
<p>Democrat Lt. Governor John Fetterman is running against Dr. Mehmet Oz for the Pennsylvania Senate seat being given up by Republican Patrick Toomey. ; </p>



<p>On the eve of the primary, Fetterman had a stroke. ; He won the primary from his hospital room but spent weeks away from the campaign trail to recover – at least somewhat.</p>



<p>Before getting into the Fetterman case, I should mention that I have had some experience with a stroke. ; I had one a couple of years ago – a mild one. ; I have a numbness that runs from the left side of my face, down through the shoulder to the left hand. ; But … It has zero impact on my mobility, strength, skin sensitivity, and intellectual functions. ; Just a slight feeling of numbness.</p>



<p>Fetterman is said to have had a mild stroke, too. ; I guess the difference is how one defines “mild.” ; Fetterman had a prolonged stay in the hospital. ; I was discharged the next morning. ; Fetterman had a weeks-long home recovery. ; I was back to writing – and tennis, bowling, and jumping out of airplanes – immediately. ; Fetterman had prolonged therapy – which is reported to be ongoing. ; I needed none.</p>



<p>There are two types of strokes – those caused by a blockage that prevents blood from flowing to a portion of the brain and those caused by ruptures in which blood flows into the brain. ; I had the former, which is the less dangerous. ; ;</p>



<p>We do not know what Fetterman suffered or the impact on his physical or mental abilities because the details have not been reported to the public.</p>



<p>We have heard that he has “communication” issues. ; The <em>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</em> ran an article under the headline, “John Fetterman has lingering speech issues after his stroke. ; What’s the impact on his Senate run?” ; While Fetterman is officially back on the campaign trail, his public appearances are few and far between. ; He walks with a limp that seems to have been a result of the stroke – and has some speech issues.</p>



<p>The stroke may also have affected Fetterman’s ability to process verbal language. ; His team has requested that debate questions be displayed on a character generator as well as spoken. ; He has also backed off on his challenge to a large number of debates – possibly agreeing to one near election day, when more than half of Pennsylvania voters will have already cast early ballots.</p>



<p>I think it is safe to say that Fetterman is more seriously impaired that he is revealing to the public. ; Based on what little we do know, his debility will have some impact on his duties. ; It has already impacted on his ability to campaign.  ; Whether it is sufficiently serious to impinge on his ability to give full service to the citizens of Pennsylvania is uncertain – at least from a public perspective. ; It is serious enough for voters to take a good hard look at the situation – learning whatever they can.</p>



<p>Of course, all this deals with his physical condition. ; What is REALLY wrong with Fetterman are his outrageously radical left-wing policies. ; But that will be for a future commentary.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

What is really wrong with Fetterman (Woo, how much time do you have?)
