Joe Crangle is diminutive in stature with an almost elfish appearance and it is easy to discern his Irish ethnicity through his innate ability to make you feel right at home, but always lurking behind that Irish charm is a hint of steely resolve and a hint of that old Irish maxim, �Never get mad, get even.�

His zest for the political life has not abated and he is at this best when he talks about the differences in political philosophy that separates a Democrat from a Republican, and is none to happy with those �Republicrats who have so easily shed their political identities for what they see as their own political advantage.

One knows intuitively that he views government as the agency that must do for people what people can not do by or for their self. He has no problem wearing his Catholicism on his sleeve as he quotes the Gospel of Matthew in defense of his views on social justice. He could be considered a conservative when he speaks of loyalty and integrity and the values that go to defining a man�s character. In some ways he views party membership and loyalty in black and white with no shades of gray.

He is an admirer of the New Deal and does not view the patronage system as an anachronism relegated to the past. He sees it as an effective tool to advance party loyalty and to provide the foot soldiers that allow a political philosophy to be triumphant.

Many describe the great game of politics as the �art of the possible� and throughout Crangles� life he has been able to turn the impossible into the possible and as to date he has not yet shouted his �Last Hurrah.,� He is consulted today as often as the Oracle at Delphi in ancient times. Whether you agree with him or not, dislike him or not one must acknowledge that he influenced the course of politics not only locally but nationally. He and his troops rallied around the carrier of the Democratic Party banner and were able to elect more than their share of Democrats to public office during his tenure.

The shift in political fortunes for most democrats occurred imperceptibly sort of like a stealth bomber and culminated with the appeal of Ronald Reagan to the unionized blue collar worker who voted en masse to dismantle all the very programs and agencies that had allowed them to rise to middle class status. The Great Communicator enchanted them and shortly union labor voted against their own self- interest marching in lock step with the �Gipper.� Wells Fargo won and the Hamiltons� along with The Federalist Society swelled the Republican ranks and started dismantling both The Great Society and the New Deal and seek to bury Franklin Roosevelt in a pit deeper than hell.

My impression is that Joe Crangle views our present political situation as a loss of direction in the true meaning of statesmanship and a diminishment of the ideals and values of what public office and public service should be. He sees public office not as a matter of self-interest but as a way to obtain those benefits that enhance the public good and further enshrine the old ideas of the commons into our political debate. Although his view is from the twentieth floor he rose to that view from the ground floor and has never wavered in his dedication to Democratic ideals and does not shy away from explaining the huge gulf that separates Democrats from Republicans.

It remains for a new generation to define and implement how we will continue as a people and a nation with a service economy and fully committed to the brave new world of technology. We hope that somewhere out there in the new generation is another man or woman who aspires to the lofty view that Crangle enjoys and will rise through the ranks to someday look through those same windows and enjoy the panoramic view and contemplate what might have been, if only. by Bill Logal

The view is almost overwhelming as you gaze out the windows from the corner office of Joseph F. Crangle, located on the 20th floor of the Liberty Bank Building at Main and Court Streets It doesn�t take much time or thought to realize that the view from the top is a lot different than the ground floor. To your left is a magnificent picture of the Buffalo waterfront and a long view of the Niagara River and were told on a clear day one can see the mist rising from Niagara Falls. A turn to the right affords a panoramic scene that looks east and on this day even with a slight haze one could see downtown Marilla

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