HAMILTON JORDAN: PASSION, COMPASSION, SKILL AND BRAVERY

It was 1975 in a little diner near Aurora where I first met Hamilton Jordan. He was not a talkative guy. He was rumpled and he had a terrible cold. I remember three things he emphasized to a small group of interested volunteers: First, the GOTV effort would have no pyramidal structure--we were all partners; Second, don't run up numbers of volunteers--go for a lean force of exceedingly competent people; Third, if you have to work very hard to persuade a potential volunteer to come with us, move on--we want committed people who won't back off when the fat is in the fire. This man was advocating the political equivalent of guerilla warfare in a nationwide campaign--and he was dead serious!

I saw him a few more times before the general election. There was peace about him that you just never saw in political operatives. At that time I didn't know he was a dengue fever survivor but I imagine that explains it. He talked precinct organization with an easy enthusiasm. He enjoyed the process. Most operatives treat it as a necessary evil, a means to an end. His approach was refreshing.

Then I saw him again during the transition. He was not worried about who occupied what post. he was worried about creating a structure that protected President-Elect Carter from his own worst instinct--excessive attention to detail. I'm sure most of his organization charts were destroyed before he ever hit the White House. Some of them were "creative" to say the least. Again, the man had a quiet enthusiasm for process. It was neat to discuss the process with him.

We visited three more times during the Carter administration. In late '79, he was torn between staying in the Administration to prevent further chaos and jumping to the campaign. I think his choice would have been to go to the campaign full-time, early and then never come back to government, even had President Carter been reelected.

The man was organized and he loved examining the structure and form of organizations. I saw him being in charge of some large multi-faceted corporation, GE, Blue Cross, IBM, something like that. I was sure that would be his next stop. Then life happened.

He fought all that cancer. Then he took his organizational skills into battling the impact of cancer. He fit his talents to the hand that life had dealt him. We could have all learned a lot more from Hamilton Jordan. He was way more than just an element of the "Georgia Mafia". He was a gifted, tranquil, talented individual who made other folks better for having been around him.

I have always said the best thing about politics is not the offices you win, the polices you make or even the people you help. The very best thing about being active in politics is the friends you make. Everyone who knew Hamilton Jordan through politics is better for it.