April 04, 2019 10:01 AM UTC

Good Luck, Speedy Recovery To Sen. Michael Bennet

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• by: Colorado Pols

Mike Littwin of the Colorado Independent broke significant news yesterday that Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, a likely entry into the 2020 race for the Democratic presidential nomination will undergo surgery for prostate cancer prior to making a final decision:

Just as he had finally become comfortable with his decision to run, he went to get a physical and received very discomfiting news from his doctor — he has prostate cancer.

His PSA was high. The biopsy showed malignancy. The doctors recommended that, at his age, surgery was the best course of action. His family agreed. The risk, he was told, was low. John Kerry had survived, cancer free, the same surgery in 2003 and two weeks later was back on the campaign trail, on his way to winning the Democratic nomination. And so …

And so, now Bennet is still committed to running for president if — and it’s an important if, but an if that Bennet says he’s at peace with — he will be cancer free. The surgery to remove the prostate gland is scheduled for soon after the congressional spring recess, which begins on April 11.

When I asked Bennet how he was taking all this — the cancer, not the presidential bid — he said he was OK. “I’m too busy to really sit back and think about it,” he said, “and that’s probably the best thing.”

The odds are good that Sen. Bennet’s treatment will be successful, but it’s a responsible choice to be certain before undertaking something as strenuous as a presidential campaign. We’ll add our best wishes to the bipartisan outpouring of goodwill since yesterday evening when the story broke.