Posted on 08/20/2005 2:30:56 PM PDT by Sonny M
On a sweltering June afternoon, Eric Cantor was making his way on foot through Pouncey Tract Park in Henrico County and the track at Short Pump Middle School.
And not a bead of sweat appeared on his forehead or the back of his oxford cloth shirt.
Perhaps that is appropriate for a man who, on a regular basis, finds himself in the company of the president of the United States, discussing the issues of the day.
"It never ceases to amaze me that I'm in those meetings," Cantor said. "Sometimes, they are very intimate, not a lot of people are in them, and we will be in the residence, sitting on the Truman Balcony, overlooking the ellipse, talking to the president.
"It's one of those 'pinch me' moments."
A High-Profile Guy
Cantor, 42, is the elected representative from Virginia's 7th Congressional District to the U.S. House of Representatives.
And as if that's not enough, there is even more to Cantor's job title. He also is the chief deputy majority whip in the House.
Cantor's profile is reasonably high in Washington now, and there is speculation that one day it could be even higher. His name has been mentioned as a potential speaker of the house, one of the most powerful jobs in American government, and the man who is second in the line of succession for the presidency.
The person in that job is two heartbeats away from the Oval Office, and Cantor one day might be in that position, provided, of course, the Republican Party maintains the majority in the House of Representatives.
Cantor is power, walking.
Walking With Power
So let's say you're a reporter whose summer job is to walk around Richmond, and you're looking for interesting people to stroll around the campus with you, so to speak.
Who do you ask? Eric Cantor, of course. What good is it to dream if you don't dream big?
And Cantor's response?
Glad to, he said.
And one afternoon after he had addressed his daughter's middle school social studies class, Cantor shed his blazer and took a stroll around campus, so to speak.
"When I come home, my wife and I try to walk in Wyndham," Cantor said of the time he spends at his house in his western Henrico neighborhood. "There is a loop that is about three miles, and we try to do that at least once a weekend.
"It gives us a little time together, and that's a good walk, three miles. It takes a good hour, hour and twenty minutes."
Just a Neighbor, Sometimes
He will see plenty of his constituents on those walks, but those are the moments when his constituents permit him to be just a neighbor, a husband walking with his wife.
Those moments are few for Cantor, as they are for any elected official.
When a politician accepts an office, he's pretty much signing up for duty 24/7/365. The government's business is vast, complex and never-ending. The voters' problems, including their problems with government, are just as vast, complex and never-ending. During the moments a politician steps into public, he is surrendering his private life.
And with the advent of cell phones and the ubiquitous Blackberry, an elected official often ends up surrendering his private life even in the privacy of his home.
Hard to Find Privacy
"This doesn't allow you to escape duty," Cantor said, pointing at the Blackberry on his belt. "I try not to have it on at home, but if I do, and it keeps going off and going off, I'll answer it.
"But when I'm with my kids, I try not to. I'll never forget the time when they were younger and we were playing putt-putt. They got mad at me because I wouldn't get off the phone. They were saying, 'Dad, what are you doing? Get off that thing.'"
Well, even the deputy whip in the House of Representatives is not so powerful that he can create a backup at the windmill hole and hope that his children will let him get away with it.
Cantor and his wife, Diana, have three children: two sons, Evan, 14, and Michael, 10, and a daughter, Jenna, 12. Diana Cantor is the executive director of the Virginia College Savings Plan and a member of the Media General board of directors. Media General is the parent company of The Times-Dispatch.
Tremendous Honor, Lots of Work
"When I'm in Richmond, these are the people who elected me, and when we go out, I'm going to be on duty," Cantor said. "We all try to put that in perspective. To be elected to serve in the House of Representatives is a tremendous honor."
Despite what you might hear in the opening monologues on the late-night talk shows, a tremendous amount of work comes with that tremendous honor. Cantor's day starts at 6:45 a.m., usually in the members' gym in the Rayburn House Office Building.
"That's good because it gets me in early, which allows me to miss the traffic," he said. "That's also when I begin to get the news. The TVs are going in the gym, and other members are there, so those workouts also are a great source of information."
An hour later, he's in his office, reading newspapers, online as well as the printed versions.
Fundraising Is Crucial
Then comes a breakfast fundraiser or breakfast with other House members, with the business of the day beginning in the House at 10 a.m. Fund raising is no small part of a politician's job now, and Cantor and all other members of Congress also has fundraising receptions and dinners in the evenings.
And one role of the deputy whip is to travel the country helping other House members raise funds.
If you watch C-SPAN, though, you also are aware that congressmen have days that never seem to end.
"We're often voting at 7 or 8 in the evening," Cantor said. "The day finally begins to wind down around 10, and that's when you catch up on the reading you didn't have time for during the day, plus, you're surfing the channels to see what the networks are saying.
Exercise Clears the Mind "To clear my mind at the end of the day, I'll do 50 sit-ups and 50 pushups, then read a book. But about three minutes into that, I'm asleep."
And then day breaks in Crystal City, where Cantor has an apartment, and he's heading to the members' gym for another day that never seems to end.
But, the pay is not bad, the benefits are exceptional and there is this:
"I'm never numb to the fact that I'm walking through the Capitol," Cantor said. "That is a very humbling thing. It's a privilege just to be there.
"I don't think it ever really grows old on you." -- P.W.
Blunt has the votes and the organization and tact of Tom Delay, but Mike Pence is also well respected and header the study committee meaning he has the backing of a majority of the conservatives in the GOP in the house.
I do like Cantor, and I know he gives liberals and leftys fits (the fact that he is jewish draws the anti-semitism out of them).
Your opinions and insights please.
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