Most of his former opponents have forgiven him. Now it's up to God.
"THE EVIL that men do lives after them," said Mark Antony in Julius Caesar.
Though Atwater was not the first to use negative campaigning, he certainly took it to a new low. He raised irrelevant issues about candidates' personal lives. He played to the homophobic, racist and religious bigots that make up far too much of the populace.
It would be naive to think that others will not follow his lead in future elections. He certainly knew how to exploit the democratic process to the advantage of his candidates.
But in the end, Atwater failed the standard of character that he and Bush proposed in the 1988 campaign. I'm not shedding any tears about his demise.
I come to bury Atwater, not to praise him.