It’s perfectly fair to make Jon Fetterman’s health an issue in the campaign

He suffered a severe stroke that landed him on the campaign trail, and until this week refused to agree to a debate, and was rarely seen in public. He is also the front-runner for a highly desirable US Senate seat in a crucial swing state.

I’m talking, of course, about John Fetterman, the Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Pennsylvania, who”almost died“From a stroke that prevented him from actively fighting for Almost three months. Videos circulating showing Fetterman’s ability to verbally communicate Less than 100 percent.

Fetterman – who acknowledges”Outstanding issues of strokeincluding ‘auditory processing’ problems – she did indeed choose not to participate in the September debate, but finally agreed to one discussion with his Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz. While he still does not say exactly when that debate will take place, it is supposed to be Less than two months before the election, Vettermann says that if this really happened You may need to use a closed caption screen.

It may not surprise you to learn that Democrats suggest that Fetterman should not have to debate at all. “[W]Why should the Oz campaign help? ” Ask Senator Jane Shaheen New Hampshire. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan agreed, adding that putting Fetterman’s health “Despair appears.

Conversely, retired Republican Senator Pat Toomey – the man Fetterman hopes to replace – says Fetterman:Not at the job level. But just as Tommy’s diagnosis must be taken with caution, Shaheen and Peters’ deep-rooted interests are evident.

The truth is that Fetterman’s health he is legitimate issue. Voters deserve vigorous debates between candidates for office. And one should be able to respectfully express one’s concerns or ask questions about Fettermann’s health without being labeled a pirate or “capable”.

It’s no surprise that Democrats are spinning around on the wagons. What is more interesting is that the national media Fetterman Health Cover It is often presented in the context of ‘Republicans Reverse“Kind. This means that concerns about Fettermann’s health are in the first place It was expressed by Oz or his Republican comrades As if only someone rooting for Oz would have any reason to care about a potential US Senator’s physical abilities to perform his duties.

In fairness, there are exceptions, especially at the local level. For example, file Pittsburgh Post Gazette editorial: “Voters have a right to know if a prospective senator can do the job — including dealing with the give and take of a robust debate.”

If Dr. Oz has been out of the campaign for two or three months – and you’re hit with rejected invitations to debate – how do you think the coverage will be?

Remember, we are talking about elections for a period that may last six Years. Fetterman would join a strong club (100 members only), but the Pennsylvania election could also determine which party controls the upper house of Congress.

In fact, the high stakes may help explain why some observers are reluctant to do much about Fettermann’s health. Back in 2016, after Hillary Clinton lost, there was some regret about covering up her fainting (I thought the coverage was fair); There was a feeling that concerns about her health – much like ‘But her emails! Coverage – Bolstered Donald Trump. Four years later, this regret may have contributed to the media’s lack of interest in covering Hunter Biden’s laptop.

In some media circles, it may be felt that covering Clinton, Biden or Fetterman dubiously equates to empowering “quasi-fascism.”

Now, I think it’s a legitimate criticism to say that journalists can sometimes bring up a lot of scandals and health concerns that are, after all, more fun (and easier to understand) than politics. But the coverage should not be dependent on which side of the trail helps or hurts him.

Let’s imagine if the shoe was on the other foot. If Dr. Oz has been out of the campaign for two or three months – and you’re hit with rejected invitations to debate – how do you think the coverage will be? I suspect you’ve probably heard by now calls for him to quit the race.

We’ve all seen the kind of blue jokes on Twitter about Donald Trump’s weight and appearance – and we’ve all laughed at the idea that Trump wasThe healthiest person ever elected to the presidencywho excelled in a cognitive test (“person, woman, man, camera, TV“).

Trump is a serial dodger, but shouldn’t there be a similar degree of skepticism toward any politician who pursues a senior position after suffering a severe health scare? After all, Fetterman knew he had a heart condition in 2017, but only revealed it after he had a stroke.

Once again, we should expect Democrats for the trolley circuit. This is what revolutionaries do. But the moral incentive for the media should be to provide readers and voters with more information – while the financial incentive should be to the root of the story.

So far, I don’t see much either. Jon Fetterman owes some discussion to the people of Pennsylvania.



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