Hundreds Mourn Metzenbaum

Hundreds of relatives, friends, and fellow politicians gathered outside Cleveland yesterday for the funeral of Howard Metzenbaum, recalling the ex-senator as a fighter for the little guy and a self-made millionaire who never forgot his modest roots, the Plain Dealer reports. "No one . . . was a better ally or a fiercer champion," Al Gore said of Metzenbaum, whom Dennis Kucinich recalled as "one of the greatest senators of the 20th century."

Metzenbaum, who died last week at 90, served 19 years in the Senate, establishing himself as an uncompromising crusader for liberal causes and a master parliamentarian. "I can hear him now, saying, 'I object,'" said Gore. "In the American Century, Howard Metzenbaum was the quintessential American," said his son-in-law. In his honor, flags on Ohio's public buildings will fly at half-staff through sunset today. (More obituary stories.)