Bachmann Fit to Be President?
A Daily Caller story reports that Rep. Michele Bachmann, by some polls the frontrunner in the Republican prez race, suffers from delibating migranes and advisers worry she might not be able to handle the presidency. Rival Tim Pawlenty pounces.
Bachmann Fit to Be President?
Thomas Fitzgerald, Inquirer Politics Writer
Rep. Michele Bachmann, Republican of Minnesota. (AP Photo by Paul Sancya) (Associated Press / Paul Sancya)
The surging Rep. Michele Bachmann, by some measures the frontrunner in the Republican presidential race, suffers from debilitating headaches that "incapacitate" her for days at a time, The Daily Caller news site reports Tuesday.
Bachmann moved quickly to address the concerns, saying that her migranes are controlled with medication and have not slowed her bruising campaign schedule.
The Daily Caller's story, based on anonymous former aides and advisers, says that the condition has landed Rep. Bachmann in the hospital on at least three occasions. Some who have worked with her are quoted as saying they wonder if she would able to withstand the stressful rigors of the Presidency.
"Let me be abundantly clear, my ability to function effectively has never been impeded by migraines and will not affect my ability to serve as commander in chief," Bachmann said in a statement.
Meanwhile, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty told Iowans Tuesday that they should not blow the whole election for the GOP by choosing a candidate "who is not ready to run the country." He did not mention said candidate by name, but everyone knows he meant Bachmann, a fellow Minnesotan. (h/t TalkingPointsMemo.com).
The two are competing for the same conservative, evangelical base of voters in Iowa, which holds the first nomination votes in the nation. Pawlenty, who has remained mired in single digits in polls while Bachmann rises, has staked his campaign on a strong showing there. Translation: Big motive for hitting Bachmann.
Comments (67)
I guess these types of problems happen frequently in Minnesota. They elected a Governor, Mark Dayton, who is mentally ill. However, his poor performance in the Governor's office is not caused by his mental illness, but rather by the leftist enablers that he has surrounded himself with.— Mr. Smith- Where is the headline is Obama fit to be president? Almost anybody breathing would be better than this clown.....— Hopeychangeything
I realize I'm late to this party but I have to set the record straight. That lunatic BobinPA stated MLK Jr was a republican, Bob challenged folks to "know their history". MLK Sr. (the dad) was a lifelong republican which was not uncommon since many of the strongest supporters of Jim Crow laws were southern dixiecrats (Dems) like Robert Byrd & George Wallace. MLK Sr often organized state & local campaigns against the Dixiecrats. In national elections MLK Sr & MLK Jr voted for and campaigned for John Kennedy & Lyndon Johnson. MLK Jr was an outspoken opponent of Barry Goldwater & the conservative leaning republicans.— mtairy1- Yes.— JGD84
- Yes.— JGD84
- The migraine smear aimed at Bachmann came from Karl Rove, as has been reported elsewhere. And as the biggest enemy Republicans face is other Republicans, this is not a surprise.— Jeff West
- NO!PMS and migraines make one heck of a combination!
— radsenior - she is a disgrace why don't she join her weird husband and pray that they go away. im a moderate conservative and i want this phoney fraud to disappear— the commodore
I think you knew the answer WAY before you decided to post this ridiculous question.- Let me guess: the stress is too much and she is quitting like that nitwit Palin!— The Fundamentals of the Economy are Fine
- Michele Bachmann most certainly is qualified to be President. She certainly has infinitely more experience than Barrack Obama compared to when he ran for the office. Not only has demonstrated she wasn’t born with the proverbial “silver spoon” in the mouth like Obama, but she has demonstrated real life evidence she has given back by raising over 20 foster kids. For all those who discount the value of Congresswoman Bachmann’s giving back by raising foster kids, I challenge any of you to try to raise just 3 foster kids let alone over 20. These kids all come with psychological and emotional problems which make raising these kids almost impossible for the average person. I can personally attest to this because I have worked in mental health and social service environments so I am familiar with the types of problems these kids have. Beyond this, Congresswoman Bachmann has made a payroll in her businesses whereas Obama did not have any experience what it took to make payroll when he first ran for President. Anyone who believes otherwise is ignoring the facts honestly.— Speak-truth-2-power
- I thought you had to have a brain to get migraines. bachman must be a medial anomaly. BTW, bachman is ranting against Black farmers getting federal aid, yet she says her family deserves the farm subsidies they get. I guess there's more than one explanation for the "R" after her name.— mike l
- Obama is clearly unfit to be President. In less than 3 years he has done grievous damage to the country. Tom Fitz - did you ever ask whether Obama was fit to be President?— Thoughtful&concernedvoter
- You're right. Like, for example, the stock market is only up around 38% since he took office. Sheesh, what an underachiever. He should be out there a-clearing that brush down on the ranch, or a-ringin' that bell and tellin' them British that they ain't gonna be takin' our guns.
