After 21 years at the helm of Chicago, Richard Daley decided not to seek re-election.

Others know better his legacy, his contributions, near-misses and so forth. Tediously, such chats will ensue. Many will scramble to predict tomorrow. Others will lean on their experience of him to analyze his place in Chicago’s brawny history.

Before this inevitability, two things warrant a smile:

1. It’s possible others will brand him a brigand, a braggart, a bane. He may be branded a booster, a brave man, a benefactor. What he can never be accused of, however, is trying to brand himself. He is no fiction authored by marketing. He is who he is. He is himself.

2. He decided what to do and then he did it.