Charles H. Percy, 1919-2011

Maybe it was the fact that he shared with Charles Harding Percy the distinction of having a middle name given in honor of a Republican president, but my father, Robert McKinley Waters, aways had a soft spot in his heart for the man. I well remember Dad's fervent advocacy of Percy's candidacy for governor of Illinois among  our Republican relatives in the primary against State Treasurer William Scott in 1964. Percy defeated Scott in the primary, had lost his first bid for public office, an otherwise-winnable race for governor of Illinois against incumbent Governor Otto Kerner in that year's Goldwater debacle.

Dad was convinced that the handsome and well-spoken Percy, once Chairman of the Board of Bell and Howell Corporation, would be president himself one day. And there was a time following his election to the U.S. Senate in 1966 (the same year that saw Ronald Reagan elected governor of California) when Percy was indeed widely discussed- along with fellow moderates Mark Hatfield of Oregon and,-believe it or not- Donald Rumsfeld of Illinois- as potential moderate candidates for the White House who might bring the GOP back from the Goldwater disaster.

In 1966, Percy was elected to the Senate, defeating veteran Democrat Paul Douglas. That campaign began in heartache for the Percy family; One of his twin daughters, Valerie, was murdered by an intruder at the Percy's home in the wealthy North Shore Chicago suburb of  Kenilworth  in September of that year. Valerie's twin sister, Sharon, married West Virginia legislative candidate  Jay Rockefeller a year later. Sharon is now the president of WETA, the public television station in Washington, D.C. Her husband served as governor of West Virginia from 1977 through 1985, and has represented West Virginia as a Democrat in the United States Senate since 1985.

Percy was a  (Nelson) Rockefeller-style "establishment" Republican in a party which was already too conservative for such creatures to thrive at the presidential level. Percy described himself  "a conservative on money issues, but a liberal on people issues " On another occasion, he called himself  "a fervent moderate."

A supporter of the resolution calling for a special Watergate prosecutor, Percy was often at odds with the Nixon administration. His status as a maverick came with a price;  the same year his son-in-law was elected to the Senate,  Percy was defeated in his bid for re-election by Democrat Paul Simon.

Percy died Saturday at the age of 91. He suffered from Alzheimer's disease. His death was announced by Sen. Rockefeller's office.

We could use a lot more men like Chuck Percy. Alas, these days there are all too few.