October 05, 2008

"Tom Davis Gives Up"

is the headline of a piece in this week’s New York Times Magazine on Tom Davis ‘71, a seven term Republican congressman from Virginia. Davis has decided not to seek re-election, citing the growing partisan malfunctioning in Congress and a “hijacking” of his party by social conservatives.

The fascinating piece by Peter Baker, who has covered Davis for over two decades, is a mini-biography of the Congressman, dipping all the way back to a childhood move from North Dakota to Washington D.C. as the catalyst for a life spent in politics.

While the article touches on several points of adversity in Davis’ life and career—from dealing with an alcoholic father, to his unwilling role in the Terry Schiavo affair and his ouster from the current U.S. Senate race in Virginia … by his own party—the overall tone is one of respect and admiration; the central theme of the piece recalls Davis’ ability to work in a bi-partisan fashion, now a lost art in Congress. Even potential rivals conveyed their respect for Davis when quoted in the article:

“Tom has taken some arrows for being willing to work across party lines,” Mark Warner, the former Democratic governor who would have been Davis’s opponent had he run for Senate, told me recently. “He was always a hard-core fighter for increasing the Republican majority. But he also thought you could have professional differences without making it personal.”

Although Davis’ fatigue and frustration are made evident throughout the article, Baker concludes by noting a rejuvenation of Davis’ spirit in the classrooms at George Mason University, where the congressman now lectures on politics. Could Davis run again for the Virginia’s other U.S. Senate seat in 2012?

“I can step back in it if I want — if they’re looking for a problem solver,” he said. “But right now, neither party is looking for that.”

Thanks to James Dubick ‘99 for the pointer.

Photo credit: Jeff Mermelstein for The New York Times

Dave Nardolillo '98 | October 5, 2008 04:08 PM | Alumni

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