jack torry
COMMENTARY
WASHINGTON — Retired Sen. George V. Voinovich felt like talking to a reporter who had covered him for a couple of decades. So using his own cell phone, he telephoned and left a voice message.
No assistant to set up an interview. Nobody to make the call. “I’m now my own secretary and advance person,’’ he likes to joke.
But as he relaxes with his wife, Janet, in their winter apartment in Florida, Voinovich has remained fixated on current issues. In particular, he has watched the revolution unfold in Egypt and it reminded him of the last time he was in that country, during the New Year’s Eve holiday in 2008.
He did not meet that time with Hosni Mubarak, the ousted Egyptian president. But he and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., spent time with Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi, the Egyptian defense minister who has emerged as de facto ruler of the country.
They began by talking about ways to seal the border between Egypt and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. But the conversation eventually turned to what would happen after Mubarak left office. At the time, Mubarak was trying to maneuver his son, Gamal, into the presidency.
“The guy to me was a straight shooter,’’ Voinovich said of Tantawi. “He seemed like the type of person interested in its country and its future and understood they have a problem in terms of the succession. He gave me the distinct impression they knew they had a problem.’’
At no point did Tantawi acknowledge that Gamal was the wrong person. But Voinovich was impressed with his candor. “He was a player,’’ Voinovich said. And he is convinced that Tantawi can help transform Egypt into some form of functioning democracy.
“I think he’s going to do everything in his power to put some kind of a coalition together,’’ Voinovich said. He predicted Egypt would emerge as a democratic nation “because it’s in their interests. They have no interest in having chaos and having Egypt slip away.’’
Voinovich also praised President Barack Obama and his administration for the way they handled the toppling of Mubarak, a long-time U.S. ally. “Maybe they should have moved a little quicker, but it was a delicate thing.’’
Two months into his retirement, Voinovich is not completely sure how well he has adjusted. “People ask, ‘How do you like retirement?’ And I tell them, “Ask me in a year.’’
He and Janet are spending the winter on the Florida west coast in a one-bedroom unit they have had since 1997. They walk four miles every day and he swims 40 laps in a pool almost every day. By the first week of March, they’ll return to Cleveland for spring and summer.
Oh, there was one another memory from that trip to Egypt. He and Janet joined Specter and his wife at a hotel overlooking the Pyramids, assuming there would be a dazzling fireworks show. Instead at midnight, the lights shining on the Pyramids blinked out. The Pyramids completely were dark and not a firework anywhere in sight.
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