Editorial: Compassion, practical issues must come first in president's, others' infections

Practically from the beginning, political issues involving the novel coronavirus have often overridden even the disease's serious health consequences. With President Donald Trump, who has pushed the political buttons as hard and as often as anyone, now sent to Walter Reed military hospital with the illness and a growing circle of Washington insiders testing positive, there may be temptations to see it in that context again.

We shouldn't.

The COVID-19 disease is a health crisis. Knowing that, we naturally respond with the same compassion and concern for the president, the first lady and others around them we would show our own neighbors, friends and family. We regret their suffering and pray for their quick recovery. Hopefully, we also redouble our commitment to protect ourselves and those around us.

Concern for the health of our leaders is a human value, though it certainly has an added practical dimension. It is obviously critical to the functioning of our government that we monitor and protect the health of everyone who serves in the White House. This is not a political event; it's a potential government crisis.

So, this is no time for throwing the words of the infected back at them or shaming them for their behaviors, just as friends or family members should not shame anyone they know who becomes a victim of disease, whatever their background or behavior. There will be time enough for political arguments when the health scare passes.

For now, and in the president's situation, it's a time to realize that, if the virus can invade the six-foot radius around the most powerful, most closely guarded person in the world, it can reach any of us.

To be sure, there are operational issues that must considered and addressed. How will the White House function if the president becomes laid up indefinitely? Is the vice president monitoring and protecting his health? Are we prepared for what might be called the Alexander Haig scenario if both top executives are incapacitated? Are we monitoring potential "bad actors" here and abroad who might seek to take advantage of any lapse of leadership from the top.

And perhaps most practical of all, what is Congress doing to ensure it can function safely considering the many officials who may have come in contact with the president or someone else from the White House and may be compromised? Already we know that GOP Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, key members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that now may have trouble conducting hearings on the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, have tested positive. How many other congressmen may be affected?

All these are the primary matters of concern for the country at the moment. In time, there will be plenty of political questions related to the fact that the president of the United States was not protected from contracting COVID-19. They deserve and will need to be answered.

But for now, let's simply hope for the best for the president and Melania's health and for that of the other government leaders we are learning are infected.

And let's remember to wear a mask in public. That, too, is a functional, not a political, act.