In final column, Charles Krauthammer announces he has only a few weeks to live

Heartbreaking. Yet one day the same fate will confront us all. You might not remember that Krauthammer was once a liberal. He was actually a speechwriter for Walter Mondale. His writings became noticeably more conservative as the 1980s wore on, and by the time the Reagan Administration ran its course, Krauthammer had become one of the right’s favorite pundits, both in print and on television.

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Today, he said goodbye:

In August of last year, I underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in my abdomen. That operation was thought to have been a success, but it caused a cascade of secondary complications — which I have been fighting in hospital ever since. It was a long and hard fight with many setbacks, but I was steadily, if slowly, overcoming each obstacle along the way and gradually making my way back to health. However, recent tests have revealed that the cancer has returned. There was no sign of it as recently as a month ago, which means it is aggressive and spreading rapidly. My doctors tell me their best estimate is that I have only a few weeks left to live. This is the final verdict. My fight is over. . . . I leave this life with no regrets. It was a wonderful life — full and complete with the great loves and great endeavors that make it worth living. I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended.

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Krauthammer stands out among the punditry in a number of ways. His background was neither as a journalist nor as a political operative. He was a physician and a psychiatrist, educated at Harvard and always focused on science. He also was confined to a wheelchair after a diving accident that left him paralyzed during his year at Harvard Medical School. Krauthammer is not a Trump fan, but neither is he a #NeverTrump obsessive who refuses to acknowledge when the president makes a good decision or experiences success. He has a healthy skepticism of the dogmas of both the left and the right, but clearly as the years went on he has found the thinking of the left far more troubling. It’s difficult to hear someone we feel we’ve known for years tell us he is going to die soon. But at least it affords us the opportunity to express our respect and appreciation for him when he’s still here to hear it – so if by some chance you see this, Charles, thank you and we love you. I will also pray that he chooses to receive the grace of Jesus Christ during the days he has left with us, so that he will be with Him in Paradise.

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