I have just completed reading John Brady’s now out of print book. Bad Boy The Life and Politics of Lee Atwater. I purchased it off of amazon.com. I am surprised that I missed this one, when it first came out in 1997.

Lee Atwater was a complex individual having witnessed tragedy in his life at an early age. He developed into a focused man working through the grassroots College Republicans up into the RNC Chairman.

In the 1988 Bush – Duakakis race, Atwater was credited with the creation of the Willie Horton ad. He didn’t create the ad, as a loyal Chairman he did not come clean with the identity of the creator. As a young Republican National Committee Chairman on the top of the world, he developed a brain tumor and continued to live life to its fullest.

The last conversation Atwater had with Mary Matalin was when she telephoned him to wish him a Happy Birthday. He said the economy will get worse and Bush and Sununu were going to face a bad economy in ’92 and wouldn’t know how to handle it. And for Mary he offered on bit of advice: “Quit dating Democrats.”

He was prophetic about the ’92 issues and how Bush and Sununu wouldn’t be able to handle it. I only wish Mary had heeded his advice. No one should marry someone unequally yoked.

Atwater was an interesting political figure. He accomplished so much in so little time. As individuals involved in politics, Atwater is the study and the one we all wish we had the Atwter touch.

RIP, Lee. You deserve it.