RPOWELL, Wyo. — For 18 years, former Sen. Alan Simpson had a front-row seat in Washington, D.C., and a recent book provides a personal accounting of his thoughts and feelings during those years near the seat of power.
"Shooting from the Lip: The Life of Senator Al Simpson," written by Donald Hardy, who served as Simpson's press secretary and chief of staff during his three Senate terms, was launched at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody.
During his years as the assistant majority leader in the Senate, Simpson kept a personal diary that ran to 19 volumes. In 2005, eight years after he left the Senate, he turned the diaries, which he himself had not read since writing them, over to Hardy along with other personal papers and authorized him to write a biography, specifically giving him full control over the book's content.
According to Hardy, Simpson told him to just tell the truth.
"Leave the teeth, hair, and eyeballs on the floor, if that results from telling the truth," Simpson told Hardy.
Drawing not only on the diaries and papers, but also on interviews with family members, Hardy has produced a detailed account of Simpson's life, from his youthful escapades through his colorful Senate career. His negative experience as a member of the peacetime U.S. Army, his feelings on the death of his parents, and his friendships with colleagues as diverse as Rep. Norman Mineta, Sen. Edward Kennedy and President George H.W. Bush all are part of the story, as are his frank and usually earthy verbal assessments of the state of Congress, the presidency and the state of the nation.
The book provides close-up views of many significant events, such as meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev, then Soviet premier; and Saddam Hussein, the infamous dictator of Iraq; the conduct of the first Gulf War; and insights into his disappointment at his brother Pete's losing gubernatorial campaign and the Wyoming Cowboys' loss to Oklahoma State in the 1988 Holiday Bowl football game.
Throughout the book, Hardy highlights not only Simpson's humor and his outspoken public comments, but also his private musings on the affairs of Washington.
Hardy said he "took great care to detail the low points as well as the victories of his life. Although I know a great deal about the subject, I took care to guard the book's credibility, and my own."
Hardy grew up a few doors from the Simpson home in Cody, and as a television news director, followed his first senatorial campaign. As Simpson's press secretary, he produced hundreds of articles, speeches and newspaper columns on Simpson's behalf and later managed his office as chief of staff.
"Nobody outside Al's immediate family knows more about his life - personal and professional - than I," Hardy said in an interview.
Hardy said he believes Simpson's story is important because he believes Simpson's career provides answers to the nation's challenges. Simpson's willingness to put partisanship aside in favor of practical solutions, and his willingness to tell the public the painful truth are necessary if the nation is to address those challenges realistically.
Hardy said Simpson insists that "Shooting from the Lip," published by Oklahoma University Press, is the only biography he will ever authorize, and he has no intention of archiving the diaries, which he kept purely for personal reflection.
"(Simpson) feels that because (this book) was written with my full access to every aspect of his life, no further accounting is necessary," Hardy said.. "In granting me full access to his diaries, Simpson trusted that I would utilize the contents responsibly, and I believe I did."
On his website, the senator agrees.
"This book is the true me," Simpson said.