Arlen Specter died Sunday, October 14th, 2012, at the age of 82. Specter left the United States Senate in 2011 after a 30-year career. Soon afterwards, he sat down for a series of extended oral history interviews with the Pennsylvania Cable Network. Specter reflects on events that take him from his Russian immigrant roots to his involvement in some of this country's most momentous events, from his work on the Warren Commission investigating President Kennedy's assassination to the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton. In this excerpt, Specter recounts his arrival in the U.S. Senate just as President Reagan began his first term and he describes the culture of the institution he would call home for three decades.