Politicos are asking whether Democrat Joe Sestak will run to regain his former seat in Congress, now held by a Republican.

But the better question is: Did Sestak ever stop running?

Sestak is the former admiral and Delaware County congressman who fell short in his 2010 bid for Senate by little more than 80,000 votes out of almost 4 million cast.

His loss wasn't for a lack of trying. The New York Times Magazine in August 2010 characterized Sestak's campaign style as "somewhere between tireless and maniacal." It memorably described the then-58-year-old at a small-town Fourth of July parade. Sestak ran up one side of the street to shake hands, then crossed the street, backtracking on a diagonal to shake the hands he missed.

"Sestak … kept up this zigzag pattern for two hours along a nearly two-mile route, some of it up a steep hill," the Times reported. " … When his left foot cramped and he started to limp, he commented that maybe the loafers he was wearing were not the best shoes for running."

Sestak came from way behind to knock off turncoat incumbent Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary in 2010. He then gave Republican Pat Toomey reason to sweat. But Sestak lost, and it was unfamiliar territory. That failure gnaws at him.

"I would have loved serving in the Senate," he said Monday, "but, you know, I wasn't smart enough to figure it out. I should have been better, smarter."

I pointed out that losing by only 2 percent was notable in a year when other Democrats got massacred. But Sestak wanted none of it, repeating, "I could have figured it out, and I didn't."

Now Sestak says he's trying to figure out what to do next. He knows other potential Democratic candidates are impatiently waiting to see if he's going to challenge Rep. Pat Meehan. The winner in November will represent the newly gerrymandered 7th District, which twists through five counties, snagging a piece of eastern Lancaster County.

If he decides not to run, Sestak said he'll seek a private position to address education, small business development or another issue close to his heart while keeping options open for a statewide race down the road.

But Sestak does not sound like a guy who'd be happy behind a desk. He was most animated when he spoke about being on the campaign trail and competing in the public arena.

A bit boastfully, he said he's been on CNN, MSNBC, Fox and others "about 150 times" since the election.

And, more tellingly, he talked of how he devoted the past year to going to every county to thank volunteers and to cities across the country to thank contributors. "After I was done with that in November, then I started going to one or two counties a week just so that I didn't lose touch" with voters and local media, he said.

Sestak said voters, regardless of party, feel the American dream is broken. They're looking for principled, pragmatic leadership, he said, adding, "They want to know if you have their back when you get (in office); and too few do."

Sestak says he hasn't decided what he's going to do. But he sure sounds like he's honing his message and lacing up his running shoes.

jhawkes@lnpnews.com