Ah, I remember the reign of Marion Barry. D.C. was governed back then the way Haiti or Myanmar is today, approximately.  He is not exactly an ambassador of light.

Poor old Marion Barry, is he still kicking?  I always assume I'll wake up to overdose headlines about him one day.  

Barry is actually an extremely gifted politician - within his African-American DC community.  He's one of the old-school types though and uses the reverse race card frequently, but very effectively.  If he's going around campaigning for Obama, it's because he's seen the light and knows how to ingratiate himself with winners.

No, Walt, if Barry is campaigning for Obama, it's because he's figured out that's how to get his face in front of a camera. But otherwise, you're dead right about Barry's gifts.

But get this: Barry wrote an op-ed in yesterday's Washington Post endorsing Washington's school voucher program:

www.washingtonpost.com/.../AR2008051202331.html

It's an unfortunate fact that being a good politician doesn't necessarily entail being a good person or a good administrator. As a politician offering a politician's opinion, Barry may have trenchant insights. Or is the fear guilt-by-association?

Barry is actually a good person with many demons (Bill Clinton, anyone?). The guy was a civil rights hero - which most people forget. He's also a pretty effective city councilman who represents his district well.

I'm not defending the guy totally - he was a disgraceful mayor - but it deserves to be pointed out.

VC, I can give "good guy with demons" credit to politicians who govern well but get into trouble with extracurriculars like drugs, booze, women, and the like. But Barry's first service as mayor was characterized by some of the most blatant, penny-ante corruption in recent American history. A "good person" does not do to the government of his city what Barry so gleefully did in his first run as mayor. Selling jobs. Soliciting bribes for city services and contracts. Promoting incompetent or even no-show cronies over dedicated civil servants. Trading no-show city jobs for votes. Keeping false accounts. One could go on. If you'd given Marion Barry a country, he'd have been Mugabe. Thankfully for everyone, the peculiarities of the federal district limited the harm he could do to anyone.

The younger Barry should be remembered as a hero, but in the last 30 years, Barry's record has been just this side of evil. In just the last year, though, his public speech has become a lot more coherent, and his District Council work has become a lot more substantive. I assume, and hope, that this turnaround means he's gotten clean again.