Is It Back to the House for Andrews?
Watching the campaign of Rob Andrews for the United States Senate has been difficult. Congressman Andrews is an intelligent and thoughtful official who has a keen interest in public policy. By most accounts, he was next in line to run for the Senate when Senator Lautenberg retires in 2014 or for Governor if Governor Corzine decides not to run for re-election in 2009. However, it appears that his impatience and the threat that possibly one of his colleagues might run in 2009 or 2014 encouraged him to get involved this time around. He could have orchestrated a positive issue-based campaign, thereby creating an aura of inevitability for a future run. Or he could have chosen the path he did follow: a harshly negative campaign in which a major loss means political oblivion. Or does it?
Why he chose to go the slash-and-burn-route is anyone’s guess, but after serving a decade-plus in the House of Representatives and the late night commute back from D.C., the Congressman may have outlived his stay at the House and decided it was either up or out. Therefore, he chose to go all out against Senator Lautenberg in an attempt to win a ticket to the upper chamber. On Tuesday, voters decided that for Congressman Andrews, it was not time to move up but rather to move out.
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Michael M. Shapiro, founder of ShapTalk.com, is an attorney who resides in New Providence,