My interest in politics began with the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960. Like most Jewish voters, my Mom and Dad favored the Democrat Party, and Kennedy brought a young, glamorous, and progressive spirit to the country after eight years of Republican leadership. President Kennedy promised a “New Frontier,” and my parents, caught up in the enthusiasm of the time, took Steve and me to Washington D.C. to see our government in action.

We roamed the city and found ourselves in the Mayflower Hotel lobby, where we noticed a lot of commotion near one of the conference rooms. My Dad walked over, started a friendly conversation with the doorman, and before I knew it, the man escorted us into the room just as President Kennedy was beginning a speech. I can still feel the excitement and chill watching Kennedy, so handsome and articulate, mesmerizing everyone in the room. Two years later, on November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated, and the nation was in shock. I remember sitting in high school health class when the news came over our public address system, and everyone was sent home. Stunned and shaken by the horrific news, it seemed our country would never be the same.

By the late sixties, it was difficult to escape the political turmoil engulfing campuses across the country. The war in Vietnam and the struggle over civil rights were dividing Americans, especially over generational lines; protests and rallies became more common and aggressive. But, after Rocky returned from Vietnam and I moved to Washington to be with him, my activism was tempered. Bill Saxbe was United States Senator at the time and a leader I greatly admired. By 1972, the war was winding down, protest demonstrations were ending, and my focus was on my life with Rocky and working.

It wasn’t long, however, before politics became personal again. In 1974, Rocky was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, and I reluctantly became a registered Republican to vote for him in future primaries.

Rocky began serving the first of four two-year terms in the Legislature, and the connections and friendships we made during those eight years have endured. I dutifully attended countless chicken dinners, hearing the same speeches repeatedly, shaking thousands of hands, and traveling throughout four counties. I was pregnant with Sarah during the first campaign in 1974 and with Jake during the 1976 campaign; we carried a helmet in the car because I was always getting sick. Oh, the sacrifices I’ve made.

After President Gerald Ford appointed Bill Saxbe Ambassador to India in 1975, Rocky, Sarah, and I were invited to New Delhi for five weeks to stay with Dolly and Bill at Roosevelt House, the Ambassador’s Residence. Sarah was only seven months old, but it didn’t stop us from saying yes; after all, it was an opportunity of a lifetime. When we arrived at the Residence, we were welcomed by a doting staff and a full-time governess for Sarah. There were many social rounds with Indian friends and diplomats, including the Russian Ambassador, who hosted us at a long and sumptuous lunch with caviar and endless vodka toasts.

Our experiences and travels around India were spectacular, highlighted by meeting Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. This rare opportunity arose from a cocktail party conversation when one of her confidants heard us expressing our admiration for Mrs. Gandhi. The invitation was unexpected due to a declared “Emergency” and the deteriorating relationship between the United States and India. In addition, Mrs. Gandhi was being criticized for imposing restrictions on political activism and civil liberties, jailing many of her opponents.

Arriving at the Prime Minister’s office, Rocky and I were ushered into her private study and seated on a small, worn sofa. Mrs. Gandhi, unaccompanied and wearing a beautiful sari with a long silk jacket, entered and greeted us with a bow of her head and a warm smile. It was surreal and hard to believe we were in the presence of the Prime Minister of India. Expecting only a handshake and photograph, we were quickly put at ease when she ordered tea and cookies and began asking us about Sarah and how she was adjusting to India.

Over the next hour, our conversation covered many topics, including her famous family, experiences as a young person, including her being jailed during India’s quest for independence from Great Britain. She was fascinated with Americans embracing the Hindu and Sikh religions and cultures, and she hoped for improving India’s relations with the United States. Mrs. Gandhi was kind, soft-spoken, spiritual, and dedicated to her work. She radiated light and beauty when she spoke, and the short time we spent with her will remain one of my most cherished memories.

