didn’t know about something I didn’t understand, and then he left. I took a sip of the latte, and then suddenly there was a young blogger in front of my table. He seemed confused, almost disoriented. I didn’t know him so I thought maybe that was just his “look,” but it wasn’t. He was trying to make sense of something, like his world had spun off its axis…and then he asked me: “Did Andrew Breitbart just bring you coffee?” It took me a second to understand why he was asking. I just said “Yes.” He shook his head and then kind of talked it out with me trying to get his arms around it: “I just can’t believe that Andrew Breitbart, with all his stature and importance would just bring you a cup of coffee like that. He’s like a hero and he brought you coffee?” Now, I’m pretty sure this was not a reflection on me but a rather the poignant reflection of one of Andrew’s many admirers realizing for the first time that Andrew was just a guy. Remarkable, yes. But just a guy, accessible to anyone who approached him because he saw the good in people. Because he liked people.
I took a moment to gather my thoughts. I had to choose my words carefully. I thought to myself: I have a responsibility to help this young blogger understand who Andrew Breitbart truly is, and with that, I looked up at him and I said: “He forgot the Equal.”
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