Senator Leahy

March 6, 2017
Baruth (The Brothers Boswell), a University of Vermont English professor, admiringly profiles Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, now the Senate’s most senior member. The book highlights three unique and unusual aspects of Leahy’s career: his status as the first (and still technically the only) Democratic senator elected from Vermont, his role as an anthrax target after the September 11 attacks, and his multiple appearances in Batman movies, recordings, and comic books. Baruth neatly shows how these distinct aspects of Leahy’s career all equally illuminate Leahy’s character. The book recounts the intense, relentless campaigning by Leahy and his wife, Marcelle, that led to his unexpected first win in 1974, his prominence as a critic of President George W. Bush’s administration and of the Patriot Act, and the seven “turbulent years” he spent “clean house” at the Department of Justice, leading him to become the Democrats’ “most potent congressional weapon.” An invitation to visit the set of 1995’s Batman Forever led Leahy, a huge Batman fan, to an unlikely second career as guest star in subsequent installments. This media exposure spurred him to push bills on copyright infringement and piracy. Baruth’s biography brings Leahy’s long string of accomplishments to life in clear detail.