Me, Michele and Our Migraines
By JUDITH WARNER
Published: July 21, 2011
“IS our problem with Representative Michele Bachmann’s migraines that she has them, or that she takes medication for them? Is she a strong stoic who, despite debilitating pain, does what she must to serve her constituents, or a woman who, every so often, when things get to be a little bit too much, has to lie down in the dark, while the world waits outside her closed door?...”
“I’m not a doctor, but reports that Mrs. Bachmann’s condition had her admitted to an urgent care facility three times in six months suggest that she is perhaps suffering more than she has to. It’s fair to ask: Is she getting the best possible care from doctors who practice mainstream science? Does she fully acknowledge the reality of having a chronic disability by regulating her diet, sleep, exercise and stress levels, as frequent migraine sufferers must? Or does she refuse to acknowledge her limitations?
In the absence of information about the preventive steps she is taking to, as she puts it, control her migraines, we are left with the impression that it’s the migraines that control her.”
Cassi Creek:
“ Abigail Adams, wife of the second president, John Adams, is widely accepted to have been his intellectual equal and is famous for trying to influence her husband to “Remember the Ladies” in the new nation’s code of laws. Although President Adams respected her opinions, they did not always translate into law…
“It wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century, however, that the role of First Lady began to take a political bent. Nellie Taft, like Eleanor Roosevelt, was her husband's full political partner. Edith Wilson was accused of running a “petticoat government” after her husband President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed during his second administration. Mrs. Wilson decided which issues would be presented to the president during his illness in hopes of safeguarding his recovery…”
Similarly, Nancy Reagan guarded the affairs of her husband President Ronald Reagan, after an assassination attempt. Her role as presidential protector did not go unnoticed by critics who sarcastically referred to her as “Mrs. President.” Nevertheless, Mrs. Reagan found both her voice and her politics in promoting social issues. Her anti-drug abuse campaign remains a hallmark of her tenure in the White House. More recently, because of her husband’s Alzheimer’ Disease.”
Betty Ford’s time as 1st Lady was made notable by her public efforts to increase the timely diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.
I accept the disorder nature of migraines. I understand that they can be, and often are incapacitating. That is the nature of my concern. Judith Warner brings up the efficacy of Bachmann’s treatment regime. That is a matter to be dealt with by Bachmann and her physician(s). My concern begins and ends with her capacity to fulfill the elected position of POTUS when a migraine occurs.
As noted above, Edith Wilson essentially ran the Executive Branch following President Wilson’s stroke. Eleanor Roosevelt served as FDR’s legs, physical presence, and valued counselor. While both Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Roosevelt were capable women who probably made no decision that their husbands might not have made, the problem which surfaces is that neither of them was elected to serve as POTUS, and neither stood aside for the elected Vice President to assume power as is provide in the Constitution.
Far more troubling to me is the failure of Nancy Reagan to stand aside in the clearly evolving mental deterioration of Reagan. She went so far as to involve an astrologer in affairs of state. That is truly troubling.
And this is where the Bachmann migraines intersect. Marcus Bachmann seems already to dominate his wife in their joint decision-making processes. His apparent belief in his ability to “pray away homosexuality” is thoroughly debunked by the APA and is rather akin to diagnosis and treatment by astrology. Only the name of the mythical deity appealed to varies.
We’ve already had to think about the possibility of Palin’s husband becoming involved in national policies as he did in Alaskan matters. That possibility is absolutely unacceptable. So, too, is the probability that Marcus Bachmann may fail to step aside and notify the VPOTUS in the event of a debilitating migraine rendering Bachmann unable to carry out her responsibilities. The transfer of power in such instances is provided for by the Constitution. The nation has and can survive such events very well. However, the probability of spousal assumption of power has not been addressed. With the potential for spouses willing to cover up inability to govern, as did Nancy Reagan; in an effort to advance religious and other political agendas, we need to look at methods to assure mental competency in long and short-term events. Alzheimer’s is certainly disabling in short and long-term status. Equally disabling is the inability to function while sedated &/or while unable to function in a high stress environment. Lying in the dark to avoid light and sound is not mentally competent to govern regardless of party affiliation.
We can’t afford another incapacitated POTUS, another spousal assumption of power, or another theocratic/mythological agenda being advanced by a POTUS spouse at the behest of either party.
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