There are somestories we refuse to check out. Take the story of John Connally’s payoff trial. Legend has it that the turning point occurred when the Reverend Billy Graham, one of Big Jawn’s character witnesses, took the stand. As is the custom in such proceedings, Graham was asked to state his occupation. Graham replied in his best hallelujah voice, “I preach the Gospel of the Lord,” to which the Washington jury, largely of the black persuasion, chorused: “Amen.” Case closed.
We refuse to check out that story because, whatever the facts in the matter, it bears the seal of existential authority. John Connally is a can-do politician, the last of his generation. His obsession is results, while all about him are “involved in the process.” He grabs power and money and position, while the rest of the pack preserves options and calibrates credibility. And he does it all in a slam-bang style that confuses and offends the professional spectators here. He runs his mouth above the 55 mph limit. As Big Jawn’s cousin once remarked, “John could talk a dog off a meat wagon.”
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