Life’s Work

by digby

I’m very sorry that Senator Kennedy is facing the challenge of brain cancer and I hope he will have a full recovery. My mother died of the same thing many years ago and it’s a tough road.

But may I just point out how distasteful it is that the gasbags are giving a continuous eulogy for someone who’s still alive? If I were him, I don’t think I’d appreciate it.

I also can’t help but be stuck by the irony of the fact that they keep mentioning that he will get the best medical care in the world. It’s true, of course. He is not only a multi-millionaire but also a member of congress and the taxpayers pay for them to have the kind of insurance that most of us can only dream of these days. (Of course, among others who are also so privileged are the commentators who keep exclaiming about the exceptional medical care he’s receiving.)

I certainly don’t begrudge him the best of care and I doubt that anyone with a sense of decency would. But the fact that he has been the biggest champion, unsuccessfully, for universal health care for all Americans makes the whole discussion about his marvelous care somewhat dissonant. The last thing anyone should have to deal with when they or a family member gets a diagnosis like this is whether or not they will be able to get proper care or whether their financial lives will be ruined because of it. But for most of us, that is very much a priority when these things happen and a good many of us can’t count on getting the best health care in the world even though we live in a country that well provides it to those who can afford it.

Somehow, I don’t think this would escape Ted Kennedy. But the broadcasters, unsurprisingly, seem to be completely oblivious to it.

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