Conversations with Abner Mikva : final reflections on Chicago politics, democracy's future, and a life of public service / Sanford D. Horwitt, foreword by Senator Dick Durbin.
From rags to respect -- "We don't want nobody nobody sent" -- A rookie lawyer and Obamacare -- The "dumb kid" learns some hard lessons -- Watergate, Congress, and a liberal's laments -- When the nazis came marching in -- Scalia's big lie and beating the NRA -- Politicians in black robes and Judge Mikva's proudest decision -- The Clinton White House and Hillary's liberalism -- The making of a (possibly) great president -- Mikva's challenge for democracy's next generation -- The Mikva Challenge.
Summary:
"Abner Mikva was an Illinois lawmaker, US judge, and mentor to both Barack Obama and Elena Kagan. He is fondly remembered in Chicago politics for being told, after saying that nobody sent him, "We don't want nobody nobody sent." One of the country's leading liberal politicians for decades, Mikva served in all three branches of the federal government: nine years in the US House of Representatives (following ten years in the Illinois House), fifteen years as a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and a year as the White House Counsel in the Clinton administration. After leaving politics, he taught law at the University of Chicago Law School and Northwestern University. President Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014. During the final years of his life, his former speechwriter and longtime friend, Sanford Horwitt--author of biographies of Saul Alinsky and Russ Feingold--spoke with him about his battles with Daley political machine in Chicago, the mistake he made when the Nazis marched in Skokie, his struggles against the N.R.A. over gun control, the efforts he made as judge on behalf of civil rights, the challenges he faced under the Clinton administration, his assessment of Obama's presidency, his thoughts on aging and death, and his unwavering commitment to a more democratic future. Conversations with Abner Mikva gives readers an unfiltered, intimate audience with one of the most influential figures in Democratic politics in the final decades of the twentieth century."--Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.