Wes Moore wants you to know he’s great

Wes Moore, the Democratic Party’s candidate for Maryland governor, wants everyone to know how great he is — and humble, too.

Moore is a bestselling author, a former television host, a US Army veteran and has founded or led multiple nonprofit organizations. Cockburn admits it’s a stellar résumé for anyone seeking public office — and in heavily blue Maryland, Moore is outraising his Republican opponent Dan Cox ten to one.

Unfortunately, it seems Moore’s accolades might have gone to his head. In a Friday tweet, Moore bragged about being the first black Rhodes Scholar to graduate from Johns Hopkins University — but insisted he only brings it up because other people ask him about it.

“People sometimes say to me ‘You’re the first Black Rhodes Scholar in the history of Johns Hopkins University and the ring you wear is from your two-year college?’ That’s right – because it’s my foundation,” Moore said.

Cockburn is fairly sure that the only alumni who actually wear college rings were probably involved in some questionable hazing rituals and are thus forever (legally) bound to their fraternity brothers. A quick survey of his friends tells Cockburn that most would certainly never care enough about someone’s college ring to ask about it, either. Yet Moore wants us to believe that people 1) have his résumé memorized 2) ask to see his class ring and then 3) inquire further! Uh huh, sure.

Could Moore have an ego akin to that of former president Barack Obama, who infamously honored other people with photos of himself? Or perhaps he’s more of a Michael Scott:

People say I’m the best boss. They go, “God, we’ve never worked in a place like this. You’re hilarious, and you get the best out of us.”

Moore’s inflated sense of self could harm his political ambitions. Moore profited off of and launched his career on the story of a slain police officer who, coincidentally, was killed by another man named Wes Moore. The Other Wes Moore was a bestseller, but Moore insisted he had the family of the officer’s endorsement and agreed to donate some of the proceeds to the family’s chosen nonprofits.

“The widow and several family members of Sergeant Prothero would like to make it publicly known that the writing of this book has never been supported by Bruce’s widow, Ann Prothero, at any stage of the development, publication, promotion or follow-up,” a statement from the family said, however. “In Ann’s and my opinion this book was written for the purpose of self-promotion and self-gain and certainly has not provided anything positive for the Prothero family.”

In other instances, Moore has been accused of embellishing his ties to the city of Baltimore or lying about aspects of his childhood for personal gain. In TV interviews, he failed to correct hosts who falsely stated that he was a Bronze Star recipient.

Will Moore’s class ring tell you that?