When Smith asked Levi to describe the job of Attorney General, he was expecting him to launch into a philosophical discourse about the Founding Fathers, the rule of law, and the principles of democracy. Levi, taking a leisurely puff on his pipe, paused a moment, and said: “It’s just one damn thing after another.”


Our country is deeply divided, but our saving grace is the ability to carry out the peaceful transfer of power through elections. If the American people lose confidence in the integrity of their elections, and the legitimacy of an elected administration, we are headed toward a very dark place.


I had no problem arguing with the President one-on-one, but I had learned that when you fight with him in front of an audience, things can get out of control very quickly. I was determined to stay calm.


My mother was gregarious, with a great sense of humor and a ready laugh. But as a child of the Great Depression, she was always anxious that the bottom was about to fall out and always thinking about how she could make provision against things going wrong. She called it her “Celtic gloom” and told me I’d inherited it. To a degree, she was right. That little voice in my head always warning me of what could go wrong and how I needed to protect against it is my mother’s voice. For a lawyer, it is a great strait, since that is what good lawyers do: anticipate what could go wrong.


Close in age, and living at close quarters, the 4 of us boys could be boisterous, and physical fights were not uncommon. Keeping order sometimes required a good spanking, but more often a credible threat of force was enough to bring peace.


I wrote a long letter. “Over the years, I have realized that, of all the teachers in my life, you have had the greatest impact, and I owe the most to you. You always gave me kind and gentle encouragement. You instilled a love of learning and gave me confidence in my abilities. You taught me not to shrink from upholding what I thought to be right and not to hesitate to lead. Your example of faith and charity helped give me a strong religious foundation, which has been the greatest gift of all.”