George Will. The senator probably will win a second term, despite the fact that he deserves to do so.

That was six years ago, the senator did win a second term.

Today, he's just a few months from leaving public office.

A dozen years in the senate, a dozen years in the house, several years in senior positions in the White House.

As he prepares to leave public life, what does he want the rest of us to know about the state of our republic?

Rob Portman, the gentleman from Ohio, on Uncommon Knowledge Now.

Welcome to Uncommon Knowledge. I'm Peter Robinson.

After growing up in Cincinnati, Robert Jones Portman attended Dartmouth College as a member of the class of 1978,

although he graduated with a class of 79 because he took time off to canoe the entire length of the Rio Grande River.

He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1984, began practicing law in Washington, D.C.

and soon began a career of public service that would last for more than three decades.

Senator Portman, welcome.

Peter, thanks for having me on again.

Actually, I should say thank you. We are meeting in the Hugh Scott Room in the United States Capitol,

and you only get to use the Hugh Scott Room if you're a senator. So thank you.

Why did you do it the way you did these last 30 years?

You graduated in 1984, as I just mentioned, from a very prestigious law school.

You could have stuck with a law.

Just the other day, I looked up what partners and big time firms in this town are pulling down these days.

And it's three to six and seven million dollars a year over the last 30 years.

You have foregone tens, maybe low tens, but tens of millions of dollars in income.

Don't tell Jane that, please.

...