Jack Kemp Dies at 73

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I guess the first time I became aware of Jack Kemp was when I was about 9 or 10 years old, and, like most of the boys my age, I collected football cards.

Kemp was near the end of his professional football career at the time, and his was not a marquee name, like Joe Namath or Bart Starr or Roger Staubach, among my friends. As I recall, if you had an extra copy of his football card, it wouldn't bring much in a trade, even though he enjoyed a certain amount of success earlier in his career as quarterback for the Chargers and the Bills.

I suppose things might have been different if we had possessed the knowledge that Kemp would go on to serve in Congress for nearly two decades, (unsuccessfully) seek the presidential nomination and serve the first President Bush as secretary of Housing and Urban Development — not to mention run for vice president on Bob Dole's ticket in 1996.

But none of us had that insight. I guess those football cards might have more value today, now that Kemp has died of cancer at the age of 73.

I didn't agree with much of Kemp's political philosophy, especially the "trickle–down economics" that served as the basis of the Reagan economic policy and has been the cornerstone of Republican economic thought for most of the last 30 years. When hard–core conservative Republicans speak wistfully of the "Reagan recovery" and the tax cuts to which they give the credit, it is the Kemp–Roth legislation of which they speak — even though it bears part of the blame for the current economic problems this country faces.

I felt more sympathetic to Kemp's social views, even though economic policy always seemed to be more important to him. Racial equality is not seen as a component of Republican dogma in most circles, but it mattered to Kemp. Where that originated in Kemp, I do not know, although many have suggested it came from his experiences on integrated football teams.

As David Rosenbaum wrote in the New York Times when Kemp was picked to be Dole's running mate, Kemp summarized his approach to racial issues this way: "I wasn't there with Rosa Parks or Dr. King or John Lewis. But I am here now, and I am going to yell from the rooftops about what we need to do."

I didn't agree with all of his social views. Kemp apparently became anti–abortion because his wife once suffered a miscarriage. My view is like Bill and Hillary Clinton's — abortion should be safe, legal and rare. Beyond that, my feeling is that it is the woman's decision to make — although, if the father is more than a casual acquaintance, he should be permitted some input.

But Kemp's political career wasn't based on social issues. As I say, he seemed to care more about economic policy than social policy — perhaps because he believed that everything is related to economic policy. And there is a certain amount of logic in that, I suppose.

One more thing ...

It seldom fails to stun me how quickly cancer can snuff out a life. Eighteen years ago, a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer in the spring and died less than six months later. Another friend of mine, from my college days, died of cancer five years ago only a couple of months after her diagnosis.

Kemp was diagnosed in January and now, only a few months later, he, too, is gone.

We "declare war" on many things in this country, deservedly or not. But America should devote its resources and the efforts of its brightest medical researchers to the task of eliminating cancer as a threat. The American Cancer Society says more than 7 million people worldwide died of cancer in 2007. The battle against cancer truly is the moral equivalent of war.

I don't agree with Barack Obama on everything, but his challenge to the medical community on this issue is sound and sensible.