Editorial

Editorial

Impaired incumbent

The resignation of U.S. Rep. D. French Slaughter Jr. due to ill health should not come as a surprise to those who have watched him closely during the past several years. Though his staff maintains that the congressman is still functioning at “98 percent” after a series of minor strokes earlier this year, we have to wonder about the wisdom of his decision to remain in office until his successor is selected in a special election on Nov. 5.

Reporters who followed Mr. Slaughter on the campaign trail last year remarked on the often rambling and sometimes confused answers he offered to questions. The perception that his health was failing was not abated by his decision to eschew debates and campaign appearances except in controlled circumstances before partisan crowds. Even there, he sometimes had problems.

Though the explanation offered was the pressing business of the budget negotiations in Washington, suspicions ran high that Mr. Slaughter was being kept off the campaign trail for other reasons.

Mr. Slaughter’s staff insists that there was no problem during the campaign, and that the series of strokes that precipitated his decision to resign are a recent development. Though the main result of the strokes has been, according to his staff, some inability to articulate, that difficulty seemed to predate the election.

If that problem, which seemed evident then, is worse now, we have to wonder if the congressman is indeed capable, as his aides insist, of adequately representing his constituents until November. How, for example, will he represent the interests of his constituents in committees and on the House floor if he is unable to articulate his thoughts?

Though we recognize and applaud Mr. Slaughter’s long record of devoted service to his constituents, we think that perhaps he should step down immediately. It would be no blot on his long record of distinguished service for him to do so.