Do as I Say, Not as I Do

In 1988, 65-year-old drilling contractor, badly injured in a freak accident at his home, lie in a coma at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, kept alive by intravenous lines and oxygen equipment. Told by doctors that he'd basically be a "vegetable," the family agonized over life and death decisions. The man had previously voiced that he'd never want to endure such extraordinary medical procedures to prolong life. Yet there he was, being kept alive by a ventilator and other machines. With kidneys failing and no hope for survival, the family decided against connecting him to a dialysis machine. The chart at his bedside read: "Do Not Resuscitate." He died shortly thereafter. The man was Charles Ray Delay, father of then 41-year-old junior congressman from Texas, Tom Delay. Yes, the same Tom Delay who's been sanctimoniously front and center in the battle to keep Terri Schiavo alive. The same Tom Delay who's assailed a phalanx of non-partisan judges and Ms. Schiavo's husband Michael for committing "an act of barbarism" in removing her feeding tube. The same Tom Delay who, along with President Bush, believes we should always err on the side of life. The same Tom Delay who 10 days ago told an audience at the Family Research Council that Terri Schiavo was "a gift from God" in the religious right's struggle against the liberal elite. Notwithstanding the above, when it comes to decisions about life and death, Rep. Delay chose to keep these emotional matters in his family. It's unfortunate he feels so compelled to tell the rest of us what to do with ours. Andy