No one in Texas has done more harm to Bill White’s campaign (with the exception of Rick Perry and White himself, by not releasing his taxes) than his successor as mayor, Anise Parker. No sooner had she taken office last January than she threw White under the bus with the comment, “[F]or years we have spent more money than we have taken in.” Yesterday, nine months later, Parker, a Democrat whose office is officially nonpartisan, made a belated effort to undo the damage. She attacked Perry for, according to the Chronicle, “mischaracterizing White’s stewardship of the city and its financial shape.” The quote in the paper was, “I inherited a city that was essentially well-run,” she said. Too little, too late. At that, the word “essentially” is gratuitous. In context, it amounts to a hedge.