Remember, guys, Arlen Specter had brain surgery

[Patiod]

The guy had both a brain tumor AND Hodgkins, and nobody grabbed his seat out from under him.

AND both Republican and Democratic governors had the opportunity to do so (brain tumor: Ridge (R), Hodgkin's: Rendell (D))

[flyarm]

1. so did Joe Biden ..and he was out 8 mos!! n/t

[gwojtowy]

2. Let's hope tim chooses not to give up his seat.

The Governor of South Dakota sounds like a real Right-Winger.

[ChiciB1]

3. Wishing Him Much Luck & A Speedy Recovery! Thanks For The Reminder! n/t

[hijinx87]

4. I don't think specter had a tumor

he did have hodgkins, which is a type of cancer, but he didn't have a
tumor, and he didn't have brain surgery. it was treated with chemotherapy.

[Patiod]

5. No, he had a tumor, complete with brain surgery

Hard to miss, it was front page news here at the time. It was benign, but brain surgery is brain surgery.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9F0CEEDE1630F936A25755C0A965958260

I don't like the guy, but there must be something to be said for playing a hard game of squash every day of your life - bouncing back from brain surgery AND chemo (for a whole different problem) shows a remarkable physical stamina.

[hijinx87]

6. ahhhh. I see the difference . . .

the tumor was attached to the inner part of the skull, but not
necessarily in his brain. thanks for the link.

I am close enough to being wrong that I will happily cough up an "I stand
corrected." :D

I didn't recall the surgery on any type, and wiki seemed to reinforce my
recollection:

Health problems

On February 16, 2005, Specter announced that he had been diagnosed with an advanced form of Hodgkin's disease, a type of cancer. Despite the advanced form, Specter continued working during chemotherapy. He ended treatment on July 22. Senator John Sununu shaved his head to show solidarity with Specter when he was undergoing chemotherapy and was temporarily bald.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlen_Specter#Health_problems

[Patiod]

8. "Close enough to being wrong" --> now THAT's an admission

of being mistaken that sounds like one my father would make. His motto: "Seldom wrong but never in doubt" ;)

The brain tumor and the Hodgkins were separated by about 10 year's time.

The problem with Arlen and why we Dems couldn't get rid of him was that for many he was what most Pennsylvanians wanted: a true moderate. Let the wingnuts get him in the end, though. There was an interesting article on how he caved on habeas corpus in the recent New Yorker

[hijinx87]

9. PA is blue and getting bluer

the rethugs almost played into our hands by actively campaigning
for a complete nutcase against specter in his last primary. the guy's
name escapes me at the moment, but we would have easily flipped
specter's seat if the "nazi wing of the rethuglican party" (:evilgrin:)
had managed to defeat specter in the primaries.

[sonias]

7. Thanks for the reminder

Some of us didn't know that at all.



Sonia