His focus was service

Was Otis Bowen the last of his breed?
Indiana voters should sure hope not.
Gov. Bowen, who died Saturday at the age of 95, is a far cry from the blow-dried, pre-packaged, focus-group-tested candidates so often put forward when voters go to the polls.
He wasn’t photogenic. He wasn’t an ideologue, though he held firmly to his values. And while he could give a good speech, he would never be described as eloquent, let alone glamorous.
Other adjectives come to mind instead: Thoughtful, patient, and principled.
As a lawmaker and as governor, Otis Bowen was relentlessly focused on doing what he believed to be in the best interests of the citizens of this state.
The job of governor wasn’t a springboard to the U.S. Senate or a run for president as far as Otis Bowen was concerned. Nor was it an honorific place to park before retirement from political life.
It was the task Indiana voters had elected him to fulfill.
It was — in a phrase not heard often enough these days — a matter of public service.
And Otis Bowen performed that service with fairness, with distinction, and with grace.
Hoosier voters long to see his likes again one of these days. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]