November 2009 Archives

This much we know: Atlanta voters will make a historic decision in Tuesday's runoff election for mayor. The question remains: which way is history going to tilt?

One of the accomplishments Gov. Sonny Perdue has claimed for his administration is that his creation of the Department of Driver Services helped reduce the waiting time for Georgians trying to get a driver's license renewed or issued.

Beloved University of Georgia mascot UGA VII was an early victim of the Democratic healthcare reform bill, radio personality Rush Limbaugh revealed Friday.

"So why did he REALLY do it?" That question has been posed to me quite a few times in the week since the news broke about House Speaker Glenn Richardson's unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills.

I was remiss when I did not make note of the death last month of Jack Nelson, one of the toughest, gutsiest reporters who ever pounded out a story on deadline and a man who had a real impact on Georgia politics during his 12-year stint with the Atlanta Constitution in the 1950s and 1960s.

In looking at the U.S. House vote that was just enough to pass the Democratic leadership's health insurance reform bill (a 220-215 margin), you could say that the votes of three men with almost no influence in Congress, elected from districts thousands of miles apart, were what made the difference between victory and defeat.

Bette Davis, as always, said it best: Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night!

In this case, it's going to be a bumpy 27 nights as Atlanta voters head for a Dec. 1 runoff between Mary Norwood, the woman who would be the city's first white mayor in nearly four decades, and Kasim Reed, a former legislator with strong ties to the current administration at City Hall.