Interview with Pat Sarcone by Brien Williams

Biographical NotePatricia Ann Sarcone was born in Newport, Rhode Island. She grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, and was graduated from St. Mary College in Leavenworth, Kansas, with a degree in business administration. In 1969 she joined Iowa Senator Harold Hughes’s staff in Washington, DC, where she remained until 1975. She then worked on Iowa Senator John Culver’s staff until 1980, when she joined Walter Mondale’s presidential campaign. She worked for Occidental International before joining Senator George Mitchell’s staff in 1988, working as Mitchell’s executive assistant until he retired in 1994, when she transitioned to work for Senator Tom Daschle. SummaryInterview includes discussion of: role on Iowa Senator Harold Hughes’s staff; recollections of the Humphrey-Muskie campaign; working on Mondale’s presidential campaign; Sarcone’s joining Senator Mitchell’s staff and transitioning into Gayle Cory’s job as executive assistant to Mitchell; role and responsibilities as executive assistant; Monday morning meetings with the staff; Mitchell’s schedule; the Majority Leader’s Office; relationship between his personal office and the Majority Leader Office; women on staff; mood in the office when Mitchell announced his retirement; the transition to Senator Tom Daschle; Mitchell’s relationship with Senator Bob Dole; and Mitchell’s legacy