the question to you about this, neil mcneil was a journalist. you were an employee of a united states senator for 35 years. did you have any trouble with the adverbs, adjectives, the defining people in this book? >> no. >> why not? >> it was a very good journal iles with a vastf command of the english language. sitting there, reading his drafteds. -- reading as drafts. i would say, yeah, that's right. that gets to the heart of the matter. so i did nothing to censor it or cool it down. i just welcome it. >> i gather you wrote the story in here about the current senate minority leader, mr. mcconnell from kentucky? >> i did. >> there's a story there about his background and why he got there and why he wanted to -- can you tell us that. >> i never knew he had polio as a young man, a young boy. it took a lot of courage and tenacity and the help of his mother to get on and move on. at one point, he was interested in becoming an historian today. very well read in american political history. but it was a tough decision. does he want to become an academi

how did you get together with neil mcneil and do the book? the il mcneil is one of gigantic figures who not only do "time" magazine's chief congressional correspondent for 30 years, came 1949.e hill in he retired in the mid 1980s, he went to work on what he hoped a quick one-volume history of the senate. nd he spent 17 years trying to write that and finish it up. needless to say he came by our the historical office on numerous occasions. e got a habit of going and having a lunch from time to time. we had wonderful conversations. he passed awayd, in 2008. and it was clear he was probably to finish it. and so he was -- you know, he -- okay, this issaid, it. he had the oxford university agreed to publish the book. sent it out the the viewers. anonymous f the reviewers, got it, read it. his is going to be a 700-page book. didn't know when to start writing as happens with a lot of authors. and so my review said, this was a great book lurking in the 700 pages. but some needs to carve it out. and he died short shortly there oxford turned to me and s

how did you get together with neil mcneil and do the book?>> neil mcneil is one of the gigantic figures who not only do they work as "time" magazine's chief congressional correspondent for 30 years, came to the hill in 1949. he retired in the mid 1980s, he went to work on what he hoped would be a quick one-volume history of the senate. and he spent 17 years trying to write that and finish it up. needless to say he came by our office, the historical office on numerous occasions. we got a habit of going and having a lunch from time to time. we had wonderful conversations. and near the end, he passed away in 2008. and it was clear he was probably not going to finish it. and so he was -- you know, he -- basically he said, okay, this is it. he had the oxford university press agreed to publish the book. sent it out the the viewers. i was one of the anonymous reviewers, got it, read it. this is going to be a 700-page book. didn't know when to start writing as happens with a lot of dedicated authors. and so my review said, this was a great book lurki

the book was co-authored with neil te journalist, mcneil. > richard baker, senate historian emeritus,uthor, co-author of the american senate, a brand