Ann Richards
Former Texas govenor Ann Richards died about two weeks ago. The Houston Chronicle heaped on lavish praise in their obituary, and a local TV station gushingly called her the state's "greatest icon of modern times." Although I never met her, I liked Ann Richards. I believe she was basically a likable person. Though for reasons I will go into a little later, I would never have voted for her. Still I'm sad for her as she will only leave a single legacy.That legacy, of course, is the "silver foot" quip she included her keynote address at the 1988 Democratic Party convention. The quip was the first quote listed in the newspaper story and the first clip shown on television news. In that speech she was ridaculing the Republican presidential nominee George H. W. Bush. That Bush, the one she was belittling in 1988, had served in congress, as director of the CIA, and as vice president for two terms. And, as we know, he was overwhelmingly elected that November.
Two years later Ann Richards ran for, and won, the governorship of Texas. I still have some memories of that 1990 campaign. The three notable entries in the Democratic primary were Richards, Jim Maddox, and ex-governor Mark White. Richards was a vicious, attack campaigner, and that sort of thing was right up Maddox's alley as well. Poor Mark White. He was a little too decent to hold his own with these other two and finished third. Richards defeated Maddox in the runoff. In the Houston Chronicle obit Richards' attacks in this campaign were described as "wit," while those of Maddox were said to have turned "the campaign nasty."
She won the general election as Republican nominee Clayton Williams ran perhaps the most stupid campaign in the history of the Western world. A main theme of his advertising was that he wanted to imprision all illegal drug users. His way of putting it was to have them "breaking rocks." This didn't come off too well as everyone was aware of the Williams' efforts to keep their drug addicted son out of jail and in treatment.
Four years later, though, the majority of Texans were ready for a change. Cragg Hines, a Chronicle columnist whom I don't too often agree with, put it this way:
"For a one-term governor, whose record of achievements in office was slender, Ann Richards deserves an out-sized asterisk for her moment on the state's and nation's political stage.
"She never seemed to deal in a realistic way with the cold electoral fact that she not so much won in 1990 as that the eventually untenable Claytie Williams lost. That was revealed four years later when a slightly more polished Republican (who has made his way on to the White House)swept her from office without really laying a glove on her."
But, sad to say, many people will remember 1988 and Ann Richards only lasting legacy, "Poor George. He can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."
One last thought. She and I overlapped as Baylor students in 1952-53, she a junior and I a freshman. As far as I can recall, I never was aware of her there. She may have run for some student office but I have no memory of the name. And you can bet the house, car, and bird dog that she never heard of me.
posted by Burt @ 1:47 PM
0 comments