There were always fancy cocktail parties and dinners at the Residence, where we had the opportunity to meet Dolly and Bill’s friends, politicians, and world dignitaries. My most embarrassing moment was when Dolly introduced Rocky and me to the Moroccan Ambassador, a charming man with a beautiful French accent. After he asked if I knew any French, I took a temporary leave of my senses and blurted out the only thing I could remember from high school French, “Ferme la bouche s’il te plait,” which means “Please shut up” in English. Everyone gasped! After a period of silence that lasted forever came the unexpected - the Ambassador cracked up. I apologized profusely, and he proceeded to follow me around the rest of the night.

Rocky first met George and Barbara Bush when he accompanied his parents on a Congressional trip to Mexico in 1969. When Bush declared his candidacy for President in 1980, Rocky helped organize his Ohio campaign and hosted a fundraiser with Woody Hayes in downtown Columbus. But, it was Ronald Reagan’s year, and Bush was tapped for the Vice Presidency.

Vice President Bush later invited us to have brunch with him at his Washington D.C. office. We stayed at the Watergate Hotel partying with friends the night before and barely made it on time the next morning. We were served coffee, perfectly browned toast, sweet butter, and the best plum preserves on Earth. Unlike our visit with Mrs. Gandhi, I have no recollection of our conversation with Bush but will never forget what we wore. I dressed in a brown hippie blouse, matching skirt, open-toed sandals, thick bangs and frizzy hair. Rocky wore his summer suit, funny round tortoise glasses, and had his own long frizzy hair. We must have looked like a couple of crazy Republicans (or hippies) who wandered into his office looking for something to eat. Fortunately, Rocky took off the glasses for the photo shoot.

After spending eight years in the Legislature, Rocky decided to run for Ohio Attorney General in 1982. He was unopposed in the primary, but it was a bad year for Republicans, and the Democrats swept every statewide race. It didn’t help Rocky’s ratings when he called his opponent, then-Secretary of State Tony Celebrezze, a “thug” during a TV interview. Tony must have forgiven him because they later became good friends. Even Vice President Bush tried to help the campaign by headlining a Cincinnati fundraiser for Rocky. I was seated at the head table with the Vice President before he got up to speak and watched with amazement as he devoured his lunch while I chatted away, trying hard to make conversation. Never have I seen anyone eat so fast!

The campaign’s low point was when the kids and I were driving home late one night from a Canton, Ohio fundraiser. My car broke down in the middle of nowhere across from a small motel that looked like it came out of the movie “Psycho.” We got a room, but the night manager was creepy and unwilling to let me use his phone to call Rocky; cell phones didn’t exist. With Sarah and Jake tired and bawling and me nearing hysteria, we finally persuaded him. I slept with a pounding heart and open eyes most of the night.

The weather was beautiful on election day, November 2nd; it was also Rocky’s 36th birthday. After casting our votes, Rocky took me on my first and only pheasant hunt at the Van Darby Club in Mechanicsburg. I got a lesson on gun safety, was handed a .410 shotgun, and on our first flush, I aimed, pulled the trigger, and got it. After that, I felt terrible for the bird and never went hunting again.

That evening, the votes were in, and as expected, Rocky got hammered by Celebrezze. Looking back, we agree that losing the race in 1982 was the best thing that could have happened. Rocky practiced law full-time in Columbus and was home more with the kids. And I became an ordinary citizen again, relieved not to go to another rubber chicken and soggy green bean dinner.

Still, politics remained a big part of our lives after 1982. Rocky’s clientele included many Republican candidates, officeholders, and organizations, while I supported the Democrat candidates. Rocky and I voted to re-elect Bill Clinton in 1996 but split over the Bush-Gore race in 2000. By 2004, President George W. Bush had expanded the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, which were foolish strategies as history has proven.

Rocky shared my disillusionment with the Republican Party as it drifted more and more to the right; we both voted for John Kerry.  In June 2006, I was asked to join Democrat Ted Strickland’s gubernatorial campaign as his “constituency director.” On my first day, having little idea what the job entailed, Rocky, the Republican, walked into my office with a beautiful bouquet of white roses. He then proceeded on a large whiteboard to outline the task ahead for me and the campaign as other staff curiously wandered into the room to listen. The first thing I did was appoint Rocky to head Republicans for Strickland and Sportsmen for Strickland.

