About a decade ago, back when he was either running for re-election to Congress or bid for the U.S. Senate, Joe Sestak paid us a visit at our office in Primos and sat down without our editorial board.
Yes, it was a long time ago. Back when we actually had an editorial board.
I remember walking out of the conference room, back over to my office, and remarking to my lead columnist and fellow board member Gil Spencer: "That guy doesn't want to be in Congress; he wants to be president."
I wasn't wrong.
Among the many things I was expecting to deal with Sunday - like the Phillies somehow managing to get swept by the lowly Marlins and whether manager Gabe Kapler is going to be able to survive - the one thing I was not expecting to deal with was a presidential bid by Delco's own Joe Sestak.
But I got a voicemail from a local pol early in the afternoon telling me to check the PoliticsPa website.
Yes, Joe Sestak is joining the fray, making that an even two dozen - 24 - Democrats seeking the party's nod to oppose President Donald Trump in 2020.
Sestak made his announcement by rolling out a video. He's touting his campaign as 'Admiral Joe.' Remember, Sestak was a three-star admiral.
He's also a bit of a maverick.
Just ask his fellow Democrats.
Back in 2010 he gave up his seat in the House - the one he won by showing 10-term incumbent Republican Curt Weldon the door - to run for the Senate.
But he had a problem. Incumbent Republican Arlen Specter, an endangered species known as a moderate in the increasingly conservative GOP, saw the writing on the wall in a primary challenge from Pat Toomey. So Specter did what Arlen Specter always did - survive. He switched parties and was welcomed with open arms by Democratic leaders.
But not Joe Sestak.
President Barack Obama, VP Joe Biden - who is now stands as the Dem front-runner in the 2020 Dem donnybrook - and even Gov. Ed Rendell all urged Sestak to step aside to make room for Specter.
The admiral would not budge.
Not only that, but he beat them all - Specter and the leaders of his own party - ending Specter's political life by beating him in the primary. But he lost the general election to Toomey.
He ran again six years later and lost the endorsement when Democrats - and the big party money - got behind state Department of Environmental Protection boss Katie McGinty. She also lost to Toomey.
Sestak admits he's getting into the race late. He says that is in part due to a relapse by his daughter Alex, who has battled cancer for years. I'll admit I have no idea what he's up to. Do I think he has a shot to win the nomination? No.
Do I think he has something valuable to contribute? Absolutely. He always does.
Maybe he's laying the groundwork - and restoring his public profile - in the hopes of tangling with Toomey again.
I can guarantee this. Democrats would be making a mistake - again - by underestimating him. No one will outwork Joe Sestak. Just ask anyone who's ever worked for him. He's earned that reputation as a very tough task master, according to some folks the boss from hell. He routinely met voters at train stop in the pre-dawn darkness. And he once walked the entire length of Pennsylvania to listen to voters along the way.
But his heart has always been in the right place.
And that's certainly something the country could use right now.
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