[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 109 (Thursday, July 19, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5206-S5207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

 Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, on July 11, I addressed the Fund 
for American Studies annual Congressional Scholarship Award Dinner here 
in Washington. I ask consent to have this transcript of my remarks 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Very often, young people say to me, ``How can I get 
     involved in politics and government?'' Tonight there are at 
     least 85 of you here who are young and may be wondering about 
     that, so I'm going to tell you exactly how to do it.
       Here's the secret formula: Pick someone whom you admire. 
     Volunteer to help carry their bag, write their speeches, do 
     anything they ask you to do that's legal. Watch what they do, 
     watch what they do well, watch what they do wrong, and learn 
     from it. That's the way I would suggest to get involved in 
     politics and government.
       Now, back when I was governor, I made a speech and my late 
     friend Alex Haley, the author of Roots, was in the audience, 
     and he came up to me afterwards and said, ``Lamar, may I make 
     a suggestion to you?'' And I said, ``Of course Alex.'' He 
     said, ``When you start a speech, if you will just say Instead 
     of making a speech, let me tell you a story,' people might 
     actually listen to what you have to say.'' So instead of 
     making a speech, let me tell you some stories to illustrate 
     my secret formula for how to get involved in politics and 
     government.
       I'm going to mention three of my mentors, and I think it's 
     important for you to know that I had no special connection to 
     these three who helped me get involved in politics and 
     government.
       When I was running for president some years ago, the New 
     York Times wrote an article that said, I grew up in a small 
     town in lower-middle class family, in a small town on the 
     edge of the mountains in Tennessee. And, when I called home 
     later in the week to talk to my mother, I found her reading 
     Thessalonians to gather strength on how to deal with this 
     slur on the family. She said, ``Son, we had never thought of 
     ourselves in that way. You had a library card from the day 
     you were three, you had music lessons from the day you were 
     four. You had everything you needed that was important.'' So 
     I had everything I needed that was important, but to these 
     three men, who helped me so much, I had no special connection 
     at all.
       The first was John Minor Wisdom. Toward the end of my third 
     year at New York University Law School, I didn't know what to 
     do and the dean of the Law School said, ``Would you like to 
     clerk for Judge Wisdom in New Orleans?'' And I said, ``Well 
     of course, he's one of the best in the country.'' He said, 
     ``There's one hitch, he's already got a clerk and he's only 
     allowed one.'' So I said, ``Well how do I get to be a 
     clerk?'' He said, ``He has a position of messenger that pays 
     $300 a month, and if you'll take the job as messenger he'll 
     treat you like a clerk.'' So, I took it. I drove down to New 
     Orleans--the Harvard guy got a clerkship, and I was the 
     messenger. Of course, Judge Wisdom treated me like a clerk 
     and I had a wonderful year. I did get tired of making so 
     little money, so I went down to Bourbon Street and got a job 
     playing trombone, washboard and tuba at a place called ``Your 
     Father's Mustache,'' and that's how I got started with Judge 
     Wisdom. So, if you want to be a clerk, and someone offers you 
     a job as messenger, take it, and then learn to play the 
     trombone, the washboard, and tuba.
       Now my second mentor: Howard Baker. Many people here know 
     Howard. I could speak about him for a week, and he is 
     undoubtedly the most important person in my life, other than 
     my own family members. But how did I get connected to him? 
     Well, I didn't know him. His father was our congressman. My 
     dad took me to the courthouse to meet Mr. Baker, Howard's 
     father, when I was ten years old. He gave me a dime, I 
     remember that, and I thought I'd probably met the most 
     respected man I was ever likely to meet, other than my father 
     and the preacher. But when I was getting through with Judge 
     Wisdom I noticed that Howard Baker was running for the United 
     States Senate from Tennessee. We'd never had a Republican 
     Senator, so I wrote him a letter, volunteering to work in his 
     campaign. I never heard from him. So I was home for Easter in 
     1966 and I finagled an appointment with him, got in to see 
     him and volunteered for his campaign. The long and short of 
     it was, a couple of months later I had a little bit of a 
     paying job.
