Migranes? Really?

I will say it right now. I don't agree with much that Michele Bachmann stands for, especially with her tendency to rewrite painful parts of American history.

Now that's out of the way, I want to talk about this whole migraine business. She has been known to suffer from severe migraines for several years. I know first-hand that these can be entirely debilitating and difficult to manage. She says she is managing them with medication. That should be the end of the story, but somehow, it's not.

First off, I don't understand why this is a story. She should be free to manage her medical conditions as she and her physician see fit.

This is troubling on other levels. What if I were to want to run for political office? Sure, I don't get sick that often and am usually still functional, but how would the media react to someone like me running for office?

I think they'd be completely and totally understanding. YEAH RIGHT. They would tear me and my physicians apart, questioning every procedure I've ever had. They would not see me as a person, but as someone who has a "debilitating" condition. Are we not all more than the sum of our parts?

I recall the West Wing episodes where it was revealed the fictional president had MS. I believe now, more than ever, Jed Bartlet got off easy in those scenes, tense though they were.

I feel certain that FDR would never be elected in the internet age, or even in the television age. Presidential aptitude is judged on so many more criteria now, more than ever before. You have to be healthy, good looking, and have some gravitas (hopefully). You can't be seen as weak in any way. Where would I fit into this structure where physical weakness is an automatic non-starter? What if I wanted to be in our political system? I can't very well do a lot of shaking hands and kissing babies (especially recently-vaccinated ones).

Our representative government doesn't seem so representative of me or my needs today.