Tim Johnson "Recovered," Ready To Serve As Senator Again... At Some Point

I wish no ill upon Johnson. However, as soon as I began watching this local TV story I knew something was up. They featured members of Johnson's family assuring us he was nearly recovered and yet avoided showing Johnson actually speaking.

If you click on the videos along the bottom you'll see why. He, as he notes, has not recovered normal speech. He sounds like a serious stroke victim. If his mind is completely alert, he doesn't demonstrate it, relying instead on rather basic written remarks.

It's amazing that the media pushed the story that he's almost entirely recovered, and yet denied us the ability to make that determination ourselves by showing us the best evidence of this proposition either way, eh?

Is he "nearly" fully recovered? That doesn't seem to be the case. Can he be fully recovered in time for the next Congress? Given that it's taken him this long to manage a partial recovery, that seems fairly doubtful.

Congratulations to Tim Johnson for making this much of a recovery. Damn The Deciders of the media, however, for deciding on our behalf that we should not be permitted to judge whether he was actually capable of continuing on as US Senator.

This is exactly like a candidates' history of cancer. His camp will of course insist it is irrelevant and in any event he's entirely cured. His opponents will argue it is a factor to be weighed in determining whether or not he's healthy enough, and will remain so long enough, to serve the office he seeks.

It's a genuine issue, if a touchy one. But who do The Deciders think they are to censor relevant information on this score from the audience they serve and instead feed us nothing but the assurances of his son that he's recovered, when the actual videotape of the speech, deliberately censored from the TV report, proves the precise opposite?

Thanks to the Influence Peddler.

posted by Ace at 03:07 PM

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