BY PAUL BARTON
Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON -- In all likelihood, Sen. John Glenn, a former astronaut who is returning to space, has cast his last vote in the Senate -- No. 9,414.
Mr. Glenn, 77, who is retiring after 24 years in the Senate, will go to Houston today for the last phase of training before his Oct. 29 launch aboard the shuttle Discovery.
"Yeah, I'll miss it, sure," Mr. Glenn, a Democrat, said Wednesday. "But you move on to other things. That's it."
What he will miss most, he said, "is being able to work on things that I have a particular interest in."
What was likely his last roll-call vote was recorded Tuesday as the Senate was trying to decide whether to shut off debate on a motion to proceed with consideration of legislation related to Internet taxation. Mr. Glenn voted with the majority on to shut off debate.
The procedural motion was a far cry from the scores of newsmaking issues -- Panama Canal, Persian Gulf War and the landmark Reagan and Clinton tax packages, to name a few -- that have defined his career. As his space-shuttle training has intensified, Mr. Glenn has missed an increasing number of votes, but his staff insists he hasn't been absent when he could have made a difference against the Republican majority.
The official count through Wednesday shows Sen. Glenn has missed 52 of 292 Senate votes so far this year, dropping his attendance record to 82 percent, according to watchdog group Project Vote Smart.
Most members, especially those seeking re-election, have attendance records of 95 percent or better.
Mr. Glenn has told Senate Democratic leaders he would rush back to Washington from Houston if they needed his vote on a key issue, but he doubts that would be necessary before Congress adjourns Oct. 9.
Meanwhile, Mr. Glenn's pending departure has not gone unnoticed. His colleagues gave him a standing ovation at this week's meeting of the Senate Democratic Caucus. And many floor tributes are likely before Congress leaves next week.
Mr. Glenn said he would like to find a way to give his own farewell speech on the Senate floor, but he doesn't know if it will be possible. As he reflected on his political career with Ohio reporters, Mr. Glenn said he hopes he will be remembered most for representing the views of mainstream Ohioans.
He said he doubted he would ever run for office again, despite talk of Mr. Glenn as a possible vice-presidential candidate.
But he said he never rules anything out.
"Annie and I want more time to ourselves," he said. "We still like to travel."
Mr. Glenn also refused to endorse the Democratic candidate for his seat, former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Mary Boyle. He said he has refrained from any endorsements to keep politics away from the Oct. 29 shuttle members.
"It's a self-imposed rule, I guess," he said. "I want to fit in with them down there."
But, Mr. Glenn added, "I remain a Democrat and I do plan to vote an absentee ballot."
Now, Mr. Glenn is focused on his Oct. 29 shuttle mission.
"I am really looking forward to this, as you all know," he said. The Ohio senator, who in 1962 became the first American to orbit Earth, will participate in experiments on the similarities of the aging process and space flight on the human body.
Some have criticized NASA for placing Mr. Glenn on the flight, arguing he is too fit to provide an accurate reflection of how aging mimics the physical effects of space flight.
To that, the senator said, "You don't want to send a sick old geezer up there."
Previews of Glenn's shuttle mission
