I met Jack Kemp when the other three Republicans at Princeton and I visited Capitol Hill during the spring of my junior year. Kemp was a hot ticket among a strong group of young GOP rising stars at the time. Nevertheless, he was quite gracious with his time and advice on behalf of four college kids who did not even live in his district.

Twenty-four years later, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp was the featured speaker at my inauguration as governor of Maryland. He was, and remains, an inspiration to me and so many others who came to political maturity during the 1980s.