[Barbara Jordan Scrapbook, November 1975 - January 1976] Page: 3 of 304
[303] p. : ill.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
10B / DES MOINES REGISTER
Mon., Nov. 10, 1975
The nice
thing about
being a re-
p orterin
W a s hington
is that other-
wise in-
t e li gent
people ask
your opinion
on things
and actually listen to your
answer. They assume that
you are privy to the interior
discourses of government.
The question we like most
is: "Who do you think will
be the next president of the
United States?"
A better question is: "Who
should be president?" And to
that, as a Washington report-
er and all-round expert, I
would have to say:
"I don't know, but I'm not
sure it shouldn't be Barbara
Jordan."
The congressperson from
Texas, who will be remem-
bered as the articulate black
lady with the deep voice and
precise diction at the House
impeachment proceedings,
was guest of honor at a
breakfast of journalism big-
gies the other day. I was one
of the biggies, albeit a substi-
tute biggie.
She was great. It is rare
that one meets politicians
who feel the weight of words,
who attempt with success to
express themselves fully and
accurately. Barbara Jordan
is such a politician.
She is not at all taken with
what the current crop of can-
didates for the president are
saying.
"Sloganism - the New
Frontier, the Great Society
- is not what people are
looking for," she said. "It is
difficult, I suppose, for a per-
son who is trying to appeal
to a national constituency to
talk substantively, but that
has to occur. There has to be
a rethinking on the part of
those who hold leadership po-
sitions."
To this end, she is co-chair-
ing the National Democratic
Issues Convention in Louis-
ville, Nov. 21-23. It is not,
she hastens to add, going to
be one of those free-for-ails
for which the Democratic
Party is so richly famous.
"People are sick and tired
of factionalizing and bicker-
i n g i n the Democratic
Party," she said. "We aregoing to try to reach a con-
sensus on the issues. That
may be impossible; but if it
is impossible, that bodes ill
for the Democratic Party."
Ms. Jordan is a consensus
politician. She has made her
way through the jungle of
T e x a s politics with the
friendly advice and assist-
ance of such as John Con-
nally and Robert Strauss,
hardly names to make re-
form Democrats' hearts go
pitty-pat.
Yet that is her strength;
she has lines out to virtually
every significant moderate-
to-liberal s e c t i o n of the
party. The reporters at the
breakfast pressed her a little
on her future political plans.
"I have no ambitions," she
began, then paused. "Well,
a 11 politicians are am-
bitious." Then, picking out
her words as though they
were slippery rocks she was
using to cross a treacherous
stream, she said:
"I don't see that 1976 will
confront me with the choice
of moving to higher office."
Fantasize, she was urged.
Would she be comfortable,
for example, occupying the
Number Two spot on a ticket
with, say, Scoop Jackson?
She thought about that a
while, then said: "I would
not feel comfortable in the
Number Two spot with any-
one."
Nor should she be. Can a
society that accepts Sargent
Shriver as a serious presi-
dential candidate afford to
ignore a Barbara Jordan?
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
[Barbara Jordan Scrapbook, November 1975 - January 1976], book, 1976; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth616550/m1/3/: accessed June 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Southern University.