Tuesday, January 20, 2009
News President Maynard Jackson?
Posted by Andisheh Nouraee on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 3:00 AM
In an interview that aired this evening, the widow of three-term Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson told WSB-TV her husband wanted to run for President of the United States.
Valerie Jackson's eyes filled with tears when she said her husband didn't run for President because the "timing" wasn't right. Jackson is host of WABE-90.1's Between The Lines.
I wasn't around during Maynard's heyday, but nothing about his political biography leads me to believe Jackson could have even won statewide office, much less a presidential primary.
Don't get me wrong. That's not necessarily an insult. Seriously. Look at the people Georgia elects to statewide office.
Nevertheless, I've never heard anyone use the words "Maynard Machine" except as a pejorative. I always get the sense that, after 12 years as Atlanta's mayor, he's remembered more fondly for his skillful politicking than for his skillful governing.
Comments (6)
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You’re obviously not from Atlanta, and don't know much about its history. Maynard Jackson is recognized across the nation as a trailblazer. The minority business program he started in Atlanta is now used in most major cities and also in the federal govt. Is that governing? How about expanding Hartsfield Airport, so it became the busiest airport in the world? Is that governing? While running for President is a lofty goal, so was running for mayor of a major southern city in the early 70's. Clearly you’re an import to Atlanta, and you came for good reason – the leadership of Maynard and others that followed made Atlanta the place to be.
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Jackson did many great things. He also did many things that would definitely have prevented him from being President, in this or any other time.
ummmm, as a life long resident, it's pretty clear to me that the city of atlanta is borderline non-functional and a lot of that can be traced directly back to jackson. jackson as a trailblazer? yes, in a way. jackson as a legitimate contender for a grander political office? laughable.
I always giggle when Hartsfield-Jackson is held up as an example of good leadership. The only reason it is a contender for "busiest airport in the world" is because we only have one airport. Can anyone name a city the size of Atlanta with only one airport? I can't.
Philly, Boston, San Diego, Phoenix, and Seattle just to name a few. People kill me talking about the mismanagement of Atlanta. The fact is 40 years ago Atlanta was Birmingham and it was because of the great leadership, black and white, that made it what it is today. If you hate it so much - please leave, we would be better off without the haters.
Boston has slightly more population, so it supports your argument. Philly is about the same, but only if you include the NJ MSA and Philly has about 5 major airports within easy train or car distance, but I will give you that one. Atlanta has; -Double the population of Seattle and Tacoma combined - 1.3 million more people than Phoenix - 2.5 million more people than San Diego. Disagreeing that Maynard wasn't a great mayor makes me a hater? Wow, where did you get that from? I love it here. BTW, I am from Bham and they had as much to do with that as Atlanta did. Long story short, United States Steel actively fought against the Delta hub and won. The rest flowed from there. Bull Connor, killing little girls at church and the films of those dogs and hoses didn't help.
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