— 1980 - Bachman's a wacko and everybody knows it.— bronski
- Would YOU question the mental health of a woman who married a gay man? I Would!!!— The Fundamentals of the Economy are Fine
Comment removed.- She's hot! I'll vote for her!— lonestar2000
- That's funny. She gives ME headaches.— Bartleby
- Not only does Koo Koo for Cocoa Puffs Bachmann think the Pope is the antichrist, she has lived off the state by cashing checks for the Foster Children. lolz.....a bigot and a leech. No wonder the Tea Baggers love her!— The Fundamentals of the Economy are Fine
- This is a flagrant violation of HIPPA. Ms Bachmann should employ a competent attorney and sue the reporter for his sources so they can be prosecuted.— fgomarty
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- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Caller:
"The Daily Caller is a news website based in Washington, D.C., United States with a focus on politics, original reporting, breaking news, and YouTube videos, founded by journalist and political pundit Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel, former adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney. The Daily Caller launched on January 11, 2010".— He Visto Todo - Boys,
Ms.Bachman is having those "headaches" because she is pre-MENOPAUSAL.— gogirltoday - Comment removed.
Already, the operatives of the DNC who also happen to work at the Inquirer are sewing the seeds of dirty politics by trying to imply that Ms. Bachman is unbalanced. Nice try. It's so sad that journalism has sunk to such a low level that they become agents for totally a totally incompetent and unfit Barry Soetoro....a guy steering our economy off a cliff, who wants to saddle the US with even greater debt. By the way.....Abraham Lincoln has many of the symptoms you mentioned such as migranes. In fact many famous and accomplished world statemen had health issues. Bachman with a headache is 1000X better than Soetoro on his best day.— Henry Howard Earl of Surrey- "Henry Howard Earl of Surrey"?? Seriously??!! Get ye backe to yon roastede corne boothe at Ye Olde Renaissance Faire. — 1980
- This comment has been deleted.— BobinPa
- BobinPa is such a wack-job, he's the philly.com version of that crazy lady at the McCain rally who said Obama was a muslim. I just wanted to respond to one thing in his hateful rant.
MLK Sr (the dad) was a lifelong republican which was not out of the norm for southern blacks. If you learned history as Bob suggested you'd know many of the champions of Jim Crow laws were southern democrats like Robert Byrd & George Wallace. Influential blacks like King Sr often campaigned against local & state "Dixiecrats". In national elections MLK Sr & MLK Jr voted for and campaigned for John Kennedy & Lyndon Johnson. MLK Jr was an outspoken opponent of Barry Goldwater & the republican conservative movement. History shows Blacks have at times voted en mass for both parties(Lincoln was republican). They were not locked in to a party based on name alone typically they based their allegiance the parties' position on slavery, Jim Crow & civil rights.— mtairy1 - @ BobinPa: While your words may lack diplomacy, I must applaud their accuracy and honesty. The guy in there now is a spanked A**. He's right out of the Marxist playbook.....but he and his fellow Bolsheviks didn't get the message that the experiement failed....and the USSR, China and all of East Europe threw off the unworkable, failed tyrany of Marxism 20 years ago. — Henry Howard Earl of Surrey
- I wonder what Daniel Tosh would say...— mccarte1
- does anyone take this women seriously?— Old German
- Obama is addicted to a dangerous drug which he has admitted to still using. Where were the calls for his health being an issue?— Ramon
- Who cares about her headaches? She's a jerk, maybe she and her kids would be better off as slaves.— Ried
- As flat-out stupid as that comment is, it's still the smartest thing lifecoach can manage. Somebody should have warned your parents about inbreeding.— 1980
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- lifecoach - questions about Obama's health? Like what?— 1980
- Yeah kelprod everyone with sense knows that Oral Roberts University school of law trumps Harvard Law any day. Lifecoach maybe there were no headlines because Obama didn't think China's warning about the reserve status of US currency meant that the dollar was going to be taken out of circulation.— Murrayman
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- kelprod, way to be open-minded. In any case, I hope she loses big and then disappears from the public eye.— palmyra21
- To all concerned....Kelprod2 was only making fun of the headline and has never been a Republican, is not a Republican and never will be a Republican.— kelprod2
