**First reaction to "Tim Johnson Homecoming"

The "Johnson Homecoming" had almost all the bells and whistles for a political convention or rally with the possible exception of demonstrators marching around to "Happy Days are Here Again" or "When the Saints Go Marching in". There was an Indian, but If there was a cowboy, I missed him or her. There was a Lutheran Bishop. There was the Governor of SD, there were mayors, and there was Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin acting as master of ceremonies. There was Johnson family.

And finally Tim Johnson was wheeled in on a wheelchair. He stood next to his wife at the podium. The podium and a birthday cake more or less prevented video of him being wheeled around in the wheelchair. It was a well-staged event.

But, it was terribly sad to me as well. Our bodies are both strong and weak and vulnerable. Johnson's face appeared to be partially paralyzed and his speech was about like George Bush giving one of his where he sounds like a fifth grader reading a poem he doesn't like. He could obviously read and his mind was working, but his speech was halting and now and then hesitant and broken. But, he made it through his speech and his response to applause and crowd reaction all appeared right on.

Having no idea what condition Johnson was in months ago, I am not aware of the extent of the progress he has made, but I assume it is significant and there will be more progress in the near future. Johnson's brain is working for sure and he is communicating. His family appears happy with his progress. If he has the ability to read and analyze what he has read, he will probably be ahead of many politicians who have never had a brain injury or illness.

ABC is now reporting the Johnson return as "a triumph". ABC promising more later tonight on Johnson's "amazing recovery". My guess is that will show the steady improvement in ways not apparent at the function today.

My guess is that at sometime in the near future, they will have a press conference which will be able to demonstrate Johnson's ability to think on his feet even if he has trouble walking with them. That ability will be essential if he is to continue in the job as US Senator.

In the meantime, congratulations to Tim and family on this stage on his road to full recovery. Other US senators have had similar problems and have recovered and are now in the US Senate and most of us would not know they had had such serious problems in the past. He has worked hard on his recovery and Johnson will probably continue working. We can all be generous and kind enough to give him time for full recovery.

But, he was wrong about the Iraq war before he had his brain injury. He is still wrong on that. I hope too he can now see why we need a single-payer insurance system that can help people with serious health problems who don't also happen to be in the US Senate. He can become a spokesman in the senate for those who suffer from similar afflictions but are without his insurance, family, and economic resources.

**Stay tuned. We can wait and it won't kill us. Bush on the other hand is a daily danger---Doug Wiken