Word: abed
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...less a presidential adviser. And, to date, it has not. Though the full extent of Fortas' influence will probably never be known?he vows never to write memoirs or leave important papers for nosy historians?he has been witness to nearly every great decision that Johnson has made. "Abe was usually called in on the real knotty problems," says one former White House aide, "the ones to which there are no hard answers...
...Secret Life. To most people, including the President no doubt, Fortas is a puzzling, enigmatic, even mysterious man. "I wouldn't be surprised," says one of his former law clerks, "if tomorrow I were to find out that Abe Fortas leads a secret life as a published poet in South America." Questioning counsel from the bench, he can be determined, abrupt, relentless in his search for the heart of a case. He can tear a poorly reasoned argument to tatters...
...bench, some say, he is no more agreeable. "Abe Fortas," declares one acquaintance, "is arrogant and abrasive." Says another: "He's cold, distant and cryptic." Others describe him as shy, reticent with people. "Well," allows Thurman Arnold, his former partner and a good friend, "he doesn't go around kissing babies...
...another fraternally), he is "an utterly delightful companion. In conference, no matter how tense the situation, he comes off with his delightful cracks." In the view of Madame Hervé Alphand, wife of the former French ambassador and one of the most noted capital hostesses, he was entirely outgoing. "Zat Abe," she once commented, "he dances with all the girls?long, short, fat, and thin...
...pressed into service. The Justice numbers Rudolf Serkin, Isaac Stern and Pablo Casals among his friends, and has helped to arrange the annual Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. In a jest that his enemies might not recognize, he has sometimes introduced himself at White House functions as "Abe Fortas?I am a violinist." His Italian Guidantus violin may be his proudest possession...