Reason # 2,680 Why I Love Austin

Austin is such a great political town. Last night, I went to an event hosted by former State Senator and LBJ School Dean Max Sherman and his wife Jean. The event was sponsored by a group called Austin Authors-in-House, run by Jan Williams, as a benefit for Texas Impact.

"Let's Talk Politics" was supposed to feature two of the architects of George Bush's (and, oddly enough, Ann Richards') fortunes, Matthew Dowd and Mark McKinnon, in a free-wheeling conversation about the fall elections moderated by Texas Monthly's Paul Burka. Sadly, Dowd was contractually obligated by his new masters at ABC News to sit in a chair and wait for Barack Obama to name his vice presidential candidate, which ABC News apparently thought was going to happen yesterday. It didn't, of course, (I'm still waiting for my text message) and so Dowd was reduced to writing a blog post.

Fortunately, historian and professor Douglas Brinkley was in town and filled in for the absent Dowd. For over an hour and a half, McKinnon and Brinkley shared thoughts, riffed off each other, and answered questions from Burka and the audience. Burka also pitched in his two cents on many subjects, particularly on Texas politics about which he is more informed that either of the others.

If I'm in the mood later, I'll share some of the gems from the evening. Here's a picture of the panel as they were being introduced.

From left: Mark McKinnon, Max Sherman, some guy, Paul Burka, and Doug Brinkley.

R.I.P. Lena Guerrero, 1957-2008

Fault Line

John Langmore, who is a great photographer in spite of the fact that he went to law school with me, has a new exhibit called Fault Line: A Portait of East Austin. It is showing at the new Mexican American Cultural Center in the Rainey Street neighborhood, and is a must-see. It continues until April 27th.

John's show premiered last night, and 200+ people jammed the auditorium at the cultural center to hear John describe his inspirations and experiences in photographing the life of East Austin. He commented on and praised the generosity and hospitality of the people of the community, who let him into their stores and homes and family celebrations time and again. He talked about the unique character of that part of the city, endangered by the march of time, progress and gentrification. And he warned about the challenges of keeping the city's quality of life while allowing it to grow and welcome more people.

Speaking of must-sees, the cultural center is a destination in itself. It's a beautiful, very modern building, with thoughtful architecture and beautiful grounds. It opened last fall and everyone in Austin should visit there.