I haven't corrected the Seattle PI columnist recently, so I suppose that I should catch up a bit.  In this column, Connelly quotes from my favorite political novel, The Last Hurrah, and makes two mistakes.

As Mayor Skeffington lies on his deathbed in Edwin O'Connor's "The Last Hurrah," a longtime flunky intones, "Ah Frank!  You've done great things!  Great things!"

"Among others!" replies Frank Skeffington, realist to the end.

(Skeffington was modeled on James Michael Curley of Boston.)

I have been re-reading the novel recently, so the mistakes jumped out at me.  Others who have not may want explanations.

The first mistake is minor; Connelly doesn't get the quotation right.  Here's the correct version:

Gorman nodded.  "Ah Frank," he said softly.  "You've done grand things.  Grand, grand things."

"Among others," Skeffington said.  "But no regrets.  No regrets at all.  And all my thanks to both of you.  For everything."

The second mistake is more serious, because John Gorman is not a "flunky", but a Skeffington ally, specifically the boss of one of the biggest wards in the city, which Gorman held so strongly that Skeffington had never tried to throw him out, as he had most of the other ward bosses.

This is a serious mistake because Skeffington has just entertained his flunkies.  He did not tell them he was dying.  Instead, he asked the flunkies, solemnly, for advice about his next election.  But with Gorman (and Skeffington's aide, Sam Weinberg) Skeffington can say his farewells honestly.  Skeffington would never be that honest with his flunkies, even on his death bed.

Any special reason for doing these Connelly corrections?  Why, yes.  The PI columnist always thanks me graciously for spotting his errors, and promptly makes corrections.  Well, now that I think of it, I can't recall him correcting any of the errors I've pointed out, and he is slower than I would like in extending his thanks for my help.

Cross posted at Jim Miller on Politics.

(Others may want to read, or re-read the The Last Hurrah.  In 2002, I argued that you can best understand Nancy Pelosi as a machine politician, like her father.  That explains, for example, her tolerance of corrupt associates, such as Alcee Hastings and John Murtha.  This year, I have come to agree with David Freddoso, who argues that to understand Barack Obama, you need to know about his long-time alliance with the corrupt Chicago machine.  So, I am reviewing books on machine politics, including The Last Hurrah, in order to better understand our elected leaders.)