Best of Enemies

When I was a kid I saw a David Niven movie which I believe was called “Best of Enemies.” It was about the British and Italians fighting each other in North Africa. The British forces led by David Niven would capture the Italians and vice versa and through it all stayed cordial and respectful of each other.

That’s how I thought Republicans and Democrats should behave. It used to be that way. I saw a little glimpse of that old cordiality which has all but ceased to exist this morning in the Duluth Budgeteer.

Chuck Slocum, a former Minnesota GOP Chairman and friend wrote a little column about Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Rudy Perpich. The column was prompted by the recently released biography of Perpich by Betty Wilson. I recently bought the book and read about half of it as background research for my book on the Boyd Scandal.

The column is worth a read just to remember how things used to be, especially when you compare it to the self-righteous, partisan, venom of folks like Tom DeLay.

About the author