FROM NEIL STEINBERG TO DANNY DAVIS: “THANKS, BUDDY; I OWE YOU ONE.”

1/1/11

I could have easily made this post part of my already seminal previous (or next, depending on one’s perspective) post of this day opining on the ramificatinos of Danny Davis’s dropping out of the mayor’s race, but I didn’t for two reasons. First, that post was, for all its excellence, already too long. Second, I wanted the last paragraph of that post to remain its last paragraph, thus increasing the chances that its full import and ramifications will sink in. The observations in this post are more related in one case to a man’s character and, in another case, to whimsy than to cold political calculation.

Mr. Davis was quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times as saying, upon his exit from the race:

“I am supporting Carol Moseley Braun with every ounce of fervor that I have. I am even going to give her some money.” (Emphasis mine)

Read that statement again and think about it for a minute. Danny Davis is a lifelong Chicago politician and, as do most of those in that profession, doubtless places a high priority on money. But to place giving someone money on a seemingly higher plane than giving her one’s “every ounce of fervor” displays a degree of enthusiasm for the spondulicks that is remarkable even for a Chicago pol.


One more observation…

Should Carol Moseley Braun win this election (highly doubtful; read my already seminal other 1/1/11 post), this will greatly elevate the visibility of Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg. This may surprise you (but not if you are a regular reader), but Mr. Steinberg is one of my favorite columnists. Yes, our politics could probably not be further apart, but the deep and abiding cynicism we share toward life, and our appreciation for learning and great writing, are bonds that transcend politics. As Ms. Braun’s most notable antagonist, the profile of Mr. Steinberg, already quite high in Chicago, especially among the hyper-literate, will be raised even higher should Ms. Braun somehow stumble onto the Fifth Floor, or even only if her visibility is raised decidedly over the next four months, as it doubtless will.

So Ms. Braun’s becoming the consensus black candidate not only makes the contest more interesting, but it deservedly elevates the profile of a man whom I have never met in person but whom I still consider a friend.