Michele Bachman's Migraines- Presidential Disqualifier or Sexism?

[PiKA2001]

She doesn't have a life-threatening illness. She is not experiencing the lead poisoning that Andrew Jackson was suffering from the un-removed bullets in his body. She has not suffered a heart attack as Eisenhower had in the year before he ran for reelection. She is not even prone to a reoccurring psychological malady, like depression as Abraham Lincoln was. Moreover, women in their forties and fifties are often in better health than men of the same age. Is there a reason President Barack Obama, a decades-long cigarette smoker, has not been required to submit to a chest x-ray or lung scan?

As an individual who has had chronic migraines for the past fifteen years, I can attest to the fact that that they are three things: painful, inconvenient, and controllable. As the medical doctor for the House of Representatives explained yesterday, migraines "have known trigger factors" (e.g., wine and chocolate) and those can be avoided.

Simply put, this is a manufactured issue and a sexist attack to stop Bachmann's surging poll momentum. Let's face it: in most polls, she is running either just ahead or just behind Mitt Romney. What better way for one of her GOP opponents (this story broke in the Daily Caller, a Republican online news site, meaning this smear was likely done by a Republican, not a Democrat) to undermine her growing support among religious conservatives and those aligned with the Tea Party movement. After all, questioning John McCain's health and senility helped the Democrats win in 2008.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lara-m..._b_906126.html

I'm not a Bachmann supporter, in fact I hope she doesn't get close to getting the GOP nomination but I still think people making her migraines a big deal is ridiculous. Oh well, I guess we'll just all sit back and watch her get steamrolled over like Palin and Clinton did. Got forbid we ever have a President that menstruates.

[knight_shadow]

It'll stop being an issue when she releases the long-form medical records.

Seriously, though, migraines suck but they're hardly a disqualifying factor when it comes to doing a job. They need to leave this woman alone.

[AOII Angel]

I can't stand Bachmann, but I'm so sick of hearing about her migraines and her "anti-Catholic" church. Seriously, has anyone ever heard of Martin Luther? I don't know if it's sexism. More women than men have migraines so I suppose a man with migraines would get the same shit. I probably have worse migraines than she does, but I wouldn't think that precludes her from holding the top office in the country. They make good medicine for that these days. Maybe 20 years ago it would have been a bigger problem.

[agzg]

It's not her migraines that disqualify her for the presidency, it's her batshit crazy.

[Honeykiss1974]

Migraines - seriously? Goodness knows I think she is two sandwiches short of a picnic basket but migraines? If "they" are going to railroad a woman, respect her enough to do it with something more substantial (personal financial activity, work/voter record, etc.) than migraines.

[BluPhire]

I hope she does get the GOP nom.

Here poll numbers against Obama are horrible.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by Honeykiss1974

Migraines - seriously? Goodness knows I think she is two sandwiches short of a picnic basket but migraines? If "they" are going to railroad a woman, respect her enough to do it with something more substantial (personal financial activity, work/voter record, etc.) than migraines.

Husband whose clinic prays away the gay and accepts Medicaid would be a good starting point.

Then we can talk about her time with the IRS. Why does the Tea Party love her so much?

[DrPhil]

A combination of sexism and the tendency for people to focus on potentially minute things.

Presidents JFK, Grant, and Jefferson are reported to have had migraines.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

They need to leave this woman alone.

I believe they wouldn't be bothering her so much if she wasn't a woman. With more women having migraines than men, as far as many are concerned, that adds to the emotional and irrational gender stereotype. Men who have migraines have that awesome testosterone and masculinity to buffer it all.

It's bad enough if a chick becomes president--with their hormones and crying and stuff--don't let one with migraines become president. Then there will be bipartisan bickering, wars, dirty politics, and an economic crisis. Oh...wait....

[Leslie Anne]

Originally Posted by agzg

It's not her migraines that disqualify her for the presidency, it's her batshit crazy.

^^^ This.

[lovespink88]

Originally Posted by Honeykiss1974

Goodness knows I think she is two sandwiches short of a picnic basket but migraines?

WIN.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by agzg

It's not her migraines that disqualify her for the presidency, it's her batshit crazy.

Originally Posted by agzg

Husband whose clinic prays away the gay and accepts Medicaid would be a good starting point.

Then we can talk about her time with the IRS. Why does the Tea Party love her so much?

I believe the speculation is that Pawlenty's campaign is responsible as he has several people working for him who used to work for Bachmann.

She should NEVER EVER BE PRESIDENT OF ANYTHING including the local PTA, or Justin Bieber's fan club, but the migraine thing is unrelated.

[33girl]

Since neither Kennedy's philandering nor his migraines were questioned when he ran for the presidency in 1960

No, people just thought he was going to make us all pay taxes to the Vatican.

And yeah, there are things that disqualify her before even getting to the migraines. That this writer would think it's the only thing just shows her jackassitivity.

[IrishLake]

This conservative can't stand her.

Shit, I can't stand any of the current idiots who think they should run on the republican ticket, and it has nothing to do with migraines.

[PeppyGPhiB]

It's offensive that anyone, including the media, would treat this as an issue. Someone worthy of the presidency is worthy of scrutiny on issues such as the economy, foreign policy, blah blah blah, and her opponents have plenty of fire power in that arena. Why is MB getting questioned about her migraines instead of her plans for a country with her in charge?

I'm in no way a supporter of MB, but I live with migraines, and it's totally treatable. Most of the women I know get them on occasion, and women are three times more likely to get them, because of hormones. So I definitely think this is veiled sexism. Maybe MB's campaign should point out to the media that more men get prostate cancer than women get breast cancer?!

FDR was in a wheelchair. Kennedy had back problems. Taft was so overweight they had to put a new (bigger) bathtub in the White House. And as pointed out, Obama is a smoker. Those are all health issues that could/may have impacted America, but I don't think we should expect anyone in the Baby Boomer generation (likely the generation of whomever will be our next president) to have absolutely no health issues. If anyone in this country gets good medical care, it's the president.