The most candid assessment I’ve seen to date on the condition of Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) comes via the Arizona Republic’s E.J. Montini, who interviewed Giffords’ chief of staff Pia Carusone:

“She’s living. She’s alive. But if she were to plateau today, and this was as far as she gets, it would not be nearly the quality of life she had before,” Carusone said. “There’s no comparison. All that we can hope for is that she won’t plateau today and that she’ll keep going and that when she does plateau, it will be at a place far away from here.”

More of Carusone’s sad but frank assessment here.

David Kurtz

David Kurtz is Managing Editor and Washington Bureau Chief of Talking Points Memo where he oversees the news operations of TPM and its sister sites.