Saw this on Tony Phyrillas this morning. Any thoughts? Should this Bob Roggio apologize now that he knows that Congressman Gerlach wasn't just skipping school, err missing votes? This doesn't strike me so much as a Democrat vs. Republican thing, as it is a question of right or wrong. We all know during election season things get heated and campaigns look for any little misstep possible to go after the competition and make their respective candidate look good, but seriously, in this case, wouldn't it do Bob Roggio good to just say "sorry"? After all, Congressman Gerlach just lost his mom. Anyone who has lost a parent either suddenly or after a long illness just knows how hard everything is; how the world seems slightly off kilter....this teaches us a valuable lesson about politics, doesn't it?

What does everyone think? Is this a case of typical campaign back and forth, or is it just about being a big kid and saying "sorry I was wrong"? The letter pasted below was issued publicly, and is all over creation in it's entirety:

Tony Phyrillas: Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Rep. Gerlach issues open letter to challenger Bob Roggio

Mr. Robert Roggio
9 Old Lincoln Highway
Suite 101
Malvern, PA 19355

Dear Bob,

In my 18 years of public service, I have worked extremely hard, seven days a week many times, to meet, understand and work on behalf of the constituents I have represented. I have attended and voted in legislative sessions in Harrisburg and Washington, DC at a near 100 percent rate. Only constituent, health or family reasons have prevented me from voting in session every day of my tenure.

So it was with great disappointment and sadness that I read your recent release attacking me for not voting last week on important war, veterans and agriculture legislation. Had you simply contacted House staff, you would have learned that I was in Clarion, Pa., last week to be with my 79-year old mother during her last days and ultimate passing on May 14th. Had you known my mother, our family and her unbelievable life story, I think you would have understood and supported my absence. Here's who she was -

She was widowed at age 32 when my dad was killed in an auto accident. She was left with 3 children, age 7, 5, and 6 weeks, and she immediately went to work to raise us with the values of honesty, determination, perseverance, and individual responsibility. Through her incredible work ethic, she managed to provide us with a loving home, a week's vacation each year, and ultimately a college education. Her approach was to give us kids "love, roots and wings" and words cannot capture the deep love, respect, and admiration my sisters and I have for her.

Unfortunately, Americans are now living through an era of the "permanent campaign" and constant "gotcha" politics. But despite this very divisive time, there is no place whatsoever, at any time, for one political candidate to use the personal family crisis of his opponent for political gain or advantage.

It is my understanding that, after your initial attack release and acquiring a knowledge of why I didn't attend session last week, you issued a second release that contained no apology for your attack or even a simple acknowledgement that you were wrong to attack me under these circumstances. Consequently, given your behavior, I would encourage you to re-examine exactly why you are running for public office and whether you have the judgment to properly represent the great Sixth Congressional District.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Jim Gerlach

In other political thoughts, no matter what you may think of Ted Kennedy, he is an American Political Icon and the last of a legion of brothers who devoted themselves to this country. His brain tumor is a nasty business and very, very sad. It is also sad that the Kennedy legacy is to be further marred by tragedy. Any thoughts?

Boston.com: Kennedy leaves hospital after diagnosis of malignant tumor
May 21, 2008 10:15 AM By Brian C. Mooney, John R. Ellement, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

US Senator Edward M. Kennedy left Massachusetts General Hospital this morning, a day after the world learned that the last surviving brother of the famed Kennedy clan had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

A white square bandage was visible on the back of Kennedy's head as he emerged from the hospital just after 10 a.m. He and his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, passed through rows of cheering patients and staff members who shouted encouragement as they lined the hospital hallway.

On the sidewalk the senator was greeted by the wagging tails of his two Portuguese water dogs, Splash and Sunny. Another crowd of onlookers outside burst into applause when Kennedy stepped in to the sunlight, with one woman shouting, "we love you," and another person yelling, "thank you."

The senator smiled broadly, waved, and gave a thumbs up to the more than 50 reporters, photographers, and cameramen recording the moment.

Kennedy kissed daughter, Kara, and his niece, Caroline Kennedy, and hugged his son, Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island. He flashed the crowd of onlookers another thumbs up and then climbed into the front passenger seat of a dark blue Chevy Suburban. As his wife stepped into the car, she turned to the media and mouthed the words "thank you" before they drove off to the family compound in Hyannis Port.

AP: Unlike brothers, Ted Kennedy grew old in public
By DAVID ESPO – 16 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Unlike his brothers, Edward M. Kennedy has grown old in public, his victories, defeats and human contradictions played out across the decades in the public glare.

A loyal Democrat, this Kennedy challenged an incumbent president of his own party when he ran for the White House. He lost, then brought tears to the eyes of many in a packed Madison Square Garden that summer night in 1980.

"For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end," he said at the age of 48. "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."

What dream, exactly, has never explicitly been spelled out by the 76-year-old Massachusetts senator, who doctors disclosed on Tuesday is suffering from a malignant brain tumor....Arguably, Camelot ended the night of the concession speech 28 years ago, although as the only surviving male in a storied political family, Kennedy guards the legacy still.

It isn't only the mementoes that line the walls of his Senate office and Capitol hideaway — the pictures; the dog tags once worn by his brother, the president; the note from his mother admonishing him to watch his language in public.

He prays privately at the gravesites of John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery, and his role is more public on occasion. As when John F. Kennedy Jr. died in 1999 in an airplane crash.

"We dared to think, in that other Irish phrase, that this John Kennedy would live to comb gray hair. ... But like his father, he had every gift but the gift of years," he said....He usually refers only sparingly to his assassinated brothers, John and Robert, in his public remarks..."There was another time, when another young candidate was running for president and challenging America to cross a new frontier. He faced criticism from the preceding Democratic president, who was widely respected in the party," Kennedy said.

"And John Kennedy replied, 'The world is changing. The old ways will not do. ... It is time for a new generation of leadership.'

These old lions of the Senate are the end of an era, aren't they? Good or bad, depending on how you perceive Senators like Kennedy, or even Arlen Specter one of our own PA Senators, no matter if you agree or disagree with their policy or political choices, to an extent you have to respect these men for what they have done, what they have represented. They will ultimately leave quite a legacy.