J's Cafe Nette

Common decency. It’s not a new concept. It did not suddenly appear as a slogan used to market any product or person. It was not born out of a great speech. It has no copyright and none can claim it as their own.

When Robert Novak was diagnosed with his malignant brain tumor (as Ted Kennedy was) we posted here at ~J’s~ wishing him well. It’s not necessary to have the same political ideology with or even to like a person to feel compassion in a time of illness. Common decency. That’s all it is.

In reading this piece by Mr. Novak, both sides of this issue come to light.

First, the helping hand extended by the Kennedy family (who by his own admission Mr. Novak has shown very little kindness in his writings.)

My dear friend, the Democratic political operative Bob Shrum, asked Sen. Kennedy’s wife, Vicki, to call me about Dr. Friedman. I barely know Mrs. Kennedy, but I have found her to be a warm and gracious person. I have had few good things to say about Teddy Kennedy since I first met him at the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, but he and his wife have treated me like a close friend. She was enthusiastic about Dr. Friedman and urged me to opt for surgery at Duke, which I did.

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.

And then, this:

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.

But Joe and Valerie Wilson, attempting to breathe life into the Valerie Plame “scandal,” issued this statement: “We have long argued that responsible adults should take Novak’s typewriter away. The time has arrived for them to also take away the keys to his Corvette.”

Thanks to my tumor, the Wilsons have achieved half of their desires. I probably never will be able to drive again, and I have sold the Corvette, which I dearly loved. Taking away my typewriter, however, may require modification of the First Amendment.

How pathetically sad that in the face of death of another some take delight.

Mr. Novak is fortunate to have found friends in places he never imagined. Those with whom he has disagreed who have shown their common decency, they are to be commended. To the Plames and those who choose their path which is one of hurling nothing but empty insults, well, there is still time to learn. It really isn’t that hard.

Written by Sue

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