Lugar has truly fallen ill with the worst diseases of Washington: The belief that he is indispensable, the conviction that his own approach is the only decent political formula, and, worst of all, the sad conclusion that only public life offers any comfort, pride, and solace. – Weekly Standard

 

By ELLIOTT ABRAMS at The Weekly Standard

EXCERPTS:

He is 80, and was seeking yet another term that would carry him to age 86 in the Senate. Were there no children or grandchildren, I wondered, who deserved Lugar’s time as Potter Stewart’s deserved his? Did Lugar not wonder if by age 86 he would be too old or sick to serve, ending up like Javits? Was there no home to return to in Indiana? It seems not, and that of course became a central issue in the campaign: Lugar’s only residence for years now has apparently been in Washington.

 

Such words, and the insistence on staying in the Senate in his 80s and presumably until his death, suggest that Lugar has truly fallen ill with the worst diseases of Washington: The belief that he is indispensable, the conviction that his own approach is the only decent political formula, and, worst of all, the sad conclusion that only public life offers any comfort, pride, and solace. Those who have long admired the senator must wish him a better end than that.

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