Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro’s Fetterman Problem
Senator, a stroke victim, and now hospitalized for clinical depression. Time for a resignation?
by Jeffrey Lord
February 16, 2023, 5:30 PM
In truth, this news is self-evidently sad.
Here’s the headline from Penn Live, the online version of the Patriot-News, the newspaper in Harrisburg:
Sen. John Fetterman of Pa. hospitalized for clinical depression, staff says
This was the headline from the Philadelphia Inquirer:
John Fetterman has checked into Walter Reed hospital for clinical depression
Fetterman’s office said he has struggled with that concern for years but that it only became severe in recent weeks.
And from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the paper that covers Western Pennsylvania:
Sen. John Fetterman checks himself into the hospital for clinical depression
To be clear, I feel nothing but sympathy for Sen. Fetterman and his family. In a year’s time, he has had first a stroke and now this.
But last year during his Senate race, as a member of the Penn Live editorial board, I raised the health issue with Fetterman personally when he came before the board to make the case for his candidacy.
At the time, I told him that in my youth I had served as executive assistant to Pennsylvania’s then-Sen. John Heinz. At the time, Heinz was in his mid-40s, in great physical shape, and a fountain of energy. As was the case with other Heinz staffers, I would have my time running around Pennsylvania from one end of this very big state to the other with Heinz. I was in my early 30s and in good shape, and even then, keeping up with the energetic and vigorous Heinz was a challenge.
A senator’s job, I learned, in addition to traveling all over the state, requires serious participation in Senate committee hearings, and lots of time is also required for debates on the Senate floor. I learned firsthand from John Heinz that being a United States senator from Pennsylvania is work — serious hard work. It requires, at a minimum, physical and mental stamina to do the very basics of the job.
more
https://spectator.org/pennsylvania-gov-shapiros-fetterman-problem/
