Do you really think the American voter seriously considers whether or not Obama's smoking past makes him more or less Presidential than McCain?
There is a long history of Presidential candidates hiding their health problems. Franklin Roosevelt didn't want to appear weak to the public, in spite of his polio. We elected Jack Kennedy, in spite of his chronic back problems, not knowing he actually had Addison's disease. Eisenhower had a heart attack, a stroke and an abdominal operation all within two years. Grover Cleveland secretly underwent surgery removing the roof of his mouth due to carcinoma. Ronald Reagan lost a lot of lucidity during the later part of his term - we were sympathetic because of the assassination attempt, but didn't know he was suffering the early affects of Alzheimer's.
Were you to check the health histories of our Founding Fathers and first Presidents, you'd be alarmed at the depression and heart disease, among some other pretty scary health issues, that ravaged them. George Washington suffered from: "Malaria, smallpox, tuberculosis, dysentery, boils (carbuncles), tooth loss, hearing loss, presbyopia, infertility, quinsy, pneumonia, epiglottitis or strep infection of the larynx."
We would balk at the risk of electing a President who could not fulfill the requirements of his office, communicate on our behalf, represent us to our global society or defend us against our many adversaries. We would hardly balk at a guy who recently quit smoking.
While health may be an issue that some of our candidates, like McCain, want to make a "non-issue," we're more concerned about qualities like leadership and morality, even by association. Frankly, I'd rather elect someone who admits to a health issue than one who claims to not have inhaled. I think it's great that McCain is leading the way to breaking tradition with hiding a troublesome health past.
Whom I choose to vote for, however, will depend entirely upon my preference over candidates based on what I believe their qualifications are for the office, not the waiting room.
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Do you really think the American voter seriously considers whether or not Obama's smoking past makes him more or less Presidential than McCain?
There is a long history of Presidential candidates hiding their health problems. Franklin Roosevelt didn't want to appear weak to the public, in spite of his polio. We elected Jack Kennedy, in spite of his chronic back problems, not knowing he actually had Addison's disease. Eisenhower had a heart attack, a stroke and an abdominal operation all within two years. Grover Cleveland secretly underwent surgery removing the roof of his mouth due to carcinoma. Ronald Reagan lost a lot of lucidity during the later part of his term - we were sympathetic because of the assassination attempt, but didn't know he was suffering the early affects of Alzheimer's.
Were you to check the health histories of our Founding Fathers and first Presidents, you'd be alarmed at the depression and heart disease, among some other pretty scary health issues, that ravaged them. George Washington suffered from: "Malaria, smallpox, tuberculosis, dysentery, boils (carbuncles), tooth loss, hearing loss, presbyopia, infertility, quinsy, pneumonia, epiglottitis or strep infection of the larynx."
We would balk at the risk of electing a President who could not fulfill the requirements of his office, communicate on our behalf, represent us to our global society or defend us against our many adversaries. We would hardly balk at a guy who recently quit smoking.
While health may be an issue that some of our candidates, like McCain, want to make a "non-issue," we're more concerned about qualities like leadership and morality, even by association. Frankly, I'd rather elect someone who admits to a health issue than one who claims to not have inhaled. I think it's great that McCain is leading the way to breaking tradition with hiding a troublesome health past.
Whom I choose to vote for, however, will depend entirely upon my preference over candidates based on what I believe their qualifications are for the office, not the waiting room.
June 2, 2008 - 8:05pmThis Comment
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