What We'll Miss And What We Won't

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b>BREAUX: I thought that [when the Senate was evenly split] it forced compromise. Neither side by itself could get anything done unless it reached across the aisle to the other side. The House [whose rules give the Republican majority more power to ram through legislation]doesn't have to deal with Democrats. The congressional districts are either all-Democratic districts or all-Republican districts. If I'm in an all-Democratic district, I don't have to worry about what the Republicans think. Or if I'm in an all-Republican district, I don't have to worry about what the Democrats think. I never vote with them because my district is safe. If the Senate is 60-40, the 60 never has to worry about what the 40 is concerned about.

TIME: Recall the first day you walked into the Senate and the notion you had of what the job would be like. Did it turn out to be right or wrong?

NICKLES: It was 1981 when I came in. There was euphoria. I remember Ronald Reagan's Inaugural Address was the same day the [Iran]hostages were released. The concurrence of those events was just really ecstatic. Plus we had a change in leadership in the Senate for the first time in decades. To be part of that was just a lot of fun.

Frankly, my expectations were high, and it greatly exceeded my expectations. I came in as a businessperson and wanted to cut taxes.

I wanted to expand freedom throughout the world, and we've had great success. To be a little part of that is quite an honor.

BREAUX: I came to the House in 1972 and then came here in 1986. I left the House and the [Democratic] majority to run for the U.S. Senate, [where Democrats were] in the minority. But to represent the whole state and to be involved in more issues was worth it. I always wanted to simply say, 'Let's make government work.' And I've been very satisfied. Some frustrations, of course, but I think we've been able to get things done.

CAMPBELL: I'm the low man on the totem pole here. I've only been here 18 years. I never was a big-Eastern-city guy. They're too big and too fast. I like that ranch life out there where I live. But this is where the job is. Every time I see this Capitol, I get the same feeling I've had for 18 years. Sometimes in the wintertime, when the snow is on the ground here and you see this building in the moonlight, it's just hard to explain the feeling that I get.

HOLLINGS: I'm a trial lawyer. I made enough money in 20 years as a trial lawyer to afford [working in] this Senate. And I was enthused because, good God, you had a better class of life here. You could make the final argument to the jury and then go in the jury room and vote. The Senate was just hunky-dory. I was just tickled to death.

And I'm not sad that I'm not making all that money because I've been enriched otherwise. I'm better stimulated. And all my other trial-lawyer friends are either dead or looking for another golf course or another drink.

TIME: Any other changes?

HOLLINGS: The women [Senators] have made a material change. [In the late 1960s] we had one gal, Margaret Chase Smith. You'd never hear from her. Now you can't shut them up. We've got 14, and they're outstanding.

NICKLES: [Laughing] His press secretary is having a heart attack right now.

HOLLINGS: Get in a debate with [Maryland Senator] Barbara Mikulski. Get into a debate with [California Senator] Barbara Boxer. They really have elevated our service. And they're more conscientious. I would say in 15 to 20 years, the majority of Senators will be women. They've got the time and the disposition. And they're trusted because they're not looking to make a living. It's good.