Howard Baker (born November 15, 1925) is a former Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee and a former United States Ambassador to Japan. Known in Washington, D.C. as the "Great Conciliator," Baker is often regarded as one of the most successful Senators in terms of brokering compromises, enacting legislation, and maintaining civility. A story is sometimes told of a reporter telling a senior Democratic senator that privately, a plurality of his Democratic colleagues would vote for Baker for President of the United States. The senator is reported to have replied, "You're wrong. He'd win a majority."
