Caption: Hugh McDiarmid PoliticsA quick lesson on political history.Not everyone in this business would volunteer to write about a book written by Neil Staebler.For openers, you would have to read it.And anyone who knows Staebler, the 85-year-old, onetime congressman and longtime "Mr. Democrat" from Ann Arbor..well, anyone who knows him also knows that brevity is not his long suit. In fact, lots of younger Dems still groan when they recall the 1984 Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner - the one that honored Neil as "the father of the modern Democratic Party" - where his speech went on..and on..into the night.And when associates are asked to describe Staebler, they begin with "honest" and "smart" and invariably slip into a patter: "persistent," "dogged," "determined," "stubborn," "tireless," etc.In short, his reputation - especially during the years when he served as both state Democratic chairman and former Gov. Mennen Williams' political right arm, helping to revive and clean up the party - was as much for wearing out the opposition as for defeating it.So it figures that a new Staebler..
The front and back of this photograph are pictured below.
