Uday isn't available, but Christopher is

Marion Barry, the former corrupt mayor of Washington, D.C., a convicted crack-user  who was caught a few days after while lecturing D.C. kids on the evils of drugs, a tax-evader, scofflaw and general embarrassment who still serves on the dysfunctional D.C. City Council, is now in his 70’s and thinking about his legacy. Oh, he’s running again in Ward 8, all right, but his long-term plan, not surprisingly, is to turn over his seat to a worthy successor with a record of being arrested for assaulting a police officer and possessing PCP with the intent to distribute.

You know. His son.

Sources told the Washington Post that Barry is grooming Christopher Barry, who has less experience  in making laws than in breaking them, to take over his City Council seat when he retires, perhaps mid-term.

It should be expected that Christopher, having grown up watching his father abuse power for personal gain and ignore laws whenever it suited his purposes, has no respect for niceties like honesty, integrity, and civic duty, just as it was predictable that seeking a successor who is most likely to serve the interests of the citizens of Washington wouldn’t occur to the old mayor. Marion Barry, you see, is Washington, D.C.’s curse. He was the architect of the corrupt political culture that flourishes today, paralyzes the city government and preys on the public. Now, when the inevitable ravages of time give hope that he might leave the scene and give D.C. a chance to rediscover the benefits of ethical leadership, he is already plotting to inflict the city with the Barry version of Uday Hussein.

Still, it is hard to have much sympathy with voters who elect venal, dishonest pols who are open and unapologetic about their approach, like Marion. To him, this is how political leaders are supposed to act, and apparently Washingtonians agree: in 2008, they gave him 77% of the vote. Unless something changes, the Curse of Marion Barry is poised to shadow Washington D.C. for another generation.