Why would you let her film you in your office in Washington for a show called “My Life on the D-List”?

She asked me if I would do it, and if you say no, then you get demonized as someone who is afraid. So she came to my office and said, “I demand that you pass the repeal — don’t ask, don’t tell — by tomorrow, and if not, it will be a bitter pill.” I said, “Well, it won’t be the only pill you swallow this week, I’m sure.”

Photo

What were you implying? Is she a pill popper?

I said what I said.

For all your love of financial regulation, you’ve joined with the libertarian Republican Ron Paul to write bills that would shrink government. Do you think your bill to legalize marijuana will ever pass?

Yes, in the next five years.

Will that expand the tax base? As a nation, do you think we could smoke our way to solvency?

I want to be clear; that’s not my major motivation. My major motivation is personal freedom. When we outlaw marijuana or online gambling, all you do is create more criminals and deprive us of revenue.

Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.

You also have a bill to cut military spending.

Ron and I again are saying that we are way overextended. The cold war is over, and we’re still acting as if America has to protect everybody in the world. The average American has no sympathy for keeping 15,000 Marines on Okinawa 65 years after the war ended.

You grew up in Bayonne, N.J., and attended Harvard and Harvard Law School; why do you still speak with a New Jersey accent?

I’m told that Walter Kissinger, Henry’s brother, was once asked: “Walter, you don’t have an accent and Henry does. How come?” Walter said, “I listen to people.” I hope that’s not the explanation.

Any plans for a summer vacation?

Well, we do have a campaign, and everyone should be campaigning. My partner, Jim, and I are going to California this month. I’m going to do a fund-raiser for Senator Boxer, speak to the Orange County Democrats and also just hang out.

What did you think when Boxer’s Republican opponent, Carly Fiorina, was caught on an open mic dissing Boxer’s hair as “so yesterday”?

It was a kind of small thing that tells you a lot. There’s a lack of seriousness and also, I’m told, a kind of nastiness that people don’t like. It’s important to be likable when you run for office. The first time I ran, I was too aggressive; I wasn’t likable. The second time I ran, I was more likable.

Do you think a person can chose to be likable?

You can choose to be less unlikable.