“In truth, I am nothing but a plodding mediocrity — please observe, a plodding mediocrity — for a mere mediocrity does not go very far, but a plodding one gets quite a distance. There is joy in that success, and a distinction can come from courage, fidelity and industry.”
Those words belong to Benjamin N. Cardozo, educated in New York’s schools and at Columbia University, a man who would become a Supreme Court justice. A lifelong Democrat, he was nominated by a Republican, Herbert Hoover, and unanimously passed Senate confirmation, and that is but one way we are reminded of how things used to be.