EDITORIAL
Time for some word from the Mink camp

Awkward as it was to do it, state Rep. Bob McDermott, a Republican candidate for Congress, made an appropriate point yesterday regarding his potential general election opponent, incumbent U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink.

Mink has been hospitalized with pneumonia after a case of chicken pox. She and her family have had virtually nothing to say about her condition or prognosis. McDermott argued that the public and the voters have a right to know Mink's medical condition and readiness to serve.

Now, no one would disagree that Mink has more important things to do right now than campaign or respond to political noise; she has to focus on healing. And her family's desire for a degree of privacy is understandable.

But Mink also has a constituency to answer to, as well as an army of supporters and potential voters in her district (Rural O'ahu-Neighbor Islands).

What are her intentions? Does she expect to recover in time to actively campaign before the general election is over? Does she expect to be recuperated well enough to return to Washington when Congress convenes in January should she win re-election?

We have every hope and expectation that the answer to these questions will be "yes." Her colleague, Rep. Neil Abercrombie, assures us she is recovering and will be able to campaign and serve if elected.

That's good. But Abercrombie is not one of Mink's constituents or one of the potential voters in her district who deserve to hear this firsthand.

We endorse Mink in the 2nd District primary. Still, a direct statement from the congresswoman, her family or her physician remains sorely needed at this moment in this important campaign.