I spoke with a fellow Vietnam veteran who was standing close by when Murtha walked by him (this was in Johnstown on the weekend of the dueling rallies, won hands down by those who came in large numbers, in oppostion to Murtha, BTW).
He told me Murtha is a shell of a man, frail, unsteady, pale, with trembling hands.
In a normal world, the one I once knew, and the one I hope we will see again, I would have felt sad for Murtha.
But I can not today. A person like Murtha will find no sympathy from me.
Local issues are a factor, but from what I can see from the outside looking in, the issues I listed seem to be trumping the rest...and Irey seems to have those issues covered pretty well covered in any case, I figure.
Illness has been one of the reasons offered for Murtha's words and actions over this last year or so. It isn't a factor that I've looked into or considered in any of my comments about this race.