Julia Carson's health

Once again, the health of Representative Julia Carson (D-IN-7) is a factor in her (in)ability to perform her duties on the Congressional floor.

Rep. Julia Carson, who has been on a leave of absence to recover from a leg infection, will not return to Washington in time for a Thursday vote on whether to override President Bush’s veto of a children’s health insurance program, according to her office.

“I understand how an athlete feels when they sit one out to recover from an injury,” Carson said in a statement Monday. “The minutes move slowly, and you want nothing more than to be in for the big game. But you need to get well for the rest of the season.”

The 69-year-old Indianapolis Democrat, who has not voted in the House since Sept. 29, had requested a leave until Oct. 15.In the statement released by her office, Carson said she “may be absent from votes a short time longer” on her doctor’s advice.

Although there had been much speculation that the current Congressional session would be her last (mostly by state Republicans), Carson has made it clear that she intends to run again in 2008. I think her advisors would do well in taking her health into serious consideration. She has done much more than just "sit one out" in the past. Hopefully she will be able to fully recover and do her job for this session. I also hope that she seriously considers whether she'll be able to do an affective job through January 2011, should she be re-elected next year.

[Disclosure: I have been a registered Democrat since 1999. I had not lived in Carson's district until I moved to Beech Grove last year. I did not register in time to vote in the November 2006 elections.]