THE HAT SQUAD: ANN RICHARDS

From the New York Times:

Ann W. Richards, the silver-haired Texas activist who galvanized the 1988 Democratic National Convention with her tart keynote speech and was the state’s 45th governor until upset in 1994 by an underestimated challenger named George W. Bush, died Wednesday at her home in Austin. She was 73.

A champion of civil rights for minorities, women and gay men and lesbians, Ms. Richards first ran for governor in 1990 calling for a “New Texas” that would offer more opportunity and power to those groups.

She went on to become one of the most effective in a long line of Texas progressives who vied for control of the state when it was largely a Democratic stronghold. But her defeat after one term was a strong signal that generations of Democratic dominance in Texas had ended.

If one Mr. Bush closed out her political career, another figured into her rise, as a target of her barbs. “Poor George, he can’t help it,” Ms. Richards said at the 1988 Democratic convention in Atlanta, speaking about the current president’s father, former President George Bush. “He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”

[After leaving office, she] appeared in national advertising campaigns, including one for snack chips. She also appeared on several talk shows and in political documentaries, but sealed her presence as a televersion of herself by appearing not only in an episode of 'Murphy Brown', but also in the Tooniverse on an episode of 'King Of The Hill'.

TOOBWORLD HIGHLIGHTS
"King of the Hill"
- Hank and the Great Glass Elevator (2001) TV Episode (voice) .... Herself
"Murphy Brown"
- When One Door Closes... (1997) TV Episode .... Herself
Vote for Me: Politics in America (1996) (TV) .... Herself
Willie Nelson: The Big Six-0 (1993) (TV) .... Herself

BCnU....
Tele-Toby