Thought I’d jot a quick comment on Mayor Daley here in the Corner. I’ve written an Impromptus — long — for tomorrow: Sort of put it to bed. Will not wake it up, so to speak, to add an item about Daley.
Which is this: Last year, some of us NR types went to Chicago for a day or two, to meet with readers and other important people. (Are there people more important than our readers? No.) I talked to a lot of conservatives, a lot of righties. And I talked to many of them about local politics.
And I heard something from them, almost uniformly: They liked Mayor Daley. They’d voted for him. They thought he was doing a fine job. He kept the streets clean, he kept crime down, he was sensible, non-ideological, competent. Almost to a man, these conservatives — real, true-blue, NR conservatives — said, “Fine mayor. I don’t really vote for any other Democrat.”
Now the old urban lion is retiring. (Doesn’t it seem like two seconds ago that he was just a cub, stepping into Dad’s big ol’ shoes, or paws, or whatever?) I hope Chicago will get a mayor as good. But I have my doubts. It seems to me that the foul-mouthed ballet dancer is a little too . . . what? Partisan? Not exactly a uniter?
Will be interesting, to follow the politics of that town. It usually is. I could tell several stories — many stories — about Mayor Jane, and then Harold Washington (a very fun politician). But let’s have nostalgia some other time.