Around The Bend

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TPM Reader SR:

I’m not a doctor, but I am a lawyer and I know contradictory statements when I see them. Bachmann’s doctor says “no biggie.” Bachmann’s former aides say “major biggie.” …

The record from the doctor appears to mostly be a doctor regurgitating what a patient told him, which is what a lot of medical records seem to be (and if you’re a litigator, you’ve probably read your share of them. I know I have).

What she told him appears to be inconsistent with what a (unsworn anonymous) witness said and that means someone got some ‘splainin’ to do.

But the whole episode has just highlighted for me how utterly surreal and, ultimately, frightening her candidacy is.

In a sane world with two sane(ish) parties and major presidential candidates who were likewise more or less sane, this would be a very serious issue worthy of significant public debate and vigorous journalistic inquiry. If the president could be laid so completely out by a migraine that someone has to go scurrying–too late–for a copy of the 25th Amendment after that 3:00 a.m. phone call comes, people would need to know that.

Indeed, the extent to which a less than “oh god, please let me die now” vomit-inducing migraine could still be a problem affecting decisions during in a crisis, or to which the stress of a crisis could trigger one, would be a serious question deserving serious public debate and reporting. And then there’s the whole question about what she’s taking, what she’s taken in the past and what she might have to take if the problem gets worse.

But with Bachmann, she’s just so completely around the bend, so horrifically crazy and so terrifyingly dangerous, talking about her migraine issues just seems equivalent to a talking about whether there’s a problem with the hygiene of the kitchen on the Titanic.

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