The Race Against Santorum, McLaughlin Passes

Dr. Chuck Pennacchio is the only candidate so far in the race and I believe he will survive the primaries and will defeat Rick Santorum. He replied to my email from yesterday. When he's elected (Pennsylvania will not re-elect Santorum...), he will most likely be the first Democratic Senator since the late Senator Paul Wellstone to hold a Ph.D. I like what I have been hearing and reading about this guy.

I offer my condolences to the family of the late Massachusetts Lt. Governor Edward F. McLaughlin, Jr., who has passed away at the age of 84 on Friday. The AP reports:

Former Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Edward F. McLaughlin Jr., who became close friends with President John F. Kennedy while the two served together in the Navy during World War II, has died. He was 84.[...]

McLaughlin, whose son called him a "true Kennedy Democrat," was lieutenant governor under John Volpe, Republican governor from 1961 to 1963. It was the last time the governor and lieutenant governor were from different parties; a 1966 constitutional amendment required candidates from the same party to run together.[...]

McLaughlin served with Kennedy in the same PT boat squadron in the Solomon Islands. The two became friends, discussing Boston politics during off-duty hours. When McLaughlin was hospitalized with dengue fever, Kennedy was put in the adjoining bed after he was rescued from the sinking of the PT-109.

After the war, McLaughlin attended Northeastern University Law School and campaigned for Kennedy in his run for Congress. Kennedy later sponsored McLaughlin's appointment as an assistant U.S. attorney in Boston. McLaughlin resigned from the U.S. attorney's office to run for Boston City Council, where he served from 1953 to 1961.

Following his run for governor, McLaughlin was general counsel of the Massachusetts Transportation Authority for nine years and worked for two Boston law firms.