I only had a chance to meet Senator Bill Roth a couple of times. Both when he was on the campaign trail. The first was on Market Street Mall in Wilmington with one of his Saint Bernards accompanying him, and then by himself in front of my local grocery store. Both times I shook his hand and said hi. But, I really didn't stop and talk with him. He didn't need to convince me to vote for him. His actions as a US Senator were enough to do that.
His political party affiliation was something that many of Delaware citizens weren't concerned about. We weren't voting for a party, but rather a person. One who proved over and over that he was in Washington on our behalf. President Bush has called him the People's Champion, and you'll find little disagreement in Delaware. Many of us felt the same way that Senator Biden does when he mentioned in a statement from Sunday that, "There is no one in public life that I trusted more than Bill Roth."
Celia Cohen, from the Delaware Grapevine puts into perspective for us the impact upon Delaware that Bill Roth had in an adaptation from her Book titled Only in Delaware, on State politics from the end of World War Two until 2000. She also has posted the obituary released by his family which does a little more to describe the impact he upon the Nation and the World.
The Wilmington News Journal has a number of other articles on Senator Roth:
Roth's final role: grandfather
Roth's tax cutting 'changed the world'
From his IRA to tax cuts, Roth was a force in politics
He 'had a rare breed of elegance'
I wish that on one of those two opportunities I had to shake Senator Roth's hand that I had also thanked him. But, I think he knew the high regard people in Delaware had for him.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday afternoon at 2pm at the University of Delaware's Clayton Hall.