       Then, to our surprise, he got elected, he brought me to 
     Washington, and I was his first legislative assistant. We 
     had, as he likes to tell it, a perfect relationship. One of 
     my duties was as his speechwriter. I would write a speech, 
     give it to him, and he seemed happy. Well one day, I wanted 
     to hear him deliver one. He didn't say a word of anything I'd 
     written. I went a second time. Not a word. So I asked to see 
     him. I said, ``Senator, we have a problem.'' He said, 
     ``What's the problem?'' I said, ``I work hard, write these 
     speeches and you never give a word of it.'' He said, ``Lamar, 
     we have a perfect relationship. You write what you want to 
     write, I say what I want to say.''
       Now the mentor I'd like to talk about tonight is a man well 
     known to this organization because this institute was once 
     named for him--Bryce Harlow.
       In 1968, I was working for United Citizens for Nixon-Agnew 
     in the Willard Hotel, and it was filled with people who 
     didn't quite fit into the Republican establishment at the 
     time, one of whom was Bud Wilkinson, the most famous football 
     coach of the time. And when the campaign was over, I didn't 
     have a job. And so Bud said, ``Well, let me call Bryce 
     Harlow.'' Which he did, and I got a job. And so Bryce Harlow 
     was President Nixon's first appointee and I, without ever 
     having known him, ended up as his executive assistant, which 
     means I sat in his office in the West Wing of the White 
     House, about eight feet from him for six months, smoking 
     cigarettes with him, answering the telephone and getting a 
     Ph.D. in politics and government from the wisest man in 
     Washington, D.C. Today, that office is the office of the Vice 
     President of the United States, Joe Biden.
       After Bryce got tired of me sitting so close to his office 
     for six months, he moved me out and created a little 
     cubbyhole. And, if any of you are in there visiting Joe 
     Biden, you can still see that cubbyhole today.
       But why do I say that Bryce Harlow was the wisest man in 
     Washington, D.C.? Well, here's an example. He was from 
     Oklahoma. He was recruited to Washington to work for General 
     George Marshall. He used to tell me, and here's a lesson, 
     that he was very popular with the generals because he could 
     take shorthand. Bryce was a small guy. He said there's nobody 
     more popular in a room full of generals than a short little 
     guy who can take shorthand and write down all those orders. 
     He moved straight up the ladder. So the

[[Page S5207]]

     lesson is: learn shorthand. Bryce stayed in Washington, 
     worked for the House Armed Services Committee, and became 
     President Eisenhower's favorite staff member.
       He was in charge of government relations for Proctor & 
     Gamble when he wasn't in the government. And when President 
     Nixon was elected, Bryce Harlow was his first appointee. The 
     campaign transition headquarters was in the Pierre Hotel, New 
     York City. And on one occasion, Mr. Nixon, the president-
     elect, had said something about foreign policy that made 
     President Johnson, who was still President, very upset. So, 
     President Johnson called the one person he knew in the Nixon 
     campaign, Bryce Harlow. As Mr. Harlow is sitting there 
     listening to President Johnson chew his ear out on the 
     phone--saying ``Bryce, there's only one President at a time, 
     and I am that President!''--Mr. Harlow's secretary comes in 
     and says, ``Mr. Harlow, President Eisenhower is calling for 
     you.'' So, Mr. Harlow, listening to President Johnson, told 
     Sally, the secretary, ``You'll have to put President 
     Eisenhower on hold.'' Then Larry Higby, who was working at 
     the Pierre Hotel, came running in and said, ``Mr. Harlow, Mr. 
     Harlow, President Nixon wants to see you immediately.'' So, 
     you can see that Bryce Harlow was in demand, with the current 
     president chewing his ear off, the former President on hold, 
     and the President-elect demanding to see him in his office.
