Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry Dead At 78

[Rick-o]

I'm surprised he lived that long. He was out of control, IMO.

R.I.P. I suppose...

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/former-...siteid=rss&rss=1

[max]

Is it snowing in DC today?....

[robfilms]

i lived in washington dc during most of his tenure.

he was a selfish fraud, a man who had demons but made the public pay the price.

i have nothing fond to say of him.

(and i usually have something nice to say about just near everyone!)

ymmv

be well.

rob

[testcase]

There had been a cartoon where people were touring the Smithsonian seeing the busts of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln on pedestals and then, the "bust" of Marion Barry with Barry braced against a wall being frisked by cops. It was great!

[richorlin]

No great loss. One less crooked politician making news. I guess now the Washington Post will have to fold since he won't be filling it's pages with his shenanigans.

[vitus]

richorlin wrote:
No great loss. One less crooked politician making news. I guess now the Washington Post will have to fold since he won't be filling it's pages with his shenanigans.

Not so fast on the demise of the Post, rumors are that the current mayor is about to be indicted for election fraud.

[Lemon Drop]

Mayor Barry tweets "Game of Thrones"
http://www.buzzfeed.com/katherinemiller/...-set-me-up

I also lived in DC from '85 to '93. We called him "Mayor for Life," well until the b**** set him up. And then he came back. He lived an interesting life, that's for sure.

[Speedy]

At least he went out on a high note.

[rjmacs]

Everyone remembers the Marion Barry of FBI-setup fame, but few recall what incredibly important work he did on behalf of the citizens of the District when they had virtually no control over the city in which they lived. Barry had innumerable flaws, and did many bad things during his tenure, especially late in his career. Nonetheless, he served the poor and underrepresented residents of D.C. with great vigor and commitment. He helped to bring Home Rule to a city that was previously administered (poorly) by outsiders, and worked to make city government an entity to serve the people, not rule them.

Chocolate City will remember the Mayor for Life as a complicated character, both gifted and selfish, driven and capricious, generous and greedy. Others will vilify him as purely bad/corrupt, because they either never really knew his whole story or because he's an easy target. I prefer to see the broader picture of the man.

[N-OS X-tasy!]

max wrote:
Is it snowing in DC today?....

I see what you did there.