Politics isn't Shurtleff's only interest. He's working on a novel about Dred Scott, the slave who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom and galvanized opposition to slavery, which led to the election of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.

"I love my history," Shurtleff said, with the same enthusiasm he used to describe his love of old monster movies. He said he devoured stories about various periods in American history as a child and as an adult.

Love of his country still moves Shurtleff to tears, as do some of the cases he's seen as attorney general. "I'm a very emotional guy. I cry. I cry a lot. When it comes to my family or my country or other people and their stories, I often cry in public," he said.

He's concerned that some people think the tears are insincere. "I worry about that because what do people think? Crocodile tears. A politician looking for sympathy, looking for votes. I don't like it when I do it," Shurtleff said. "But I don't want to lose it."

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