There will be a screening tonight here in Washington of a new documentary about New Mexico's former Senator Pete Domenici. It will undoubtedly recall a time in Washington when the nation's business was advanced by means of bipartisan negotiation, which seems like a lifetime ago.
Sen. Domenici's politics are not my politics, to be sure. But, he is a lovely man. When I worship at St. Joseph's on Capitol Hill, he and his wife Nancy are often in the pew in front of where I sit and we often chat after Mass. He served his state and his country and he did so with integrity and without rancor. At the back of St. Joseph's there is a statue to St. Thomas More and I often have thought that, however different our politics, I can see in Domenici's career some of More's concern for the commonwealth. I wish I could say that about more members of Congress today.