The Washington Post Editorial Board is the latest outlet not to fall for Pennsylvania Democrat Senate candidate John Fetterman’s, the current state lieutenant governor, health excuses not to debate Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz.
“The race might well determine which party controls the Senate, and voters would benefit from seeing the two candidates exchange ideas and test each other,” the editorial board noted. “Mr. Fetterman has seemingly been reluctant to commit to firm debate dates, and that troubling stance has raised questions about whether he, still recovering from a serious stroke, is fit to serve in the Senate.”
Fetterman had a stroke in May. He went off the campaign trail but has managed to maintain a lead on Oz.
He returned to the campaign trail in early August.
That is when Oz applied pressure to hold debates starting in September.
Fetterman used his stroke as an excuse to turn down the debates, claiming Oz and his campaign made fun of his problems after the stroke. He insisted he is still trying to improve his “auditory processing and speech.”
After some grumblings, Fetterman said he is open to one debate but not until mid to late October. WaPo, like many other writers, noted that the debate would happen well after September 19, the first-day people can mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania.
WaPo doesn’t think Fetterman’s medical issues are a valid excuse to skip debates but considers it a valid reason to question if Fetterman is fit for office.
In fact, WaPo finds Fetterman’s campaign’s behavior since the stroke about his health “unsettling“:
Since returning to the campaign trail, Mr. Fetterman has been halting in his performances. He stammers, appears confused and keeps his remarks short. He has held no news conferences. Mr. Fetterman acknowledges his difficulties with auditory processing, which make it hard for him to respond quickly to what he’s hearing. He receives speech therapy — and we wish him a speedy, full recovery — but the lingering, unanswered questions about his health, underscored by his hesitation to debate, are unsettling.The Fetterman campaign squandered credibility by concealing from the public for two days after his stroke that he had been hospitalized. It waited weeks longer to reveal a more complete picture of his medical history, including that he had been diagnosed in 2017 with cardiomyopathy. Mr. Fetterman had a pacemaker with a defibrillator implanted after the stroke. The campaign’s response to questions about Mr. Fetterman’s health is to point to a doctor’s note, released more than 14 weeks ago, which said “he should be able to campaign and serve in the U.S. Senate without a problem” if he takes his medications and exercises.
Did someone take away the Kool-Aid at WaPo? Man, the editorial board unloaded:
That’s not good enough. Mr. Fetterman is asking voters for a six-year contract without giving them enough information to make sound judgments about whether he’s up for such a demanding job. We have called for full disclosure of health records from candidates for federal office in both parties, including Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and we believe Mr. Fetterman should release his medical records for independent review.And he should debate Mr. Oz before voters start casting their ballots. Mr. Oz, for his part, has not exactly conducted himself with glory. The campaign’s offer to fund “any additional medical personnel [Mr. Fetterman] might need to have on standby” during a debate and its mocking comment about Mr. Fetterman not eating enough vegetables were sophomoric and unseemly, made worse by the fact that Mr. Oz is a cardiothoracic surgeon. Both candidates have something to prove to voters, and there is no better forum than a debate.
Fetterman’s pro-abortion rally on 9/11 didn’t help matters. I wonder if that was the last straw for WaPo.
Fetterman proclaimed his name as John FetterWoman as he struggled to make his way through the speech:
“My name is John FetterWoman!” he said as the crowd cheered.During the rally, Fetterman reiterated his support for abortion, which includes his support for the deadly practice up until the moment of birth, and pledged that he would vote to codify Roe v. Wade in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision.“Women are the reason we can win. Let me say that again: Women are the reason we win.” Fetterman told the crowd.“Don’t piss women off,” he added.Fetterman then pointed his attack at his opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, characterizing him as a pro-life extremist.“This decision: should [it] be made up to Dr. Oz? Or to a woman and a real doctor, to choose?” Fetterman asked the crowd.“Oz believes abortion is murder… No exceptions: rape or incest… If every abortion is a murder, that means Dr. Oz considers every woman who had to choose abortion is a killer,” Fetterman added.
If he can attend these rallies in front of many people and give speeches despite the challenges, then he should debate.
But, then again, the speech at the rally legitimatized the concerns of those who wonder if Fetterman is fit to hold office.
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