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For all the disdain he heaps today on the "arrogant empire" of Washington, Alexander told friends in college and law school that he was eager for a career in government and politics. He clerked for a federal judge in New Orleans, the legendary liberal John Minor Wisdom, while moonlighting as a trombone and washboard player in a jazz band on Bourbon Street. He worked as a Senate aide to his mentor, Howard Baker of Tennessee. And he served a stint as an aide in the Nixon White House.
Returning to Tennessee, he lost his first bid for Governor in 1974 because, he recalls, "I flew around in a blue suit from one Rotary meeting to the next, preaching to the converted." All of that changed four years later, when Alexander donned a red-and-black plaid shirt and walked 1,022 miles, crisscrossing the state, impressing voters with his vigor and intelligence.
During two terms as Governor, Alexander took on the teachers' union to enact merit pay and other education reforms, which sharply improved the state's ranking in national achievement tests but required a 1ยข increase in the sales tax. He also raised fuel taxes three times to expand Tennessee's interstate highways without federal help. Those investments, combined with 11 trips to Japan and scores to Detroit, helped Alexander persuade Nissan and Saturn to build huge new factories in Tennessee, creating thousands of high-paying jobs.
This period revealed the steel behind Alexander's smile. Cavit Cheshire, then executive secretary of the Tennessee Education Association, told the New York Times that the Governor was "only nonconfrontational until you cross him." The public seldom saw this side of Alexander. But friends and family, as well as political rivals, have seen his hard side. By his own account Alexander neglected his family during his terms as Governor. One of his daughters, Leslee, wrote in a 1987 essay, "I characterize my father as an egret, standing on one leg and viewing the world. Although powerful in government, he is withdrawn in family life."
During his time as Governor, while doing good for his state, Alexander did well for himself and his family. Worth $151,000 when he was first elected Governor in 1978, he has increased his wealth at least twentyfold, to more than $3 million. He has released all his tax returns and explains, "When I was in private life, I tried to make money, and I did."
But Alexander made much of his fortune through sweetheart deals, initiated while he was in public office, which could be seen as favors from cronies and people doing business with the state. Should he win the G.O.P. nomination, Democrats will make sure these deals get the same scrutiny given the Clintons over Whitewater. "Lamar is the consummate insider," says Will Cheek, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party. "That's the kind of guy who gets these deals." Examples:
The Knoxville Journal came on the market in 1981, and Alexander, then Governor, was invited to join a group of investors who had an option to buy it. Alexander paid $1 for his share of the option, which the investors then sold to Gannett Corp. for stock and options that were eventually worth $620,000 to Alexander.