Everything Tulsi Gabbard does benefits Tulsi Gabbard, and if it doesn’t directly, she spins the story so that it ultimately does.

To be fair, this may be generally true for most people and particularly true for politicians who lead with ambition rather than expertise, skill or ideas. It certainly seems true for her. She has always used the “service before self” slogan, even as she revved up her ambition and bounced out of the City Council after just one year to run for Congress.

In announcing that she will not be running to keep her seat representing Hawaii’s 2nd District, Gabbard gave a number of sugarcoated reasons all meant to sound like this was something self-sacrificing that she was willing to do for the little people at home:

“I believe I can best serve the people of Hawai‘i and our country as your President and Commander-in-Chief. ”

What she didn’t mention was the glaring reality that she has been skipping her duties and missing in action in her district for months now.

The rest of Gabbard’s announcement included a jumble of lines about aloha, quotes from Martin Luther King and Pilahi Paki, and not-so-humble bragging about her stellar career, noting that she was first elected to the state Legislature at “just 21 years old” but then saying, “Throughout my life, the thought of a ‘political career’ never crossed my mind.” She must think the good folks at home don’t read very closely or are so fawning of her awesomeness that they’ll let her inconsistencies slide.

So how does not running benefit Gabbard? It could be argued that gives her more time to focus on her presidential campaign, though representing Hawaii hasn’t exactly taken up much of her time or attention lately.

Perhaps the biggest benefit is that it preempts a potentially embarrassing outcome.

Losing the Democratic nomination for president is not nearly as embarrassing as losing hometown support and getting bounced out of Congress. National news outlets have been running stories for weeks now talking about how Kai Kahele is a formidable challenger for Gabbard’s congressional seat. Kahele’s candidacy has been a game-changer in that Gabbard could no longer assume she could ignore her job as Hawaii’s representative with impunity.

One thing that Gabbard’s announcement reveals that actually has nothing to do with her is that it will show exactly who has more ambition than guts. Kahele announced his intention to take on Gabbard months ago. Anyone else who suddenly sees a place for themselves in this race only because they won’t have to run against Gabbard should ask themselves whether they have the fortitude to handle politicians much more august and powerful than Gabbard should they claw their way to Congress. If they can’t handle Tulsi Gabbard on a ballot, they can’t handle the actual rough-and-tumble of D.C., and unlike Gabbard, her successor may actually be expected to do the job of representing Hawaii in Congress. In this game of Jan Ken Po, Gabbard has been throwing scissors; Kahele came in with the rock; every other candidate now considering their chances is hoping they might be paper.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.