- The numbskulls who like Palin love Bachmann. She is just as stupid but a tiny bit more articulate. Go ahead GOP, make my day. Nominate her and Obama is sure to win.— The Great Cornholio
- This woman is radio/camera gold; she's almost guarenteed to say something that raises your eyebrow or makes you cringe. Get a mike in front of her and let her go. As far as qualified, I believe that's for the primary voters and her campaign funds to figure out, not the philly posting nitwits.— meteo30
- Some people seem to be having a hard time grasping the concept of the article. That in itself is funny because it comes from the conservative rag, The Daily Caller.— tdoc
- (Previous post intended for the nitwit using Ernie Banks' name.)— 1980
- I give up. READ THE ARTICLE, YOU TWIT - IT'S ABOUT HER HEALTH, NOT HER QUALIFICATIONS.— 1980
- oh God, Bachmann probably isn't fit enough to be in Congress in the first place.— palmyra21
- According to kelprod, if you slap an R in front of your name, you're qualified. Sad thing is it is probably true, because all you have to do is listen to corporate interests, just like Bush did. He set the country back 20 years in 8. I bet you Bachmann could do it in 4.— HandNik
- Obama is president, isn't he? Then why wouldn't Bachman be fit to have the job. There is no way on this earth that she can do any worse than he has done!— erniebanks14
- The article isn't about qualifications, nimrod2. It's about the possibility that her health could impair her ability to serve. What is it, recess at Club Illiterate? And in all seriousness, do you actually want to live in a country where the political conversation revolves around an effort to instill her fundamentalist christian beliefs - including, interestingly enough, the one about women being subservient to their husbands - as the law of the land? How is a christian theocracy different from a muslim theocracy?— 1980
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- As usual, the red-state critics are referring only to white people, right? Let's break it down further, jimmyjamjames...the inner-city voters who vote overwhelmingly Democrat, who identify themselves in large numbers as evangelical Christians, and send their kids to rotten public schools like Philadelphia's -- are they the higher-educated voters you're referring to? — J H
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- Ah yes, if it's white people in Nebraska or Missouri, it's facts, but if it's non-white people in inner cities, it's racism. Typical... — J H
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- If Barack Obama was/ is fit to be President, then Michelle Bachman is clearly over qualified for the job.— kelprod2
- Of course not. I thought Palin and Obama were both "empty suits" as candidates last time. Bachman is just a noisy empty suit. I'm sure the headaches are severe, not much up there to stop them.— jimmymack
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- nuggett, did you happen to notice that the story about Bachmann's condition is from THE DAILY CALLLER and not from philly.com? Did you also happen to notice that The Daily Caller is an extremely conservative website? I'm re-reading your comment right now and just shaking my head at your abject stupidity.— 1980
- The answer is: "No". Plus, she has headaches.— 1980
- Fear of a woman in charge makes all people say things to discredit her without stating records or facts....Thypical Philly Newspaper reporting......ala gossip rag...— nuggett
- "Fear of a woman in charge..."
I have more than a few Conservative friends who live in Southern States and are also Conservative Christians. I also have friends in Northern States who are of the the same political and religious persuasions.
They all have one thing in common: Fear Of A Woman In Charge.
Not only politically but in terms of their churches.
To give one example, A Branch of The Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church In America - the local representative is at 17th & Spruce) deny women certain offices (high) and spiritual privileges - do not allow women to become ordained.
None of the people belonging to those churches or politically Conservative parties would vote for Sarah Palin or Michelle Bachmann for that very reason - fear of a woman in in charge.
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Inquirer staff writer Thomas Fitzgerald blogs about national politics.
You can reach Tom Fitzgerald at 215-854-2718 or tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
Reach Thomas at tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
Thomas Fitzgerald
Inquirer Politics Writer
You can reach Tom Fitzgerald at 215-854-2718 or tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
Reach Thomas at tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
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