While touring Louisiana to promote his biography of "The Kingfish" — about the state's most outrageous governor, Huey Long — Richard White was asked by a local politician to sign a copy for Edwin Edwards, a modern Louisiana governor who is now serving time in federal prison.
"I wrote, 'Wish you were here,' " said White. "It's so fitting, because corruption is more open and more accepted here than in any other state.
"Congressman Bill Jefferson is on tape (allegedly) taking a bribe — and he is still in office!"
Long has been gone since 1935, when he was assassinated. But his corruption set firmly in place a catalog of laws and traditions that continue to the present day. His brother Earl served three separate terms as governor, the last finishing in 1960.
White, a professor of public administration at Louisiana State University, did not hesitate to write a new biography, even though T. Harry Williams won a Pulitzer Prize for his massive biography of Long in 1969.
"I knew I was sticking my head in the lion's mouth," White said by phone from his office in Baton Rouge, "but there is always a need to revisit major characters of history — especially when Huey was such a threat to democracy. I wanted to examine him in greater depth for his personality. I wanted it to be a more lyrical, readable approach, almost like a novel. Besides, T. Harry was apologetic of Huey."
White expected criticism from scholars, but not at the vitriolic level engaged in by New York critics. "They wanted me to cure cancer in the book! The Louisiana critics were much more understanding."
On the other hand, members of the Long family "banned the book opening," said White. "They complained that the book is not 'balanced.' I said, 'Life is not balanced.' But they were upset because I criticized him for selling off all the state's oil leases to his cronies. Louisiana would be the richest in the nation had he not done that."
White said he thinks a great-grandson may run for office, once again putting a Long at the helm of Louisiana government.
Taking the Kingfish at his own description of himself — "Just say the sui generis," which means "a true original" — White believes Long defied definition. "He was quick on his feet. He would pop right on every question, and he was born with it. He came out of womb in control. The only man he personally looked up to was William Jennings Bryan."
White has emphasized the role of the governor as dictator, someone "who wore out his enemies biting at his heels over and over. Eventually, his enemies just gave up. His vengeance was unequaled. And he was unabashedly open. He admitted everything he did. His autobiography has it all: 'the end justified the means' "
Although Long initiated "the greatest road-building program in the country, and built LSU into a top-notch institution — and gave free school books to kids during the Depression when the state had no money — he was all about power. As soon as he was elected U.S. senator, all of that stopped."
White is convinced that he could have kept writing his book indefinitely, because traveling around the state produced many, many stories about Long. "When the book was done, I asked the publisher for an extension, to get some of these stories in, but they wouldn't do it. They said the book was good to go."
If Long had ever been elected president, White believes it would have been a disaster. "He knew nothing of foreign affairs. He knew power and only power. Louisiana is the only state that didn't start with a democracy. It started functioning right from royalty. Huey took those pathologies and accentuated them. People wanted to make deals. He made no deals. He crushed his opposition."
White is also fascinated with Long's relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. "They hated each other, even though initially they used each other. Huey sat talking to FDR while patting his straw hat on FDR's paralyzed legs. He called him 'Frank.'"
E-mail: dennis@desnews.com