Seldom has a politician left public office with more self-generated fanfare than Sen. William S. Cohen. “Last week, I announced that I would not seek reelection to the Senate,” Cohen announced for the second time in a January 1996 Washington Post op-ed. “I have been moved by the reaction of my constituents and colleagues. Many expressed sadness over my decision, and nearly all were perplexed. Why are so many leaving the Senate? How can the center hold? Won’t the system fall apart?”

His friends and admirers weren’t the only ones who feared that Cohen’s resignation might leave the Republic in shambles. Cohen feared the very same thing. In the middle of yet another farewell address — during which he described himself as, among other things, “Aesop’s fly on the wheel of history’s chariot” — Cohen related an anecdote that helps explain why he believes America might be unable to carry on without him: “I recall after supporting the crime bill two years ago, a call came into one of my district offices, and a man was very angry. He said, ‘I am angry with your boss,’ to one of my staffers. I said, ‘Why was he angry?’ He said, if you excuse the expression, ‘He’s too damn reasonable.'”