IN EARLY 1935, GOD MUST HAVE BEEN in a very good and joyous mood, creating the mold for Sonny Bono. My only complaint is that He used that mold just once, in a very limited edition.
Sonny reminded me of no one I had ever met before. And after knowing him, no one I ever met reminded me of Sonny. His wonder-filled eyes, his smile, his compassion, his talents, his self-effacing humor, his decency, made an original mix that sparkled. Being in a bad mood around Sonny was impermissible.
I met Sonny for the first time in 1992 when we both were candidates for the Republican Senate nomination in California. I shook hands with him, as we prepared for a debate, and I immediately liked him. The first question in the debate was about illegal immigration. I gave a prepared three-minute answer. Sonny simply said, “It’s illegal immigration. It’s illegal. Enforce the law.” That was it. He didn’t need to use his three minutes. He had it exactly right. On the night of the general election, when the networks predicted my defeat by Barbara Boxer, Sonny came up, took off his watch, and handed it to me. ” Every senator should have a gold watch,” he said. He was trying to bolster my spirits. He did.
Later, after Sonny was elected to Congress, he was invited to speak at Harvard University. I was nervous for him. He wasn’t nervous at all. There was no reason to be. The students loved Sonny! Last year, I urged him to run for the Senate. But he knew running statewide would keep him away from Mary and his kids. And he was engrossed in what he was doing in the House.
Sonny studied issues in depth: He didn’t just listen to others about Bosnia before stating his opinion — he went there. He didn’t just listen to others about Russia before stating his opinion — he went there. And he came back from one trip after another with insights unlike those of others. Such insights will be sorely missed by those fortunate enough to have heard them.
Those were not things he was obligated to do. After all he accomplished in earlier life in so many arts and professions, he could have chosen nothing but recreation and fun in Palm Springs. But instead, with love for his community and for his nation, he chose the very difficult path of elective office. He won elective office all the way to the United States Congress — and just as he was unusual in everything else, he was an unusual victor.
He arrived in Washington unimpressed with celebrities because he had already been one, and knew what it meant and didn’t mean. He was equally at ease talking to a homeless man on 11th and K Streets as he was talking to the president of the United States at a White House reception. And he talked about what he learned from both with equal enthusiasm.
Because he had worked his way up from driving a meat truck, he was unimpressed with wealth or power. Because he was so humble, he rejected those who reek of self-importance.
Small in physical stature, he had a soul large enough to fill Palm Springs and Capitol Hill. And those in the future who seek political office will be more fortunate than those who sought it in the past — because, if they choose, and they should, they will be able to stand on the shoulders of this largesouled man, and from that height, be able to see public service in a new and brilliant light.
Bruce Herschensohn was the campaign chairman for Sonny Bono’s successful 1994 congressional race. This is adapted from his eulogy at Rep. Bono’s January 9 funeral.
