Posted on 07/11/2008 11:29:19 AM PDT by iowamark
U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell was recovering well Thursday from "corrective surgery" and will return to work soon, an aide to the five-term congressman said.
"Doctors expect he will return to work in short order," Susan McAvoy, Boswell's chief of staff, said in a statement.
The statement didn't offer a timeline for Boswell's recovery.
The surgery on Wednesday in a Washington, D.C., hospital came about three years after doctors removed a non-cancerous mass from Boswell's abdomen. Though the mass wasn't cancerous, the 74-year-old Boswell underwent radiation treatment after the procedure.
Boswell declined to offer further details at the time, citing medical privacy.
The latest surgery was related to the 2005 procedure, said McAvoy, who didn't provide details.
After Boswell's 2005 surgery, he was re-elected to his 3rd District seat over Republican lawyer Jeff Lamberti, who was then president of the state Senate. Lamberti declined to make Boswell's health an issue in that campaign.
This year, Boswell faced a primary challenge from Des Moines Democrat Ed Fallon, who argued that Boswell was too conservative and out of touch with voters in the district. Implicit in the campaign was the suggestion that Boswell, a southern Iowa farmer who moved to Des Moines after the 2000 census changed his district, was too old and too rural for a district dominated by Des Moines.
In that campaign, Boswell's health was not an issue. The Democratic establishment rallied around Boswell and he easily turned aside the challenge from Fallon. It was after that June 3 primary that further surgery was recommended, McAvoy said.
"Shortly after the primary, it was recommended he have corrective surgery stemming from his 2005 procedure," she said.
"The congressman's procedure was a tremendous success," said McAvoy. "He wishes to thank everyone who has expressed their encouragement and is eager to get back to work."
Boswell starts the campaign as the favorite, in part due to the Democrats' roughly 36,000 person edge over Republicans in registered voters in the 12-county central Iowa district.
He will face Clive lawyer Kim Schmett, a former Polk County Republican chairman who is making his first bid for public office.
Why all the secrecy?
The real question is why is it that incumbents have to die before someone else can take over their office. Our Founding Fathers wanted constant change, that is why a representative term is TWO YEARS. This is basically a temp job. It just shows that the system is rigged in favor of the incumbents.
What we need is a system where the amount of money a congressman can spend for reelection is cut by 50% each time they runs, to the point where after a few terms the incumbent cannot spend any money at all. Or just put in term limits.
74 years old?
Why do we keep electing this old drooling fools?
... citizens who give a sh*t. The founders said this would only work as long as the people take it seriously. Sorry but, solutions like yours only serve to justify more apathy and ignorance.
Term limits are worth discussing. Limitations on campaign spending, however, are a McCainite, unconstitutional infringement of the freedom of speech, regardless of what SCOTUS thinks.
Yes, this is possible. This fits the description of a desmoid tumor. The difference between a desmoid tumor and a malignant tumor is that a desmoid does not metastasize to other areas of the body but they do tend to reoccur and left unchecked just keep growing and growing. Radiation is a treatment along with chemo.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.