When Tom Carper ran against Bill Roth in 2000, he made age the issue while claiming that age was not the issue. Of course, age wasn’t the issue, said Carper. Energy was. Don’t believe me?
Read this piece on that race from 2000. Won’t take you long to find the money quote.
Here’s how Tom ‘Let Me Drop Down And Give You 10. Pushups That Is’ Carper described why he should be Senator:
“Whether a person is 59 or 69 or 79 is not so important, the important thing is the energy they have and the ability to function effectively for the next six years,” Carper has said. “I’ve got a lot of energy. I go real hard day and night.”
And he did. But now, he’s Shufflin’ Tom. His appearances are carefully stage-managed by his staff. Selective and limited. Often holding a giant prop check. Rarely engaging in a substantive policy conversation. He is now running against a multi-tasker like Kerri Harris, who has faced and understands challenges that Tom the former Golden Boy never had to face. If this race is about energy, Tom Carper has run out of gas somewhere and is fumbling with his cellphone.
Let’s be honest. If Tom Carper is to be held to the standard that Carper himself has laid out which, if you’ve forgotten is “…the important thing is the energy they have and the ability to function effectively for the next six years”, then Tom Carper has successfully argued that Tom Carper should not be our Senator going forward. Kerri Harris should.
Thank, you, Tom, for making such a strong case for your successor. Time to take your multiple pensions and shuffle off into the sunset.