Jesse Jackson

There was one very special thing about Ronald Reagan. He had a vision and the ability to lead people who agreed with that vision, no matter how crabbed and hostile it was. Because of that, his presidency has brought profound change to our government and our assumptions about our country. And because of his success, we see the same effect on the basic political dialogue that Franklin D. Roosevelt had, the same effect that rendered the Republican Party irrelevant for 20 years or more.

RE YOUR editorial on the Ohio vote: Let it go, please. Your man lost. It wasn't aliens that cost him the election or the Klan or electronic voting or little pink fairies, it was the American people. There are plenty of support groups to help you get over this hurdle. Professional mental help is just a phone call away. Charles Schaal, Philadelphia Jesse Jackson strikes again! Calling for a recount in Ohio is about as useful as screens on a submarine. This is nothing more than a desperation move.

The Democratic Party is quivering with fright over what to do about Jesse Jackson. And I can understand how they feel. They can't afford to have Mrs. Thelma Lloyd mad at them. Who is Lloyd? She is a nice lady who lives on 99th Street on the South Side of Chicago. What makes Lloyd politically significant is that she is black. No Democrat can hope to be elected president next November if they don't get the votes of the Thelma Lloyds of America. Lloyd tells me that she has been reading my column for many years, going back to when I wrote for another Chicago newspaper.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson last night condemned the U.S. bombing of Libya and implied that the attack might have violated international law. "We are looking at a failed foreign policy," Jackson told a cheering crowd of 1,500 at the Washington Convention Center, delivering some of the most harshly worded criticism of the attack thus far by any major public figure. "We are going to war with the world and bombing ourselves into a corner," he said. Speaking at a convention held to organize his supporters into a permanent political structure known as the National Rainbow Coalition, the former and perhaps future presidential candidate accused President Reagan of failing to understand the complexities of terrorism in the Middle East.

Jesse Jackson, expressing disappointment with the Democratic presidential field, hinted last night that he might join the contest. "I'm not going to tell you who to vote for," he told West Chester University students registering on campus to vote. "But if I'm running, at least be intelligent. Will I run for president? One of these days. " Jackson was at the university as a last-minute replacement for author Alex Haley, who died two weeks ago. Haley had been scheduled to speak during Black History Month.

Jesse Jackson's Dec. 4 column, "Too Hopeful to be Sullied," is another example of the unwarranted and mean-spirited campaign to trash Arizonans, following their failure to establish a paid Martin Luther King holiday. As a part-time resident and taxpayer of Arizona, I resent being cavalierly labeled a redneck racist by a man who has used the pulpit as a stepping stone to serve his political ambitions, with a singular lack of the humility and dignity which typifies the majority of his clerical colleagues.

Is Jesse Jackson taking sides in Philadelphia's Democratic primary for mayor? Jackson, the national black leader who ran for president twice, is scheduled to appear tomorrow with only one of the three black Democratic mayoral candidates - Lucien E. Blackwell. During a visit to Philadelphia, Blackwell and Jackson plan to hook up at a North Philadelphia church for a town meeting. And Blackwell's chief rival in the mayor's race, George R. Burrell Jr., has no plans to appear with Jackson, his campaign manager said.

It didn't matter that Friday's nippy weather caused the students - especially the girls in knee socks and plaid skirts - to shiver. Nor did it matter that they spent a few awkward moments undecided about where to stand for a program they hadn't rehearsed. Students at Wyncote's Ancillae-Assumpta Academy waited patiently, heads tilted upward, for the sound of an engine's roar. The sun was gleaming and the sky blue when they spotted the silver helicopter. "There he is," some shouted.

Dennis Rodman, the suspended NBA cross-dresser and rebounding leader, is getting advice from many sources. First, President Clinton suggested that the Chicago Bulls' forward admit he was wrong to kick a courtside cameraman. Now Jesse Jackson says he will plead Rodman's case. Jackson said he planned to meet with NBA commissioner David Stern in New York yesterday to discuss Rodman's 11-game suspension for the Jan. 15 kicking incident. NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said no meeting had been scheduled.

Harry Belafonte is questioning Jesse Jackson's motives as a black leader, and says his overshadowing position prevents the emergence of new leaders. In an interview in the February issue of Penthouse, Belafonte says Jackson's dominance "has seriously impaired our ability as a people to look around . . . and see if we shouldn't . . . be developing 10 or 20 other people . . . who could give us a broader selection of . . . choices. " He wonders if Jackson "is truly out there to lead in the highest moral sense or if he's out there for personal gain.

