and even if you kissed his ring, he still might slap your face with his hand and say he's not going to support you. he was absolutely ruthless in that role as well. but he was a tremendously polarizing figure both nationally and in the state because of the way he just had no patience for the niceties, as his famous hanging up on people without saying good-bye from president obama all the way to some person that a friend of his who might've called him. there's no one who was going to replace harry reid. his machine is still intact, and the gears are still being oiled by the same people he put in place. but it'll never be the same. and, again, i've used this word way too often and i'll use it again i think for the third time in this interview. his ruthlessness was part of what defined him. but he always thought he was being ruthless in service of what he thought was the right