Senator

While this book is a snippet in the life of Senator John Culver, it is just as much about how the senate runs, Culver is just the person that is featured. John Culver served in the House of Representatives from 1965 to 1975, representing Iowa's 2nd Congressional district. In 1974, he was elected to the Senate, where he served one term before being defeated for re-election. The book opens with a history of the man, where he grew up, went to college and what he did before entering politics. With this background, we can better understand the man himself and how he conducted himself in the Senate. Drew clearly was a life-shadow of Culver for some period of time. She writes very explicitly about his travels back to Iowa, the people he met; his reactions to them and even gives particular details about his house in Iowa. However, the most interesting segments of the book are the descriptions of how the Senate operates. Drew clearly was at his side as he interacted with his colleagues, both for and against his proposed legislation. We see the Senate for what it should be; a collegial group of people who work together and keep the acrimony to a minimum. Even when the two Senators are on opposite sides of the issue being debated, they still remain very civil, patting each other on the back and generally making it clear that it is all politics and not personal. While this book is brief, it is a microcosm of how representative democracy should be conducted. Always civil, and where the representatives don't tilt with the slightest of prevailing winds. We elect people to represent us, and when someone responds only to the loudest and pushiest segment of the collective us, democracy suffers. Culver was one who did not react to the prevailing winds, which was one reason for his re-election defeat.