Before the ugliness of the presidential campaign gets too out of hand, I hope that reasonable Alaskans will remember and appreciate that there was a time when decency, civility and cooperation still thrived in American political life.
I can think of no finer example of that better era than the funeral services for Sen. Ted Stevens, held at the Anchorage Baptist Temple on Aug. 9, 2010. Vice President Joe Biden, an honored guest, spoke movingly of his personal relationship with Sen. Stevens, a relationship that began when Biden entered the U.S. Senate in 1972, having just experienced the tragic loss of his wife and youngest child in a car accident. (The speech is available online. Treat yourself sometime and watch it.)
Ted Stevens reached out to Biden, inviting him to dinner monthly. Those two men served alongside one another for the next 36 years. Alaska and the nation benefited from their friendship.
I hardly need to say what a striking contrast this all offers to the example set by the current occupant of the Oval Office. I look forward to Joe Biden restoring basic honesty and decency to the White House.
Hollis French
Anchorage
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