Tom Oliphant

I was wondering where Tom Oliphant's regular Boston Globe columns had gone. I'm late with the news, but fortunately, being late allows me to report that he is recovering nicely after a health scare.

Tom Oliphant, Washington-based columnist for the Boston Globe and a regular on “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” underwent surgery last week after suffering a brain aneurysm.

A source said that when Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), a longtime friend of Oliphant, heard the news, he called his health policy staff in and told them to find the best medical care they could for him. Fortunately, a Kennedy spokeswoman said, “it turns out that [Oliphant] had it” all along. He was checked in at the well-regarded Inova Hospital in Fairfax.

Oliphant, who is married to CBS News’s Susan Spencer, is said to be doing well.

Tom is one of the good journalists - by that I mean he is a writer who is ruled by reason. I admire him greatly for his thoughtful columns and for his calm.

We wish him a speedy and uneventful recovery.