“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat”
- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States
John Herbert Adler was man of the arena; sometimes right, sometimes wrong, but always valiant and daring. He never feared a fight and constantly hurled himself into the brutality of the public eye to serve the causes he believed in and the people he represented.
I, like I imagine many who had worked on John’s 2008 congressional campaign, was shocked and deeply saddened to learn yesterday of his untimely death. Only 51 years old, he leaves behind a wonderful young family and a seemingly limitless potential born of study, ability, and conviction - a tragedy on every level.
Politics, of which John was an active and thorough participant, has a great many limitations. Chief among those limitations is its treatment of time; a constant obsession with the future, a mild dwelling on the present and a perpetual disregard for the past. The arena has little interest in what came before and a manic devotion to “what’s next.” So before John’s passing is swept from view in order to make way for whatever is next I would like to submit a word or two for John Adler…
I first met John in 2004 at R Mac’s Pub in Haddonfield. He was giving a speech on behalf of John Kerry’s ill-fated Presidential campaign. I am slightly embarrassed to admit that, in preparing to cast my first ever presidential vote, I had naively supported General Wesley Clark in the primary. The thirty or so members of the New Jersey for Clark group were being folded into the Kerry campaign and John was there to both guide us along the road to reality and offer a testimonial on why we should support Senator Kerry, a man none of us had found appealing previously. It was a typical Adler performance; funny, articulate and utterly convincing. We went from suspecting Senator Kerry was the tree that threw apples at Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz to being comprehensively committed to a Kerry Presidency. Kerry never had a better surrogate.
John was one of the first of these “politician” creatures I had ever interacted with. Like any millennial, I was wary of politicians having been raised on a steady media diet of post-Watergate/Lewinsky stories and attitudes. Maybe I am a soft touch but John quickly dispelled any prejudices I had with his wit, sincerity, and command of the issues.
I hesitated to approach him to shake his hand but after some coaxing did and we shared a few words both being connected to Haddonfield and learning that he was actually my Senator. It was typical pleasant talk, a few words exchanged between two people in a brief moment in time seemingly meaningless and irrelevant until you find out the person has died and then it rushes back to you in an instant. I am glad I shook his hand.
Fast forward four years to 2008. John Kerry has become part of the disregarded past as the Bush presidency is winding down. The country is clearly ready for a change though the shape and form are still to be determined. I had been part of the Andrews for Senate race which had been a great experience despite the unpleasant outcome. It is difficult to explain the feelings of hope and possibility young people, let alone Democratic Party activists, had in 2008. It seemed the worm had turned and I was eager to be some part of the change.
Through surprisingly little begging I was offered a spot working for the Adler Campaign. I will spare the uninitiated the vagaries of McCain-Feingold and where I may have technically had an office. My job, diminutive though it was, was to track and research John’s opponent, Chris Myers. Myers was a fierce opponent with an impressive resume who had been anointed by the well loved retiring Congressman Jim Saxton. John was trying to win a congressional district that had been in Republican hands since 1882.
Though I spent most of the campaign tracking and researching Myers I would often get some video footage of John at some of his campaign events and was responsible for recording and transcribing every debate Myers and John had, there were over 20. Myers was relentlessly vicious. There was no issue out of bounds or not worth distorting to try and gain a vote to two, and in that congressional district a vote or two could have been the difference. It was difficult to watch, the issues had not changed so it was just the same old nasty attacks in front of 20 or so different groups of people. It seemed to me that John essentially drove to numerous different places with the full knowledge that he would be expected to stand up in front of a new group of people and have Myers kick him in the pants again.
But that is, for better or worse, what it means to be in the arena of American politics and John was a man of the arena. There were no tears or pleas for pity, just a steely determination and a quick grin as John walked into the spotlight knowing the carnage that was to follow. He bared it with style, never faltering and never taking the bait. There were a few instances of clear disgust that may or may not have lead to some mutterings under his breath (I’ll never tell) but the people of the third congressional district saw John’s integrity, his valiance and daring as they wisely decided he was worthy of their trust and that he should know the triumph of high achievement. I am glad I shook his hand.
John was originally from my hometown of Haddonfield. He often spoke of his father’s dry cleaning business in town, which in a cruel twist of fate his family lost after his father died of a heart attack when John was a boy. Haddonfield, like many towns in New Jersey, has a history that should not be disregarded. It was founded by Quakers and still has a Friends Quaker school where many of my boyhood friends attended. Though few in town are Quakers - John would find his spiritual fulfillment in Judaism- the culture of Quakerism does rub off on us town folk. There is a Quaker sentiment that I believe truly fit John’s life, at the least the small part I witnessed. Peace in the center.
John did not avoid or detach himself from the harsh realities and difficulties of his life, especially his political career, but he did not fully succumb to them either. He understood the capricious nature of politics; here today, gone tomorrow. And that is all the more reason why he should be commended for entering the arena, because how someone faces adversity is the true test of character. To be resilient when life is bleak, to find poise in chaotic circumstances, to find peace in the center - because only if you have been in the deepest valley can you know how glorious it is to be on the highest mountain top.
So I would like to submit a word or two for John Adler…
Rest in Peace.