but, bob bork -- but everything bob bork says in his book he said in 1974 too. richardson and the people who worked with him most closely then, such as edmond kitsch and keith jones, tell the same story. and bork's narration in the book is entirely consistent with the man i knew for 40 years. intellectual, considering consequences before acting and absolutely honest. he's also the funniest man i ever met. that didn't come through in his 1987 hearings, but the book is full of his wit. [laughter] the life of a solicitor general, like the life of a judge, is reactive. other people decide what suits to bring, the solicitor general controls the government's presentation in those suits to the supreme court. what petitions to file, what responses to file, merits briefs, oral argument and the solicitor general also decides when the government will appeal an adverse decision by a district court or seek rehearing en banc in a court of appeals. the solicitor general has authority to decide when, if at all, to participate as amicus curiae in the supreme court or a court of a

so bob bork saved justice by staying. had he quit if protest -- in protest, he trouble would have been treated as a national hero and confirmed to the supreme court in 1987. perhaps he would have been appointed by ft. ford in 1976 -- by president ford in 1976 to the seat that went to john paul stevens. he was on the list that edward levey sent to president ford of possibilities. but had he quit, the nation as a whole would have suffered. so he stayed in office in the sg's office. he was so determined not to benefit that he turned down an opportunity to be appointed as attorney general, he turned down the chance to work from the attorney general's more elegant office, he avoided the attorney general's private dining room, and he even turned down the attorney general's chauffer and limousine during the time he was acting attorney general. i can't say much more about those times. they occupy the last six months of 1973, and i did not arrive in is solicitor general's office until mid 1974. but everything bob bork says in his

>> bob bork. we lost, unfortunately. we did not see the opposition coming. we knew that it would be fierce and minutes after the nomination was made, senator kennedy was on the floor talking about returning to segregated lunch counters and back from abortions. i ran into the senator in the hallway after and i said i'm putting you down as undecided, i've not given up. that was really not a brutal one that was a big injustice of what happened to that man. >> from 1989, a clip of a conservative who helped start the heritage foundation. he is testifying against senator [indiscernible] [indiscernible] for secretary of defense. [video clip] >> over the course of many years, i have encountered the lack ofin a condition sobriety as well as with women to whom he was not married. both of the senators' wives because i work here in the senate for 11 years. frequentlyed it enough to the point where it made an impression. i don't go looking for this sort of thing. i did not make any records of the times and places, but i did encounter this on a number of occasions. >> wha