CHICAGO - They elected a Harvard-educated Rhodes Scholar and ended up with a congressman convicted of having sex with an underage campaign worker. They voted for the son of a famous civil rights leader and got someone who illegally spent campaign money on everything from furniture to Bruce Lee memorabilia. Call it Chicago corruption at its worst or uncanny coincidence, but residents of Illinois' Second Congressional District haven't been represented in Congress in more than three decades by someone who didn't end up in serious ethical or legal trouble.

WHY WOULD a couple risk so much - respect and even freedom - for furs, furniture and a fedora? This was the question that came to my mind when I read the federal charges against Jesse L. Jackson Jr., the former congressman from Illinois. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to misusing about $750,000 in private campaign funds. Jackson's wife, Sandra Stevens Jackson, who resigned her seat on Chicago City Council, reached an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office to plead guilty to one count of tax fraud.

WASHINGTON - Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., holding back tears, entered a guilty plea Wednesday in federal court to criminal charges that he engaged in a scheme to spend $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items. He faces 46 to 57 months in prison, and a fine of $10,000 to $100,000, under a plea deal with prosecutors. A few hours later, his wife, Sandra Jackson, pleaded guilty to filing false joint federal income tax returns that knowingly understated the income the couple received.

CHICAGO - The jockeying to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. began before the ink was dry on the former congressman's resignation letter. Among those expressing an interest: Chicago aldermen, a former NFL linebacker, and a defense attorney who represented R&B singer R. Kelly and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But as the field of would-be successors grows to a dozen or more names - one of whom may be another member of the Jackson family - party leaders and political analysts say a stampede of candidates could pose risks for the Democratic stronghold.

CHICAGO - U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who has given no hint of when he'll return to work four months after taking medical leave, will head back to the Mayo Clinic for a checkup "soon," his father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, said Sunday. The Democratic congressman from Illinois was released from the Rochester, Minn., clinic in September after seeking treatment for bipolar disorder and gastrointestinal issues. He has been with his family in Washington since, but has not appeared in public, campaigned beyond a recent robocall or said when he'll return to Capitol Hill.

CHICAGO - The Rev. Jesse Jackson said there is "no timetable" as his son, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., recovers from depression and gastrointestinal issues at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. The elder Jackson spoke to reporters Saturday outside a downtown Chicago movie theater. The civil rights leader was with protesters in support of a ban on assault weapons. "There is no timetable on his recovery," Jackson said. "We hope he will fully recover. " Jackson, 47, a Chicago Democrat, has been on a secretive leave of absence for nearly seven weeks.

CHICAGO - Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s transfer to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota could indicate a complicating physical illness arose during the his treatment for depression, several experts in psychiatric care said Saturday. The Chicago Democrat has been on a secretive leave of absence for nearly seven weeks, during which his office has released only occasional snippets of information, including that he was undergoing treatment for a "mood disorder" at an undisclosed location. On Friday, the Mayo Clinic distributed a statement from the congressman that said he had been transferred there for "extensive inpatient evaluation for depression and gastrointestinal issues.

The misty, gray Saturday chill was not enough to keep a group of about 40 Gloucester County residents from donning hoodies and expressing their support for the family of Trayvon Martin. The controversy surrounding the killing of the black Florida teenager by white resident George Zimmerman in February has been a divisive issue throughout the country, but Clayton resident Jesse Jackson wanted to show how small towns could make an impact. "We're a very diverse small town and it affected all of us," Jackson said.

WASHINGTON - The House Ethics Committee said Friday it would continue investigating allegations that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D., Ill.) or someone acting on his behalf offered to raise campaign cash for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for a Senate appointment in 2008. The committee also released an initial report from the Office of Congressional Ethics that said there was "probable cause" to believe Jackson either directed a third party or had knowledge of a third party's effort to persuade the since-convicted Blagojevich to appoint Jackson to the seat vacated by Barack Obama in exchange for campaign cash.

WASHINGTON - The House Ethics Committee said Friday that it would continue investigating allegations that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D., Ill.) or someone acting on his behalf offered to raise campaign cash for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for a Senate appointment in 2008. The committee also released an initial report from the Office of Congressional Ethics that said there was "probable cause" to believe that Jackson either directed a third party or had knowledge of a third party's effort to persuade the since-convicted Blagojevich to appoint Jackson to the seat vacated by Barack Obama in exchange for campaign cash.