       The wiser members of the White House staff would drop by 
     that office and ask Mr. Harlow what to do. Here's an example: 
     Peter Flannigan, who lives in New York and is a great friend 
     of mine still today, was a very good businessman. I remember 
     he came in to see Mr. Harlow and said, ``Bryce, I just wanted 
     to chat with you. I'm in charge of the Independent Regulatory 
     Agencies, and we are a pro-business administration, we need 
     efficiency in government. There's a television license that's 
     been pending for 18 months for a Miami station. I'm going to 
     call over there and I'm not going to tell them what way to 
     decide, I'm just going to say that we want to know the status 
     of the case.''
       And Bryce responded, ``Peter, do you remember Sherman 
     Adams?'' And Peter said, ``Well of course I do. He was 
     President Eisenhower's disgraced Chief of Staff.'' Bryce 
     said, ``Peter, do you remember what disgraced him?'' Peter 
     said, ``No I'm not sure.'' Bryce said, ``He made a telephone 
     call to an Independent Regulatory Agency on behalf of a 
     friend who was a campaign contributor and had given him a 
     Christmas present.'' So Mr. Flannigan thought about this and 
     thought better of making that telephone call.
       We young people in the White House were very impatient. We 
     wanted the president and his top advisors to do even more 
     this way, even more that way. And I remember Mr. Harlow 
     saying to me, ``No Lamar. Remember that in the White House, 
     just a little ripple here makes a very big wave out there. 
     So, just settle down, just a little bit.''
       In the early months of the Nixon administration, the new, 
     brasher young members of the White House staff, and some of 
     the old ones too, were in deep trouble with the United States 
     Senate. They knew nothing about the Senate. Finally, they 
     came to Mr. Harlow and said, ``Bryce, we can't get anything 
     done, can you help us out?'' So Mr. Harlow got his bag, got 
     in a car, drove up to the Senate, went to some back room 
     where Senator Eastland and a bunch of the old boys, who were 
     the Southern senators, were all clumped together having a 
     bourbon in the late afternoon. They were in a very foul mood 
     about the Nixon White House. Mr. Harlow went in, he went down 
     on one knee, bowed to them and said, ``Ah, I see before me 
     155 years of accumulated seniority and wisdom.'' Upon which 
     they all burst out laughing, and everything was fine. He had 
     the experience and the good judgment just to show a little 
     respect to the office that these Senators held, and that was 
     really all it took for him to get what he wanted.
       I remember once that an irate Democratic chairman called, 
     complaining because the new Republican administration was 
     announcing grants in his district before Democratic 
     congressman knew about it. Bryce said, ``Mr. Chairman, I 
     understand your feelings. Let me call you right back, I want 
     to check on something.'' So he called Larry O'Brien, who was 
     the Chief of Congressional Relations for President Johnson in 
     the Democratic administration. He said, ``Now Larry, could 
     you tell me exactly how you and President Johnson announced 
     those grants when you were in office?'' Once he heard, he 
     called back the chairman and he said, ``Mr. Chairman, I've 
     just checked with Larry O'Brien and here's exactly what 
     President Johnson did. We're going to be exactly fair with 
     you, we're going to do just the reverse and let the 
     Republicans announce them.'' And there was this big laugh on 
     the end of the line. So he got done what he had to do, but he 
     did it in a way that made the other person feel good about 
     it.
       Bryce Harlow had a great sense of ethics. One of his 
     personal ethics was that he never wrote a book. He thought it 
     would be a betrayal of all the confidential relationships 
     that he had in the White House, and couldn't do it. It's a 
     shame he didn't, in a way, because he was the best writer 
     around in the Nixon and the Eisenhower administrations.
       On one occasion, he was planning to take a vacation with 
     his wife in Mexico with an old friend. There couldn't be any 
     possible conflict of interest with this friend--they'd known 
     each other forever, and there was really nothing Mr. Harlow 
     could do for this person. Then about a week before the trip, 
     the friend called, asking for a small favor, and the next 
     thing I knew, Mr. Harlow's secretary was calling the friend 
     saying, ``I'm so sorry, but the President has asked Bryce to 
     go to thus and so, and he won't be able to go on the trip.'' 
