Stephanie Tubbs Jones, 1949-2008. R.I.P.

Ohio Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones died last night after suffering a hemorrage as a result of an aneurysm while driving her car near Cleveland on Tuesday. Tubbs Jones, first elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1998, was only 58.

Brain aneurysms are frightening to me because they can happen without warning and there's usually very little one can do. Of course, there are people who survive a brain aneurysm. Former major leaguer John Olerud comes to mind. It happened to him before he entered the bigs when he played college baseball at Washington State as a 20 year old. He survived but had to wear a batting helmet while playing the field.

Tubbs Jones was the first African American woman elected to Congress from Ohio. Yet she bucked the trend of most African American Democrats and remained an ardent supporter of Hillary Clinton. She only lent her support to Obama when Hillary suspended her campaign. Tubbs Jones faced no opposition in the Democratic primary and would have most certainly be re-elected to a sixth term.