Former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse is the first to tell you these days that he wasn’t ready for the fight in Washington, in some respects. He wasn’t a politician; honestly, the man is a nerd in the best of ways. He believed in the nobility of public service. During his time in office — he resigned early in his second term to become the president of the University of Florida — he was America’s much-needed civics teacher.
Sasse is currently dying of cancer. The experimental trial he’s on might not prolong his life significantly. These are precious days for, as Sasse understands it, “redeeming the time.” In a most recent interview with Ross Douthat for the New York Times, he appears bloodied. His face is broken. His skin isn’t healing. He tells Ross — whom I like to refer to as my former intern (at National Review) — that a pharmacist recently called him over to the consultation area; she was curious and concerned. “Did they do something electrical to you?” she asked. “Either acid or electric shocks produce a face that looks this hideous,” Sasse told Douthat, who in turn joked: “Well, you told her that you’d gotten on the wrong side of like six different mafias. And they’d all taken turns.”
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