Sen. Robert F. Bennett has been widely praised since his untimely death on May 4. Paraphrasing John Donne, his death diminishes all of us and our community and our country. We will miss the presence, the influence and the wisdom of this great person who, as Mitt Romney said, was a voice of reason who cut through the clutter of politics and contention.
I want to mention three attributes that I greatly admired in Sen. Bennett. We can all learn from his example.
He had courage to do the right thing, no matter the consequences. Sen. Bennett did the right thing because it was right. He didn’t need any other reason. At the height of the Great Recession, when it appeared our financial system was on the verge of collapse, Sen. Bennett voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which originally authorized expenditures of $700 billion to stabilize and strengthen the U.S. financial system, restart economic growth and prevent avoidable foreclosures.
Sen. Bennett knew this vote would hurt him politically. But he said he voted for it because it was the right thing for America, at a time of crisis, regardless of what it might cost him. That vote was one of the reasons he failed to win his party’s nomination to run for a fourth term. But history has shown that the TARP program was crucial in saving the country from economic collapse. And every penny of TARP money has been repaid to the federal government, along with more than $15 billion in interest.
He was a problem-solver, not a showman. Sen. Bennett learned practical business skills prior to being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992. He was the first CEO of the Franklin International Institute, which would become Franklin Covey. Inc. Magazine named him its “Entrepreneur of the Year” for the Rocky Mountain Region.
In the Senate, he was more interested in getting things done for Utah and the country than in partisan politics or ideological purity. Among his many accomplishments, he was instrumental in securing federal funding to create the TRAX and FrontRunner public transportation rail systems. Thousands ride those systems daily, taking vehicles off the highways and reducing air pollution.
After his senatorial defeat, Sen. Bennett continued to positively influence business and politics through his businesses and as a senior policy adviser.
He provided selfless service. Speaking at Sen. Bennett’s funeral services on May 14, former Gov. Mike Leavitt said he listed attributes that made Sen. Bennett effective as a business leader, community leader and as a U.S. senator. But after compiling the accomplishments, Gov. Leavitt said he felt the list, though impressive, did not capture the essence of the man.
He then quoted from the Book of Mosiah, where King Benjamin, in his farewell address to his people, said: “… when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.” This was the essence of Sen. Bennett. This is why he loved working with people in business, and why he gave his life to public service.
True service was what drove Sen. Bennett above all else. His goal was to help people live better lives; to make our families, neighborhoods and communities stronger. It is what endeared him to so many of us as a friend. The advice John Adams gave his granddaughter is exemplified in the way Sen. Bennett lived: “The longer I live, the more I read, the more patiently I think, and the more anxiously I inquire, the less I seem to know. … Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly. That is enough.”
Sen. Bennett’s passing truly does diminish us all. We should honor his legacy by following his example of service, of walking humbly, of loving mercy, of doing justly. That surely is enough.
A. Scott Anderson is CEO and president of Zions Bank.