\u201cThe Road Taken,\u201d<\/a> an engrossing memoir that covers his long career, from his politically fraught vote against the Vietnam War to his account of rallying his fellow senators back into the chamber on Jan. 6 after they fled the mob that stormed the Capitol. In between, you meet dozens of politicians, Supreme Court Justices, presidents, world leaders, musicians, and Hollywood celebrities.<\/p>\nLeahy dishes on the deal Hugo Black told him he cut with Earl Warren, that time he declined a call from Bill Clinton because he was at a Sting concert, that time Dick Cheney told him to go f*** himself, his role as a secret emissary between Raul Castro and the White House, how he enjoyed teasing Barack Obama for his love of the spotlight, and he nerds out on two of his great loves, Batman and the Grateful Dead.<\/p>\n
On Monday, we sat down for a couple of hours with the senator in his president pro tempore office \u2014 the position makes him third in line of presidential succession \u2014 and downloaded the best of his war stories from 48 years in the Senate. This is a must-listen for political junkies and history buffs.<\/p>\n
Oh, and Leahy made some news about Joe Biden and 2024 when we asked him whether he wanted Biden, his longtime friend and Senate colleague \u2014 they complete each other\u2019s sentences, he joked \u2014 to run for reelection.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s going to be his decision,\u201d Leahy told us. \u201cIf he does, I\u2019ll support him.\u201d Not the ringing endorsement we might have expected.<\/p>\n
On Jan. 6
\u201c[In the secure location with other senators,] somebody pointed out that we could meet in the room we\u2019re in \u2014 the Senate could vote to meet anywhere we wanted. \u2026 But I stood up, [and] I said, \u2018NO.\u2019 I got really angry. I said, \u2018I\u2019m the dean of the Senate. I\u2019m the longest-serving member. We can\u2019t meet in private with what\u2019s going on. If it takes till midnight, wait till the Senate chamber is secure and go back in there and let the American people see us, and make everybody stand up and vote and show we\u2019re there.\u2019 And I got really wound up. I got a standing ovation from Republicans and Democrats. They said, \u2018You\u2019re right.\u2019 And we went back in there and continued. But [I remember] feeling glass crunching under my feet. \u2026 And I thought, \u2018What is going on? \u2026 Why did the outgoing president urge them to do this?\u2019 It went against everything I\u2019ve ever believed in.\u201d<\/p>\n
On couriering messages back and forth between Obama and Raul Castro
\u201cI met with Raul Castro a lot and in fact, brought messages back and forth between Raul Castro and the Obama Administration. \u2026 Unsigned, unaddressed, plain letters. But they knew who they were from. \u2026 President Obama was up for reelection. I was down there. \u2026 Castro said, \u2018Can I talk to you privately?\u2019 through a translator. And he said, \u2018Is President Obama going to be reelected?\u2019 He had seen some polls that looked iffy. I said \u2026 \u2018\u2019’ve seen all those polls. \u2026 He\u2019s going to be reelected.\u2019 He said, \u2018Good. I want him to. \u2026 He\u2019s an honest man. I like him and I can work with him.\u2019 Then he kinda looked around, chuckled, and he said, \u2018Of course, I\u2019m not going to say that publicly before the election, because that would defeat him.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
On his unlikely friendship with arch-conservative Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.)
\u201cWe talked a lot about photography. We would show each other photographs. I have my photographs around here in this room, and he had great ones in his room. And in 1980, I had the second-closest election in America. And I was speaking at something in Vermont about a week later \u2014 somebody [in the audience] obviously disagreed with me, [and] said, \u2018Leahy, didn\u2019t the closeness of that election teach you nothing?\u2019 So I figured there\u2019s a lesson in there. So I called the man who had the closest election, and said I\u2019m going to ask him what it is about our philosophy that people didn’t like. I said: \u2018Senator Goldwater, what is it?\u2019 \u2026 And he loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
On what Jerry Garcia, Leahy\u2019s guest in the Senate dining room one day, after the Grateful Dead guitarist had a strange encounter with Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.)
\u201cI never had an experience like that when I used to drop acid.\u201d<\/p>\n