The Dean: The Best Seat in the House by John David Dingell - The Dean: The Best Seat in the House

DIGNITY. WHEN I THINK OF JOHN DINGELL, THATS THE WORD that comes to mind. Its how John walked, how he talked, how he carried himself. But more than anything else, its how he treated people. John fought hard for his constituents. But a lot of members of Congress work hard. What set John apart was his deep belief that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

My father used to say that a job was about a lot more than a paycheck. That it was about your dignity, your respect, your place in the community, your ability to look your child in the eyes and say, Everything is going to be okay. John got that in his bones. And as a guy who came from an auto state, too, I could see that John fought not only for jobs, but for jobs that made it possible to live a life of dignity. Jobs that made it possible to own a home, not just rent it, to raise a family, to send your kids to college, to do more than just eke by.

John gets the essential truth of America: that its all about possibilities. That what sets this country apart is that it doesnt matter where youre from, where you start out in lifeeveryone gets the opportunity to go as far as their God-given ability and their willingness to work will take them. Big dreams and limitless possibilitiesthats who we are. And if we ever lose that, we will lose the soul of this nation.

My father used to say something else. Hed say its a lucky man or woman who gets up in the morning, puts both feet on the ground, and feels that what they are about to do that day still matters. John was a lucky man. Because for fifty-nine years, when he put his feet on the ground, no one doubted that what he was about to do mattered. Look at every piece of major legislation going back decades. From the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to Medicare and Medicaid, to the great battles to protect our air, water, and land, John was in the fight.

And, of course, no one stands taller in the long battle weve had in this country to make health care a right and not a privilege than John Dingell and his father. Johns father introduced the first national health care legislation, in 1943, and for John and his father it was a cause they never abandoned. So, when President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010 (some sixty-seven years after the battle begun by John Dingell, Senior), it was only right that the man seated next to the president be the Dean himself.

We miss John Dingell in Congress. He knew that public service was an honorable profession. He knew it could change lives. And he knew that for our government to work, we had to find consensus. For John, compromise wasnt a dirty word. You wouldnt find anyone tougher or more principled, but you also wouldnt find anyone who better understood that for our system to work, we have to find consensus.

John Dingells career in the U.S. House of Representatives will be studied for years to come. I know that historians will rank him among the giants of Congress. My hope is that those serving today will read this book, wake up, and remember what public service is all about.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden