Hillary Clinton cannot hide her health issues, even if past presidents once did
Wargeyska aadka loo akhristo ee Washington Post ayaa shalay daabcay warbixin xiiso leh oo uu cinwaan uga dhigay “Maxay madaxweyneyaasha dunidu u qariyaan xanuunnada ay qabaan?”
Warbixintani waxay ku soo beegantay kadib markii ay soo if baxeen warar tibaaxaya in ay cillad weyni ku jirto caafimaadka haweenayda u sharaxan madaxweynenimada Maraykanka, Hillary Clinton, oo tamar la’aan darteed dhulka ku dhacday xafladdii Axaddii loo qabtay xuska weerarradii 11-kii Sebtember.
Wargeysku wuxu qoray in madaxweyneyaal badan oo taariikhda Maraykanka soo maray ay qariyeen xanuuno ay qabeen qaarkoodna ay xanuunnadaa u geeriyoodeen iyagoo xilka haya.
Wuxu tusaale u soo qaatay Ronald Reagan oo qabay xanuunka loo yaqaan Alsaymaris ama “Alzheimer’s” oo burburiya unugyada kaydka maskaxda, qofka uu asiibana ku keena in ay xusuustu ka guurto maalinba ta ka dambaysa.
Madaxweyne Reagan waxa xanuunkiisa la shaaciyey kadib markii uu xilka ka dagay, taas oo buuq ka aloostay Maraykanka. Dadkii gacan-yaraha u ahaa iyo xigtadiisu waxay ilaa maanta ku doodaan in madaxweynaha iyo iyaguba aanay ogayn xanuunkaa jidhkiisa ku jiray. Ugu dambayntii Reagan xaaladdiisu waxay gaadhay in uu dirqi ku xasuusto kaliya xaaskiisa, Nancy Reagan, waana laga joojiyey in uu la kulmo warbaahinta iyo dadweynahaba, ilaa uu dhimanayeyna wuxu ku noolaa nolol go’doon ah.
John F. Kennedy ayaa isaguna qabay xanuun sababa in cadaadiska dhiiggu hoos u dhaco iyo dhabar-xanuun joogto ah. Dhawr jeer ayuu goob fagaare ah ku diiday ama dhulka ku dhacay. Ilaa uu dhimanayey lama sheegin in uu madaxweynuhu xanuuno culus qabo.
Madaxweyne Franklin Delano Roosevelt “FDR” ayaa muddo aad u dheer oo 12 sanno ah xilka madaxtinimada Maraykanka hayey isaga oo xanuunsanaya laakiin aanay dadku ogayn. Wuxu qabay wadno-xanuun mararka qaar ku soo boodi jiray iyo xanuuno kale oo ku ladhan. Maalmaha qaar daal daraadeed waxa lagu riixi jiray baskiilka dadka naafadaha ah, wuxuna sara kici jiray oo kali ah marka uu ku soo dhawaado meel ay saxaafaddu joogto ama ay dad ka dhaw yihiin.
Markii uu 1944-kii isku taagay doorashada Maraykanka mar afraadkii, ayuu dhakhtarkiisu qoray warqad uu ku sheegayo in aanu Madaxweyne Roosevelt sii noolaan doonin afarta sanno ee soo socda haddii la doorto. Sidii bay u dhacday oo dhawr bilood kadib markii la doortay wuu dhintay. Warqaddaasna lama shaacin ilaa la gaadhayey 2011-kii. Madaxweyne-Xigeenkiisii Harry Truman ayaa ku khasbanaaday in uu Dagaalkii Labaad ee dunida dhammaystiro isla markaana bixiyo amarradii adkaa ee nukliyeerka lagu duqeeyey magaalooyinka Japan.
Madaxweyneyaasha xanuunnadooda qariya kuma koobna kuwaa ay wax ka qortay jariiradda Washington Post. Waxa bishan gudaheeda geeriyooday Islam Karimov oo Uzbekistan 27 sanno xukumayey. Muddo dheer oo uu xanuunsanayey lama ogayn. Waxa iyaguna u geeriyooday xanuuno aan la ogayn Meles Zenawi-gii Itoobiya oo aan ilaa maantadaa la sheegin sababtii geeridiisa. Xaaji Cumar Bongo oo Gabon madaxweyne u ahaa 42 sanno wuxu xanuunka kansarka la il-darnaa muddo dheer iyadoo aanay dadkiisu ogayn. Xataa markii ugu dambaysay ee uu dhimanayey ee dalka Spain loo geeyey dawaynta waxay warbaahinta xukuumaddu sheegeen in uu nasasho u tagay Spain kadib markii uu ku daalay shaqada uu qaranka u hayo. Nasashadaas Xaaji Cumar kamuu soo noqon.
Waxa iyaguna xusid mudan madax badan oo carbeed oo aan xanuunkoodii la werin laakiin geeridoodii lagu war helay sida boqorradii kala dambeeyey ee Sucuudiga, Xaafid-Al-Asadkii Suuriya, Boqor Xuseen-kii Joordan iyo madax kale oo badan.
Wargeyska Washington Post wuxu badka soo dhigay su’aasha ah: Maxaa sababa in madaxweyneyaashu xanuunnadooda qariyaan, qaarkoodna ku keena in ay xataa dhakhaatiirta wanaagsan ee dawayn lahayd u tagi waayaan iyaga oo ka baqaya in ay baxdo sirta xanuunkoodu?
Wuxu sababta ku sheegay in madaxweyneyaashu marka ay doorashada ku jiraan ay ka baqaan in la dooran waayo haddii la ogaado xanuunkooda, marka ay kursiga ku fadhiyaana ay ka baqaan in xilka laga xayuubiyo ama awoodoodu wiiqanto sabab la xidhiidha xaaladdooda caafimaad ee la ogaaday darteed, taas oo keeni karta in ay xoogaystaan mucaaridka iyo dadka ka soo horjeeda ee doonaya in ay kursiga ka tuuraan.
Hase ahaatee Wargeysku wuxu sheegay in taasi ay iska tahay cabsi iyo kalsooni-darro laakiin madaxweyneyaashu ay wax maamuli karaan iyaga oo qaba xauunnada badankooda marka laga reebo noocyo kansarka ka mid ah oo keeni kara xil-gudasho la’aan, sidaas daraadeed aan loo baahnayn in la qariyo xanuunnada ay madaxweyneyaashu qabaan isla markaana ay waajib tahay in dadweynaha loo soo bandhigo nooca xanuunka ee madaxweyne kastaa qabo, si loo kala hubiyo in uu xilka sii wadi karo iyo in kale. Waana sababtaas ta ay maanta dadweynaha Maraykanku u doonayaan in ay ogaadaan xanuunnada ay qabaan Hillary Clinton iyo dhiggeeda Donald Trump. Labadooduba way ku khasban yihiin in ay wax walba bannaanka soo dhigaan sidii uu sameeyey John McCain markii uu la tartamayey Barack Obama.
Hillary Clinton cannot hide her health issues, even if past presidents once did
An individual’s health is usually a private matter. Not however when that individual is either President of the United States, or running to be president. In which case, as Hillary Clinton has just discovered, expect to be pressed to reveal everything. And history justifies the clamour for transparency.
When it comes to the health of the most powerful person in the world, whose decisions often have an impact far beyond the shores of America, the record of the US, despite its reputation for openness, is distinctly mixed.
Hillary Clinton ‘has no health problems other than pneumonia’
By and large, presidents have been pretty healthy – as they have to be given the stress of the job and, today, the physical gauntlet of a modern election campaign which for a challenger can last 18 months or more. But there have been glaring exceptions. And not until 1967 and the 25thamendment of the US constitution, was a clearcut mechanism established for what was to happen when a president died in office or was incapacitated by illness.
The last two occupants of the White House to die of natural causes were Warren Harding who suffered a fatal heart attack in 1923, and Franklin Roosevelt who died in April 1945 of a cerebral haemorrhage, 12 weeks after being sworn in for a fourth term. But before and since, there have been some near misses.
Unbeknown to the country, Woodrow Wilson suffered a major stroke in October 1919, that left him incapacitated for virtually the remaining 17 months of his presidency. Even before, as his doctors well knew, his health had been fragile. In 1955, Dwight Eisenhower had a heart attack that, while announced, may well have been more severe than was acknowledged at the time.
But it was his succcessor, John Kennedy, who really caused the goalposts to be moved on presidential health disclosure. JFK might have been killed by an assassin’s bullet, but his medical problems, had they been known at the time, would well have prevented him being elected in the first place.
Kennedy suffered from Addison’s disease, a serious glandular disorder, as well as colitis and chronic back problems. Astoundingly, these ailments and the constant medications they required, do not seem to have impaired his ability to govern. But nothing was made public. When aides of Lyndon Johnson, who challenged Kennedy for the 1960 Democratic nomination, let it be known that their man’s opponent had Addisons, the Kennedy camp flatly denied it – and that was that. Johnson himself took office in 1964 with a record of heart attacks, and throughout his presidency was terrified he would be felled by another one.
Against this the in-office health problems of recent presidents have been minor. In May 1991 George H.W. Bush was hit by atrial fibrillation while out jogging. More scary than the illness at the time was the fact that for a few hours at least it seemed that Dan Quayle might become acting president, under the 25th amendment.
In the event Bush recovered quickly without having to be put under, which would have triggered the amendment. But some have speculated that the condition persisted thereafter, contributing to the listlessness that often seemed to mark the remainder of his presidency, and that thus might have been a factor in his defeat by Bill Clinton in 1992.
As for the most spectacular demonstration of ill-health by the elder Bush – when he threw up in public at a state banquet in Japan – that episode was caused by a combination of stomach upset and tiredness. Equally inconsequential was the brief fainting by his son George W. Bush as the 43rd president choked on a preztel while watching a football game on television in the White House private quarters in January 2002.
In comparison, candidate Clinton’s diagnosis of pneumonia (of which the world was kept in the dark for 48 hours) sounds serious, especially given her previous documented health issues, that include a concussion and at least two episodes of bloodclots for which she still takes a bloodthinner. She may not yet be president, but the same rules apply.
