The Other Sick Congressman

Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA) has lung cancer that has spread to his liver and he's going home for Hospice treatment. The tone of the article certainly makes it sound like he's going home for good. This is bad news and I hope for the best with his recovery.

It does occur to me, however, that the President's State of the Union Address was the first time I heard ANYTHING about the fact that Norwood was even sick, when Bush mentioned that Norwood wasn't in the Capitol that night. Contrast that with the bouts of hysteria that occasioned Sen. Tim Johnson's brain surgery, from which he is recovering nicely. I understand that Johnson's presence essentially gave the Democrats the majority in Congress, and Norwood's does not. Still, this is a near-total media blackout about a sitting Republican US Congressman's condition on the one hand, and something of a death watch about a sitting Democratic US Senator on the other.

I guess it's too much to ask to expect some consistency.