Sharing Hope Instead of Slinging Mud

There's Hope.

Most of us are pretty sick of mudslinging by now, so I was grateful to find some political party warmth in the form of a post by conservative columnist and three-time cancer survivor Robert D. Novak about his current battle with brain cancer.  (read the full text of his column by clicking here.)

Novak wants people to know about “the reaction to my disease, mostly compassionate, that belies Washington’s reputation.”

Just a few months ago, doctors operated on senator Ted Kennedy’s brain tumor.  Through a series of connections, Novak ended up in contact with one of his political rivals and found that

“The Kennedys were not concerned by political and ideological differences when someone’s life was at stake, recalling at least the myth of milder days in Washington. My long conversation with Vicki Kennedy filled me with hope.”

Novak found equal compassion from President Bush, who had also been the subject of criticism in some of  Novak’s columns.  He writes.

“There are mad bloggers who profess to take delight in my distress, but there’s no need to pay them attention in the face of such an outpouring of good will for me.  I had thought 51 years of rough-and-tumble journalism in Washington made me more enemies than friends, but my recent experience suggests the opposite may be the case.”

I wish cancer didn’t have to be the catalyst, but it heartens me to know compassion crosses party lines.  I needed that.