Rocky’s support for Strickland (and later for Obama) compromised his standing in the Republican Party and caused him to lose some Republican friends and clients. The Republican Party was becoming intolerably conservative and no longer looked like the party he knew. The feeling was mutual; they wanted little to do with him.

When Hillary Clinton came to Ohio to campaign for Ted, I had the opportunity to meet her at a Bexley fundraiser. She was wide-eyed and friendly, and we briefly had the chance to discuss Bill Saxbe and the “Saxbe Fix,” the congressional action that enabled her to serve as Secretary of State.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama was a rising star in the Senate when I attended a small fundraiser for him at Miranova in 2005. After hearing his incredible speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention, he became my hero, and my intuition told me he would someday be our President.

Obama returned to Ohio to help Ted in 2006, so I had the chance to see him on several more occasions. The first time I shook his hand, I looked up in awe and thought, “What a giant, what a smile, what charisma! Is this truly happening?” When Obama announced his candidacy for President, Rocky and I spoke on his behalf and helped raise money for the campaign. We were overjoyed when he beat Senator John McCain in November 2008.

The rise of the Tea Party and later the surprising election of Donald Trump soured my taste and tolerance for politics. Trump’s malignant narcism and deceit disgusted me, and his Presidency was a continuing nightmare. Extremists and right-wing hate groups grew in numbers and looked to Trump to guide them down this dark path, and he obliged. I lost faith in our government and the politicians who refused to stand up and do the right thing. The need for change prompted me to support and host a fundraiser for Democrat Richard Cordray, running for Governor in 2018. Cordray lost the election, and Rocky’s friend, Mike Dewine, became Governor and has done an excellent job, especially during the pandemic.

A year later (2019), I received a call from Melissa Hedden, a good friend and member of Joe Biden’s national finance committee. Melissa asked if we would be interested in hosting a fundraising event for the former Vice President in his third quest for the White House. “Absolutely!” I said. Biden was a long shot at the time and slipping in the polls. Still, we admired him during Obama’s administration and believed he was the only candidate out of twelve who could beat Trump. We were also charmed by a personal call he made to Rocky earlier that year to share a heartwarming story about Dolly and Bill.

The weather was horrible, with high winds and heavy rain on the day of the event. Luckily, we erected a large tent in the backyard, crammed in over 130 guests, and fed them a catered lunch, including White Castles and pizza. Joe was tremendous, spoke eloquently, talked with guests, and spent private time with our family. It turned out to be the only Ohio fundraiser of his primary campaign, and we raised more money than ever imagined. Before Biden left our house, our caterer, Suzanne Karpus, prepared boxed lunches for him and his staff and made sure to include his favorite dessert, Jeni’s ice cream. Several weeks later, we received a thank you note and six pints of Jeni’s from Joe, and I couldn’t wait to dig in.

Suzanne Goldsmith wrote a story for Columbus Monthly magazine about Biden’s love for Jeni’s ice cream. Her story, “All the President’s Salty Caramel,” began with Biden’s visit to our house. She wrote: “When Rocky and Suzy Saxbe threw a fundraiser for Joe Biden in October 2019, the then Democrat Presidential candidate thanked the Bexley couple by sending them 6 pints of Jeni’s ice cream. Indeed Suzy Saxbe and her caterer, Suzanne Karpus, had packed a freezer bag with a dozen individual servings of Jeni’s to send with the Biden campaign staff on the plane as they headed off to Iowa after the party. Nevertheless, Suzy Saxbe was so touched by the gift of Jeni’s that she took a picture of it – and was disappointed later that day when she discovered it had melted. Unfortunately, Rocky didn’t close the door of the freezer properly, she says, laughing.”

On January 20th, 2021, Joe Biden was sworn in as the forty-sixth President of the United States. We now have new leadership that gives the country the needed change in policies and tone. I hope our Grandsons will grow up proud of the United States and who we chose to lead our government. Rocky and I are privileged to have participated in the political world in our time and hope the boys can say the same when they look back on their lives.