Sestak for Senate: He's the voice of reason in a season of anger

2012-03-29 06:48:43

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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pennsylvanians are not likely to find a more high-contrast choice Nov. 2 than in the race for U.S. Senate. Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat Joe Sestak are vying for the seat held by Arlen Specter for the last 30 years.

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Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Joe Sestak and Republican candidate Pat Toomey discuss the issues.

Mr. Toomey wants to reduce the role of government on virtually every front. Mr. Sestak believes government should play a role in improving the lives of Americans. Based on interviews with both candidates, the choice for the Post-Gazette is easy.

In a nation with double-digit unemployment, businesses shipping jobs overseas, a health reform targeted for repeal by special interests, a Congress incapable of forging smart energy policy and a tax-cut extension that could shower billions of dollars on the rich when the deficit can ill afford it -- Joe Sestak is the voice of reason.

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A two-term congressman from Delaware County, Mr. Sestak, 58, had a 31-year Navy career, which peaked at the rank of three-star vice admiral as he commanded an aircraft carrier group during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. His service gives him insight, beyond his work on Capitol Hill, to the complex machinery of government and the pressures by powerful forces not allied with the public interest. When Mr. Sestak tells of the need to wrap up the U.S. role in Afghanistan, he speaks from the perspective of a warrior opposing the terror threat in Pakistan. When he calls for a rollback in military spending, he does so as a former commander who knows which systems work and which don't.


First Published October 17, 2010 12:00 am
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