The passing of Howard Baker allows us to reflect on the immense quality of his contributions. Never before has a senator been so multifaceted and so skilled in overall leadership. My words should have greater credibility; as a graduate of the Baylor School, I am saluting the rival McCallie School’s greatest student ever!
Howard Baker was born and bred an East Tennessee Republican, son of a longtime Congressman from Huntsville. I first came across Howard Baker in 1970, when I was assistant secretary of state dealing with Congress. Senator John Sherman Cooper of Kentucky confided in me: “Watch young Howard Baker. He should be the next Republican leader.” Cooper’s prediction unsurprisingly came true in 1976.
In the Senate, Baker sought practical compromises. Baker never looked for credit, and he left his ego behind. At a time when Congress seems broken and deadlocked, Baker navigated through the political turmoil of Watergate and the 1970s. He empowered his committee chairmen — a far cry from the methods of today’s congressional leadership.
Our paths crossed at a critical time in the Reagan presidency, during the Iran Contra scandal. As he recovered from the crisis, Reagan was rightly convinced that Howard Baker was another key person to bolster the president’s credibility.
When President Reagan tried to phone Howard Baker, who was vacationing in Florida, to ask him to be his new chief of staff, he reached Baker’s wife, Joy. She explained that Howard was at the zoo with his grandchildren. “Well, tell him I need him because we’ve got a zoo up here,” quipped the president.