I awoke this morning to discover that Senator Carl Levin has passed away. Levin, who retired from the Senate a few years ago, was one of Michigan's best. I added this comment on Facebook this morning:
I can still see him peering over those reading glasses always perched on the end of his nose, staring down upon some hapless witness testifying before his committee. Always ready with the appropriate, probing question Levin was the consummate senator, the embodiment of what one visualizes when one thinks of someone of such stature. Yet there was another, wholly unexpected, side to the man. I remember meeting him when, as chairman of the Ionia County Democratic Party, seeing this car pull up near the Floral Building on the Free Fair grounds. It was a Ford subcompact. The door opened and out stepped Senator Levin. A rather unassuming entrance for one of the most powerful and influential members of the Senate. Off came the coat, his shirt-sleeves rolled up, Levin gave a short address and then simply moved about the crowd. There was no receiving line, no pomp, no aides standing around urging him to get on to the next gig. He simply stayed and talked to anyone who engaged him. There, arms about a happy farmer or factory worker, public official or businessman, he stood answering questions and being photographed for the family albums of many a happy constituent. He was one of our best: learned, articulate, polished, but also an unpretentious and unassuming man who could move and did move among the people. A supreme example of the nobility of his calling, Carl Levin will be remembered as one of Michigan's best.
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