After The Daily Caller reported that presidential hopeful Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann suffers from “incapacitating” migraines, some observers and political analysts have questioned her fitness to serve in the Oval Office.
Charles Krauthammer, however, says that based on historical precedent, this is much ado about nothing.
On Wednesday night’s broadcast of “Special Report” on the Fox News Channel, Krauthammer, a Harvard-educated physician, asked: “If the migraines are so injurious to her performance, how come this hasn’t been an issue up to now?”
“And yes, what I’ve seen is several incidents over the last five years reported in which she was incapacitated. Is there anyone among us in the last five years that hasn’t been knocked out by some medical condition?”
In an Wednesday interview with Fox’s Carl Cameron, Republican presidential hopeful and fellow Minnesotan Tim Pawlenty fired his own broadside at Bachmann, insisting that any presidential candidate must be physically ready for the task.
Krauthammer dismissed Pawlenty, pointing to prior presidents who served capably while using prescription medications for various debilitating ailments.
“The Pawlenty attack was a cheap shot, by his standard,” he continued. “At the job, every hour, F.D.R., Kennedy and Eisenhower would not have been people who should have been president of the United States.”
Krauthammer explained that Kennedy had Addison’s Disease, an ailment that “required heavy medication,” and also had back injuries which required medication. But he said ultimately Bachmann would have to disclose what she’s taking.
“In this day and age, however, she is going to have to disclose what medication, and see if any of them have a psychotropic effect. This is a neurological disease. It’s not psychiatric,” he added.
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