The photo: Sunday, January 4, 2009. The night three-term House Speaker Tom Craddick gave up his power, withdrawing from an increasingly futile effort to win another term to head the House.

He'd planned a meeting at this downtown Austin steakhouse to huddle with his supporters, but in the 48 hours before the Sunday night meeting, the math became increasingly clear: Craddick's opponents were winning over new supporters, while he was losing them. The speaker decided to withdraw, with the news of it leaking out minutes before the planned strategy meeting. The press corps gathered on the sidewalk, waiting to catch reaction.

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