This year marks the centennial of the birth of Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson, one of the towering figures of American politics in the latter half of the 20th century and the avatar of neoconservatism. A Democrat representing the state of Washington in the U.S. Senate from 1953 until his sudden death in 1983, he deserves to be recalled not only because he merits honor but also because little of today’s politics would be comprehensible without understanding his 30 years in office.

I worked for him during his unsuccessful campaign for president in 1976 and got to see him up close for those months. Although he was entirely absorbed in politics from the time he reached adulthood, he was very unlike a politician. He was awkward on the stump and uneasy pressing the flesh. The reason, one could see, is that he had a modest ego. He was uncomfortable, too, amid the bevy of highfliers and self-promoters who make up the crew and groupies of any presidential campaign. I remember Sterling Munro, Jackson’s top Senate aide and the campaign’s chief of staff, battling long-distance with the candidate’s traveling entourage to get everyone to leave Scoop’s hotel room at night so he could get some rest. The senator himself, apparently, was too polite or unassuming to throw them out. Scoop’s aide, Richard Perle, kept a paper cocktail napkin displayed on his desk in the Senate Office Building. On it was scrawled in felt-tipped pen: “Richard, I was here. Where were you? I waited. Scoop.” Anyone familiar with the hierarchical norms on Capitol Hill between members and staff will recognize how extraordinary this missive was.