So I went looking as I know we had at least one President with a life threatening illness, Polio. I found this lovely little site:
For those who love trivia
and here is a site that talks about how Presidents hid their illnesses
Here are some exerpts:
George Washington
Malaria, smallpox, tuberculosis, dysentery, boils (carbuncles), tooth loss, hearing loss, presbyopia, infertility, quinsy, pneumonia, epiglottitis or strep infection of the larynx.
Thomas Jefferson
Cluster/tension headaches, broken/fractured bones, dysentery, depression, rheumatism, constipation, boils, hearing loss, enlarged prostate, Asperger syndrome (
William H. Taft
Skull fracture and head injury due to wagon accident, sunburn, typhoid fever, severe obesity, dengue fever (?), perineal abscess, dysentery, food poisoning, heartburn, sleep apnea, motion sickness, constipation, headache, gout, cold, eye injury, pink eye, lower back pain (lumbago), hypertension, carpal tunnel syndrome (?), indigestion, atrial fibrillation, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic cystitis, atherosclerosis, myocarditis, heart failure
Dwight Eisenhower
Appendicitis, seborrheic keratosis, arthritis, Crohn's disease, anxiety, depression, bowel obstruction, stroke, cholecystitis, prostatic hyperthropy, heart disease, multiple heart attacks (myocardial infarctions
What I am trying to state with this is that diseases do not mean one has to quit living or that one cannot be President. Lance Armstrong is a perfect example of a cancer survivor. I find it interesting that him riding to 7 Tour victories after overcoming cancer is seen as a wonderful uplifting tale but Elizabeth's illness is seen as a downside for John and the campaign.
Remember that we have had a few Supreme Court Judges that survived cancer. Being a Supreme Court Justice is no lesss stressful than campaigning.
Here is a list of a few cancer survivors.
Lance Armstrong, cyclist, winner of the Tour de France
Nancy Reagan, First Lady of the United States
Tom Green, comedian
David M. Bailey, singer/songwriter
Mario Lemieux, professional hockey player, 2 time Stanley Cup winner & part-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins
Arnold Palmer, professional golfer, winner of 92 professional titles
Sandra Day O'Connor, first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, second woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court
Olivia Newton-John, actress
Melissa Etheridge, Grammy-winning singer
Sheryl Crow, Grammy-winning singer
Scott Hamilton, Olympic gold-medal winning figure skater
Peggy Fleming, Olympic gold-medal winning figure skater
Tucker L. Melancon, United States District Judge, Western District of Louisiana, 5th Circuit
Barbara Delinsky, writer
Kylie Minogue, popstar and actress
Farrah Fawcett, actress (Charlie's Angels)
Sharon Osbourne, TV Personality
If we judged political candidates by Physical health and possible physical survival we would have never had a president until the invention of modern medicine. In the times of Washington and Jefferson something we consider treatable like chicken pox could kill you. Elizabeth's health is a factor but it should be up to them and them alone to decide how they would handle the worst. I would be willing to bet that Elizabeth and John view what they feel they could accomplish for this country as a higher priority then Elizabeth's illness. She perhaps knows the answer to the question, "If you only had x amount of time to live, what would you do?" I think we should be thankful that to her and John trying to fix this country is what they are choosing to do.
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