May 21, 2008 - I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for Hamilton Jordan
May 21, 2008
In 1986, I was press secretary for then-state rep. John Russell's U.S. Senate bid. I has cast my
lot with a man who was heir to one of Georgia's most famed political families, and I thought I'd be
going to Washington, DC, with him when he reclaimed his uncle's seat in the world's most
influential and prestigious deliberative and legislative body.
Our opponents in the Democratic primary were Wyche Fowler and Hamilton Jordan, plus some
unknown Libertarian type. Fowler and Jordan finished 1-2, with Russell coming in third. Of course,
Fowler would go on to win the seat, only to be defeated after one term by Paul Coverdell. Jordan
went onto another career as a writer and consultant, all the while battling the cancer that took
his life late last night.
I caught up with Jordan just after his book, "No Such Thing as a Bad Day," was released, a
few years ago. I went over to his Buckhead house and spent a very pleasant hour or so talking about
our first loves, politics. Few keener political minds have ever existed in American politics as
Jordan's, the man who orchestrated arguably the biggest political endeavor in presidential history
- a peanut farmer's election to the White House.
And whenever I think I have a bad day at work or home, I always remember the title of his
book and remember its truthful insights.
Not to mention the significant role that he played in my life as it stands today.