Old tricks in D.C.

What do Ward 8 D.C. Councilman Marion Barry’s plan to bequeath his legislative seat to his son and Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s ethics pledge maneuver have in common? They are examples of old-style D.C. politics — the kind marked by nauseous self-dealing and empty symbolism. Barry’s legacy strategy, as first reported by the Washington Post’s Mike DeBonis, would involve the aging pol winning re-election in 2012 only to step down two years later. Then, his son, Christopher, would be tapped to complete Barry’s term. A special election, undoubtedly, would be held.

That plot, which Barry discussed with select individuals in Ward 8, isn’t new. In 1994, he pulled a similar stunt.