Bob Dole and me.

[JimHow]

Bob Dole and Me.

It must have been spring 1993.
I was at the peak of my career in politics, in my second term as the boy mayor of Lewiston. I was 34 but I looked about 14.
I was surely going to be a senator, perhaps even President.
I was in Washington to testify before the U.S. Senate, on the impacts of unfunded clean water federal mandates upon municipalities.
This would have been after my meetings with Hillary and Bill, Bill would have been president for a few months, I was gearing up for a run for Congress.
My mentor, George Mitchell, was senate majority leader, the second most powerful man in government.
George had taken a liking to me. Besides my father, he may be the the most amazing person I’ve ever met. How is it possible that he was allowed to never become President.
We were in the waiting room of his office, in the nicest suite in the senate office building, with the famous portrait of Harry Truman in it.
The receptionist told us he was running a little late.
They were closing the deal on the transportation bill.
It’s like the one bill that the partisans agree on every year, because it is so filled with pork.
Soon, the office opened…
Out walks George… He greets me like I’m the only person in the world, he’s got nothing else to do besides talk to me.
Oh, and behind him, comes… Teddy Kennedy. Pat Moynihan. Robert Byrd. Orrin Hatch. Chris Dodd. Frank Lautenberg.
He introduces me to each and every one of them, like I’m the king of England.
And last comes Bob Dole… I shook his left hand. He was so sweet. We chatted for a minute.
I can’t remember what the quip was, I think George said something first that was funny, then Bob responded with one of his dry witticisms.
It was one of the great moments of my life.
It is just so sad, to see how precipitously we have sunk in just such a short time.
Poignant times, this week a bunch of us testified to the imminent collapse of the Maine criminal defense system. It is not going to survive 2022. I think we are worse off today than when I got out of law school back in 1985.
Terrible lost opportunities to make the planet better, and we've only gotten worse. How in hell did we go from Bob Dole and George Mitchell in 1993 to the mess we have today, in just one short generation.

[robert goulet]

Seriously, cool stuff Jim....luvd Dole.

[JimHow]

Ha indeed Bobby. I can’t remember what the quip was, I think George said something first that was funny, then Bob responded with one of his dry witticisms. They were all friendly, I met Teddy I think three times over the years.

[DavidG]

What great memories.

[robert goulet]

Lol...I got edited

[OrlandoRobert]

Great story there, Jim.

The likes of Dole, McCain, Bush Sr., who were willing to work across party lines, are gone. The new crop of GOP is there to burn and gain power, it’s grotesque.

What’s the backstory about your father and politics?

[JimHow]

My father, John, wasn't in politics, OB, he was just a quiet, humble textile mill worker in Lewiston.
Worked 40 years in the weave room at the Libbey Mill, never missed a day of work except for the day I got sworn in as a lawyer at the county courthouse back in '85.
He served in North Africa and Italy as a Private First Class in WW2, one of four first generation Polish-American brothers to serve in the war.
A Roosevelt-Truman-Kennedy Democrat.
He's pictured here second from the right, you can see where I get my good looks.
He must've been about 18 here, just before he was drafted, I'm guessing this must've been taken in 1941.
He and my mother raised three boys pretty successfully, will very little money... he was earning $7.75 per hour when he retired from the mill in 1990. He and my mother were pretty amazing.

[JimHow]

This WW2 vet was very nice as well, I wonder whether there was something about the war experience that humbled a person, regardless of your walk of life.