Ann Richards - RIP

I'm not a Texan. My time in Texas was two weeks in Austin while I was prepping for my Dow Jones Internship. Still, I was saddened to hear of Richards' death. It was amazing during the 1994 campaign, when she resorted to the same "dirty politics" tactics as George W. Bush and Karl Rove, she was deemed meanspirited. But when her politcal counterparts performed the same actions, it was "just politics."

I remember watching her speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. She was a beacon of strength and provided a much-needed spine to the Democratic party. She was as hard-hitting as the toughest Republicans, yet was compassionate on issues such as gay rights and prison reforms. Two words just keep coming to mind when I try to describe Ann Richards to folks too young to remember her political days: true class.