     She didn't embarrass the friend, but he also didn't even take 
     the risk of an appearance of impropriety based upon a tiny 
     favor that the friend had asked of him.
       I heard it said a little earlier that ``Your word is your 
     bond.'' That's Bryce Harlow's phrase, he always would say to 
     a lobbyist or anyone working with a member of Congress or 
     with a Senator, or even with another Senator, ``Always tell 
     the truth, tell the exact truth. Don't overstate a thing, 
     don't understate a thing, and if you have to, tell the other 
     side to make sure that whomever you're speaking with is never 
     surprised as a result of what you've just told them. And 
     always keep your word.'' It gave him a tremendous reputation 
     in this community and it greatly influenced hundreds of 
     people who work here.
       One other thing, he told me a story that I've remembered 
     for a long time about his days with the Eisenhower 
     administration. Some people must read books about Lyndon 
     Johnson and suspect that maybe most of the people who work in 
     high positions of trust--in politics, in business, in 
     universities, or whatever line of work--are always shading 
     the truth and looking at the angle and elbowing one another 
     and taking advantage. How else, you might ask, would they get 
     to the top? It's hard to get a picture of what people who are 
     really at the top actually do when they make decisions.
       While I can't tell you what they all do, I can tell you 
     this is the story that pretty much symbolizes my impression 
     of most of the successful people I know in politics and how 
     they make their most difficult decisions.
       President Eisenhower was having a Cabinet meeting in the 
     1950s. Some great issue was laid before the Cabinet, so the 
     President put the issue to the Secretary of State, ``Mr. 
     Secretary, what shall we do?'' ``Well, from a foreign policy 
     point of view,'' said the Secretary, ``we must do X.'' ``Mr. 
     Secretary of Defense, what shall we do?'' ``Well, um, from a 
     defense point of view, if we did X that would be a disaster 
     for the country, so we've got to do Y.'' ``And Mr. Treasury 
     Secretary, what shall we do?'' And the Treasury Secretary had 
     Z as an angle. Before long they went around the cabinet room 
     and they all had a different opinion about how the decision 
     might affect the department each headed. And then President 
     Eisenhower asked this question, ``Well gentlemen,'' (and I 
     think they were all gentleman but one at that time), he said, 
     ``What would be the right thing to do for the country?''
       The Secretary of State said, ``Well Mr. President, the 
     right thing to do would be C.'' And Secretary of Defense 
     said, ``Yes, the right thing to do would be C,'' and pretty 
     quickly they all agreed that would be the right thing to do 
     for the country. And so the President of the United States 
     said to his Press Secretary Jim Hagerty, ``Jim, then that's 
     what we'll do, go tell the press.''
       Now, here we have, not an unsophisticated man, this was the 
     leading general during World War II, this was a man who was 
     President of the United States. He had the biggest job in the 
     world. And he was making a big decision. And when it came 
     time to ask the question that had to be answered before a 
     bunch of very sophisticated people, his question was, ``What 
     would be the right thing to do for our country?'' I think 
     you'll find more often than not that when we're puzzled by 
     what to do, that's the right question. And the answer isn't 
     always obvious, but that question will lead to the answer 
     more quickly than just about any other question that you can 
     ask.
       So thank you for allowing me to come tonight. I'm here to 
     honor you. I'm glad to have a chance to tell you about the 
     great Bryce Harlow, who has meant so much to this 
     organization. My advice about how to get involved in politics 
     and government is: Pick someone who you admire, volunteer to 
     work for them, carry their bag, do anything that they ask you 
     to do that's legal, learn from them, watch what they do 
     right, watch what they do wrong--and one more little piece of 
     advice that my railroad-engineer grandfather used to tell me 
     when I was a little boy, he'd say ``Aim for the top, there's 
     more room there.'' Thank you.

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