Part 2, Chapter 8 Summary

After the clemency board was disbanded in the summer of 1975, Lewis returned to his former job at the Office of General Counsel of the Veterans Administration, where he had begun working first as an intern during law school. He found his co-workers were mostly hard-liners who, despite their complete lack of military experience, disapproved of him for granting clemency to draft dodgers. Lewis held his tongue and kept his temper but he realized that he didn't want to continue working for the VA. At the same time, Tom Downing unexpectedly announced that he wouldn't seek re-election. Downing's announcement is made years before it was expected and Lewis and his supporters thought it was too soon for him to run for Downing's seat. Lewis would have to sit it out for another two years, and in the mean time, watch helplessly as...