In a 2016 field with no clear frontrunner, yet no shortage of candidates, it took a non-candidate to recognize a major national moment and, well, lead. Gov. Nikki Haley did what governors and leaders more broadly seek to do all the time – to unite, to push forward, and to heal, all in the wake of unspeakable tragedy.
… Yes, this raises her veepstakes stock. But that’s almost secondary to the example she set. She managed to drain the politics out of a charged debate over the Confederate flag that’s been popping up for longer than she’s been alive. She consulted with national and state leaders in both parties to a degree that she could appear with both Democrats and Republicans in announcing her new position. She cut through a muddled, half-hearted set of responses from 2016ers and now sees them drafting behind her leadership. Out of a tragic story, this is politics at its best – not as pejorative but as a force for the positive.
— Rick Klein, for ABC News.
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