Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Interview With George Mitchell (3) By Andrea L’Hommedieu, George J. Mitchell

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
George J. Mitchell was born on August 20, 1933, in Waterville, Maine, to Mary Saad, a factory worker, and George Mitchell, a laborer. Senator Mitchell spent his youth in Waterville. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College in 1954, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps until 1956. In 1960 he earned a law degree from Georgetown University. Mitchell worked for Senator Edmund S. Muskie as executive assistant and as deputy campaign manager during Muskie's 1972 presidential campaign. He later became U.S. senator (D-Maine) 1980-1995, Senate majority leader 1989-1995, and, upon his …

Interview With Harry Reid By Brien Williams, Harry M. Reid

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Harry Mason Reid was born on December 2, 1939, in Searchlight, Nevada. He attended Utah State University and George Washington University Law School. He is a Democratic U.S. Senator from Nevada, first elected in 1986, and, at the time of this interview, had served as Senate majority leader since 2007. Previously, he represented Nevada’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, was a city attorney, a state legislator, Nevada’s lieutenant governor, and chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Summary
Interview includes discussion of: majority leader; the Budget Committee vote and Bob Kerrey; 1986 Democratic Senatorial Campaign …

Interview With Barbara Mikulski By Brien Williams, Barbara A. Mikulski

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Barbara Ann Mikulski was born on July 20, 1936, and grew up in the Highlandtown neighborhood of East Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Mount Saint Agnes College and received her M.S.W. from the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She became a social worker, community organizer, and Baltimore city councilor, and she made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 1974 before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976. After serving in the House for ten years, she ran for the U.S. Senate in 1986, becoming the first elected woman Democratic U.S. senator. She …

Interview With Jim Sasser By Diane Dewhirst, James 'Jim' R. Sasser

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
James R. “Jim” Sasser was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on September 30, 1936. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, he was awarded a law degree in 1961, admitted to the Tennessee bar, and became active in the Democratic Party; he managed Albert Gore Sr.’s unsuccessful 1970 campaign. In 1976 he sought election and won a seat in the U.S. Senate; he was reelected to two further terms, serving until 1995. He first met George Mitchell in 1972 when they were both working on Ed Muskie’s presidential primary campaign. He worked with Senator Mitchell on the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee …

Interview With Diane Dewhirst (1) By Mike Hastings, Diane Dewhirst

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Diane Dewhirst was born on May 28, 1957, in Framingham, Massachusetts, to Joan Priscilla Audubon and Robert Thornton Dewhirst. She grew up in Boston and Philadelphia. Her father worked in sales for an energy firm. Majoring in journalism at the University of Ohio and then transferring to Northwestern, she was graduated with a degree in political science. She worked on Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign in 1976, as an intern for Common Cause, the Democratic National Committee, and briefly for ABC News on delegate selection rules, covering the 1984 presidential election. She then became press secretary for the Democratic …

Interview With John Breaux By Brien Williams, John B. Breaux

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
John Berlinger Breaux was born in Crowley, Louisiana, on March 1, 1944. He was graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana at Lafayette in 1964 and Louisiana State University Law School in 1967. He served as assistant to U.S. Representative Edwin Edwards. After Edwards resigned in 1972, Breaux was elected to his seat in the U.S. Congress in a special election. He served in the House of Representatives until 1987, when he was elected to the Senate, where he served until 2005. In 1993, Senate Democrats elected him deputy majority whip. Since retiring from the Senate, he has …