Progidies

Everyone loves talent.  We revel in the accomplishments of athletes, innovators and leaders.  It's in our nature to do so.  Talented people are bright lights - interesting, engaging, challenging, fascinating - we're all moths to their flame.

There's something magical, though, about young people who aren't just talented, but have a honed talent.

It's easier to understand how adults who have spent their lives in practice have turned raw ability into an effective skill.  Prodigies, however, boggle the mind.  How can people without the advantage of time be so good at a skill or practice that they can go toe-to-toe with people who've lived multiples of their lifespans?

Morgan Baskin is no child - at 18, she's a woman - but she is a prodigy.  Informed, articulate, confident in her presentation, able to answer questions directly but in a way that conveys her core themes, Baskin is an effective communicator.  

At the same time, her take on leadership is lightyears ahead of where most people in charge stand.  If Baskin reminds me of anyone on the current political landscape, it's Kathleen Wynne.

The more she gets out in public, the clearer it becomes that Baskin is no less qualified to be Mayor of Toronto than any other candidate, and certainly more so than the current Mayor.  She doesn't have Olivia Chow's long record of being in politics, John Tory's long record of being in business, but she clearly has the capacity to communicate as well as any of them.

Combine that with a willingness to engage, a perspective that differs from the status quo and, because of her age, less expectation than other candidates, it's not impossible that, with enough exposure, she could convince enough voters (including those who don't traditionally vote) to take her seriously and give her a shot.

Regardless of whether she wins the mayoralty race or not, it's pretty clear the sky's the limit for Baskin - and she's got plenty of time to get wherever she wants to go.