Political Journalist Roger Simon Dies at 78 From Pneumonia

Q: What drove a legendary journalist to return to the grueling campaign trail after a devastating illness cost him both legs?

Roger Simon returned to the campaign trail because reporting politics was central to who he was, and because he refused to let a catastrophic illness end the work he loved. The news accounts and tributes point to a mix of professional devotion and personal resilience. After the 2009 illness that cost him both legs, Simon learned to work with prostheses and went back to covering conventions and campaigns. Friends said he never complained and met the ordeal with remarkable courage. That suggests his return was not driven by obligation alone, but by a determination to keep living fully as a journalist. His career also helps explain the decision. Simon had spent decades covering presidential politics, scandals and major world events, and he was regarded as one of the defining political writers of his era. At Politico, where he helped shape the publication’s voice, he remained deeply engaged in the rhythms of national politics. For a reporter so identified with the campaign trail, returning was a way of continuing the craft that had given his life purpose. Those who knew him best emphasized the same qualities: courage, humor, generosity and toughness. Dan Balz described him as “courageous in the face of adversity,” while colleagues recalled that he did not dwell on hardship. In that sense, Simon’s return was both professional and personal: a statement that illness had changed his body, but not his instincts, discipline or love of the story.

1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 10

Roger Simon, a veteran political journalist and columnist, died Thursday at 78 from pneumonia, prompting tributes across Washington and the wider media world.
Simon built a decades-long reputation for tough, witty reporting on presidential campaigns, Washington scandals and major events abroad, winning the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ Distinguished Writing Award twice.
Chicago launched his career at the Sun-Times before he moved east to report from Baltimore and Washington, later becoming an early Politico hire and its chief political columnist until retiring in 2017.
A 2009 illness cost him both legs, but Simon learned to walk with prostheses and returned to the campaign trail, a resilience colleagues said matched his writing talent.