Comment: Exactly, ACTIONS...  And look at all he does for communities.  Notice the plural? What have you done lately to change other peoples lives?  And please revel in the fact that you haven't made poor choices in your life.  Oh, and a trait of a strong person is persistence. In life and all it's forms.  What do you do after you're knocked to the ground?  Stay down?  Get up and limp away, quit?  Or, own up to your mistakes, try to move forward best you can? 

Don't forget in the article, it speaks to how he doesn't shy away or try to spin his mistakes, he owns them.  

If that is a "thug".  Then I have been using that word to describe criminals, losers and bullies, all wrong.