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For Md.'s Cardin, the Delight Is in the Details
U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin and his wife of more than 40 years, Myrna, met as children growing up "in a neighborhood where families knew everybody."
(By Melina Mara -- The Washington Post)
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Cardin was still in law school when he was elected to the State House in 1966 as one of the seven delegates from northwest Baltimore's old 5th District. He rapidly distinguished himself and in 1979 became speaker of the House at age 34 -- the youngest speaker in 100 years.
He was "a whiz kid," said former Maryland House speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. of Cumberland, who served with Cardin. "We got along beautifully from Day One because of his ability to reach out," Taylor said. "He did not ignore the rural parts of the state, which, obviously, I cared a great deal about."
Far from "a city slicker," Cardin was an organized, disciplined, studious consensus-builder, Taylor said.
By 1986, Cardin said, he felt he had accomplished all he could at the state level. He ran for and was elected to Congress, representing Maryland's 3rd District, which includes parts of Baltimore City and Baltimore, Howard and Anne Arundel counties. In Congress, he specialized in health care for senior citizens. He voted against the war in Iraq, has called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and has criticized the United Nations for what he said is its chronic bias against Israel.
He believes it is again time to move on.
"It's right for me to leave Congress now," he said. "I've been there 20 years. I'm proud of my record."
He believes the House has changed, just in the past six years. "It's become much more partisan," he said. "I think that my skills of bringing people together can work best in the United States Senate."
Cardin has been married for more than 40 years. He met his wife in elementary school. "We grew up in a neighborhood where families knew everybody," he said. The couple has a daughter, Deborah, and two grandchildren.
The Cardins' son, Michael, 30, an outgoing, civic-minded Baltimore lawyer, took his life six years ago. He was an independent thinker and loved politics, the couple said. "We thought one day he might run for City Council," Myrna Cardin said. "He was a strategist. . . . He inhaled [political] races."
Ben Cardin said: "He did his own thing. Obviously I gave him opportunities, but he would find his own way to get involved."
His son's death "changed my focus on life," Cardin said. "It's hard to describe. . . . I think it points out the importance of not wasting any time. Try to get things done. Don't wait for tomorrow. Do things today."
One afternoon last month, Cardin stood at the top of the escalator at the Glenmont Metro stop greeting homebound commuters. Even here he was meticulous. He didn't ask passersby for their support, only their "consideration."
