A sensational Daily Caller story July 18th by Jonathan Strong quotes three anonymous sources to the effect that Michele Bachmann suffers routinely from debilitating migraine headaches, which, according to one source, can “incapacitate” her on occasion for several days.
While the sources are anonymous, what is worrisome is that Ms. Bachmann’s spokeswoman Alice Stewart admitted that Ms. Bachmann “suffers from migraines” but says they are “under control with medicine.” She challenged the use of the word “incapacitating” but, according to Strong, “did not specify how the descriptions were wrong.”
She understandably refused to discuss details of Bachmann’s hospital visits (“I’m not going to go into her medical history”), but neither did she deny that Bachmann has been hospitalized on occasion for treatment of this condition.
This story obviously must be read with a certain amount of caution, and verification is needed before conclusions can be drawn. However, it must be said that should the content of Strong’s piece be verified, I do not see how a Bachmann candidacy can survive. We obviously must have a president and commander-in-chief in full and complete health, who is in constant command of his faculties, and who has no known risk of being temporarily unable to discharge the duties of office.
All of which would make a Rick Perry candidacy both inevitable and necessary. Perry, Bachmann, and Herman Cain are the most enthusiastically popular potentials with Tea Partiers, but even fervent Tea Party supporters would be forced to concede it would not be a good idea to have a president who might be sidelined for periods of time virtually without warning.
What this would mean in the end is that the campaign would come down to Cain and Perry. Mitt Romney, despite his fundraising advantages, is obviously and patently unacceptable to social and small government conservatives. Neither Pawlenty nor Santorum nor Huntsman are likely to generate any traction, and Gingrich’s campaign was over virtually before it started.
Ron Paul cannot possibly win the GOP nomination, given his support for legalizing heroin and de-legalizing marriage. If Bachmann’s health takes her out, the field for evangelicals and Tea Party types has been winnowed down to Perry and Cain.
It would be essentially necessary for Perry run if Bachmann’s health becomes an issue. If he doesn’t wade in to the pool, he’ll get drafted.
He has an enviable and unmatched record on jobs as governor of Texas. According to the Census Bureau, 907,000 of the 1.6 million jobs created in the last 10 years were created in Texas under his watch. With jobs and the economy the number one issue on people’s minds, this is virtually the only message Perry will need. With his unapologetic social conservatism, including unqualified support for the sanctity of life and natural marriage, Perry will make an appealing if not irresistible candidate for true conservatives.
Cain seems to have rediscovered his bold and unwavering voice in recent days, after a few weeks of uncertainty and clumsy footwork, and could make Perry earn the nomination down the stretch. The iron-sharpening-iron dynamic between the two would help conservatives to make their choice and prove the mettle of the eventual winner. From here, that winner looks a lot like Gov. Rick Perry.
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(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
Bryan Fischer is the Director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy at the American Family Association, where he provides expertise on a range of public policy topics. He hosts the "Focal Point" radio program on AFR Talk,which airs live on weekdays from 1-3 p.m. Central on American Family Radio's nationwide talk network of 145 stations.
