N.J.'s octogenarian senator has no intention of calling it quits
2007-07-20
Source: Associated Press
Sen. Frank Lautenberg isn't surprised some people are questioning whether he's too old to serve.
email this
print this
del.icio.us
digg this
rss feedBut New Jersey's octogenarian senator says he has no intention of calling it quits.
"I'm in excellent health," says 83-year-old Lautenberg, who still puts in 12-hour days, downhill skis and sneaks in a round of golf when his schedule allows. "It was something that had to come up. To me, the issue is effectiveness — not age. It's what I've done."
More than half the respondents in a Quinnipiac University poll released this month said Lautenberg is too old to effectively serve another six-year term. In the poll, all voters expressed concern about Lautenberg's age. Yet, he held a 7-point lead over an unnamed Republican challenger if the election were held now.
People who work with Lautenberg attest to his physical fitness and mental acumen. He and his wife, Bonnie, vacationed in mountainous Machu Picchu, Peru, earlier this year. He participated in Tuesday's all-night session in the Senate and gave an impassioned speech on Iraq on the Senate floor in the morning.
His staff sometimes has trouble keeping up with him, said Scott Mulhauser, an adviser who joined Lautenberg's campaign staff in February.
If he wins, he would be 90 when his next term expires, in 2014.
Sen. Bob Menendez, the junior senator from New Jersey, says Lautenberg walks briskly from his Senate office in the Hart Building to the Capitol while younger senators like himself take the underground tram.
"When the tram's full of senators, Frank's walking," Menendez said. "If Frank hops on the tram, it's to work someone over on an issue. He's got a mission — otherwise he's walking."
Read More...
