AP reports:

Former Gov. Ann Richards, the witty and flamboyant Democrat who went from homemaker to national political celebrity, died Wednesday night after a battle with cancer, a family spokeswoman said. She was 73.

She died at home surrounded by her family, the spokeswoman said. Richards was found to have esophageal cancer in March and underwent chemotherapy treatments.

This is a great loss for Texas and for the country.

Some of her quotes below the fold.

“I’ve always said that in politics, your enemies can’t hurt you, but your friends will kill you.”

“I believe in recovery, and I believe that as a role model I have the responsibility to let young people know that you can make a mistake and come back from it.”

“Ann Richards on How to Be a Good Republican: 1. You have to believe that the nation’s current 8-year prosperity was due to the work of Ronald Reagan and George Bush, but yesterday’s gasoline prices are all Clinton’s fault. 2. You have to believe that those privileged from birth achieve success all on their own. 3. You have to be against all government programs, but expect Social Security checks on time.”

“Teaching was the hardest work I had ever done, and it remains the hardest work I have done to date.”

“I have always had the feeling I could do anything and my dad told me I could. I was in college before I found out he might be wrong.”

“I have a real soft spot in my heart for librarians and people who care about books.”

“Let me tell you, sisters, seeing dried egg on a plate in the morning is a lot dirtier than anything I’ve had to deal with in politics.”

“I’m really glad that your young people missed the Depression I’m really glad that your young people missed the Depression and missed the big war. But I do regret that they missed the leaders that I knew, leaders who told us when things were tough and that we’d have to sacrifice, and that these difficulties might last awhile. They brought us together and they gave us a sense of national purpose.”

“I thought I knew Texas pretty well, but I had no notion of its size until I campaigned it.”

“[Our understanding is] not intellectual, but instinctive.”