Senator’s press secretary and friend chooses Maris Grove

By Lauren Campione and
Mark Abromaitis
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

From Maris Grove, in Glen Mills, Pa., Bob Cunningham still keeps his finger on the pulse of the Delaware political scene and campaigns for his favorite candidates.

One of those candidates is U.S. Senator Joe Biden, from Delaware.

That’s because Cunningham served as press secretary for Biden in his first Senate campaign in 1972, and has worked in all of Biden’s subsequent campaigns.

For the last 20 years of his professional life and in retirement, Cunningham served on Biden’s Senate staff in Wilmington and Washington, D.C. “It gave me a box seat on the world,” Cunningham says of the experience.

“Every day, you get off the train and see the flag flying over the capitol,” Cunningham explains. “Your heart skips a beat and gives a little flip. If you ever lose that, you shouldn’t be in the business. And I never did.”

Growing political roots
Looking back on the political climate of the late 1960s and early 1970s when Biden and Cunningham first teamed up, Biden credits Cunningham as the person who encouraged him to expand his political horizons.

Cunningham and Biden helped grow a down-and-out Democratic Party in Delaware.

“Bob Cunningham is the reason that I am a senator today,” Biden says. “He was a major player in the reform movement of the Democratic Party, who brought a depth of knowledge and intellect to our campaigns, playing a major role in my Senate offices.”

Biden continues, “Bob has been part of the team writing my speeches, scripting, and editing them throughout my career, and he continues this role even in his retirement.”

Presidential optimism
Cunningham will play an important role in Biden’s current campaign for the presidency in 2008.

“I won’t be banging on doors or stuffing envelopes, but I will be writing for him,” Cunningham explains.