When Thomas Kean, Jr. was considering colleges 20 years ago, the obvious choice was Princeton.
But rather than attend the university where generations of Keans had gone, and where his father, Thomas Kean, Sr. '57, served on the board of trustees, he chose Dartmouth. "I wanted to get into college on my own merits," Kean said in a recent interview with The Daily Princetonian.
Now, running neck-and-neck with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) in one of the nation's most closely watched midterm races, the Republican Kean (pronounced "Kane") must once again prove he is his own man, this time by convincing the voters of a traditionally "blue" state that he does not march in lockstep with a ruling party and president mired in all-time low poll numbers.
"Individually, I've always tried to reach across the partisan aisle," said Kean, currently a state senator and minority whip.
On no matter is this balancing act more critical or more delicate than on the war in Iraq, which has repeatedly topped lists of issues most important to voters.
While Menendez, who voted against the war, argues that President Bush never had a plan for success and that the conflict has made the United States less safe, Kean treads more cautiously, saying that he would have voted for the war given the circumstances at the time but blasting the administration's handling of the war.
Kean directs his most pointed criticism at Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld '54, whom he believes should resign. "I see Donald Rumsfeld as having an inability to change with the times," Kean said, adding that "horrendous mistakes were made" in Iraq, including "not sending enough troops to protect civilians and secure the borders."
But, Kean said, "As of today, the generals say that they don't need more troops."
Campaign tactics
Kean, who at 38 would be one of the youngest members of the Senate, said his campaign is making an effort to reach out to college-aged voters. "Voters aged 18 through 24, as a block, have some of the lowest turnout compared to other age groups," he said.
In an effort to gain their support, he has created MySpace and Facebook pages so that younger voters can "better understand the campaign and begin their voting career."
Kean has also made ethics a centerpiece of his campaign, repeatedly attacking Menendez for allegedly violating conflict of interest rules by renting property to a nonprofit organization that received federal funds.
"Corruption hurts people by increasing their taxes and reducing their hope in the future of New Jersey," he said. "What program wasn't funded because a politician took taxpayer money? We need to clean up Congress, because it has shown it can't police itself."
A family of public servants
Members of the Kean family have attended Princeton for 200 years, starting with Peter Kean, a graduate of the Class of 1807. A Kean was in South Carolina's delegation to the Continental Congress, and Kean's grandfather and great-grandfather were congressmen from New Jersey. His father served as New Jersey governor in the 1980s and was co-chair of the 9/11 Commission.
"I learned to believe that one person can make a difference," Kean said. "I grew up in a household that values public service."
Though Kean did not follow his father's footsteps to Old Nassau, "his father was very much a role model for him, who set high expectations," said politics professor Alvin Felzenberg, who recently published a biography of Tom Kean, Sr. "You can't grow up in that family without a sense of public service."
"It's important to be proud of your ancestors," Kean, Jr. said, "but it's also important to make sure that they would be proud of you."
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