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For a moment, the taboo health question comes front-and-center

Senator Arlen Specter ignited a bit of a tempest in the blogosphere Tuesday, when he teared up during Senate hearings and reportedly said “I’m not sad; it’s chemotherapy, and I’ve made the Kleenex industry wealthy.”

That quickly led to questions about whether Hodgkins survivor had suffered a relapse, and some reports even said he was once again undergoing chemotherapy treatments. His spokeswoman was quick to strike down that false perception, making clear that Specter has a clean bill of health. But the back-and-forth was enough to overshadow Specter going so far as to reportedly applaud Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s now infamous “wise Latina” comment.

In the end, no news was broken and it was largely a distraction from the issues at hand. But for a moment, it brought to the forefront a political topic oft-whispered about but rarely spoken about in public. It’s one journalists are hesitant to touch, but one undoubtedly on voters’ minds.

Look, Specter is 79, and most people who have seen health problems rivaling his would have thrown in the towel long ago. There’s no question that this will be a factor when voters go to the polls next year. I can’t even tell you the crazy conspiracy theories I heard about his health when he switched parties earlier this year—none are worthy of publication.

At the same time, Specter rarely gives off even an aura of vulnerability. He had barely finished his latest round of chemotherapy before he was back at work grilling witnesses in committee hearings. No one doubts he’s tough.

But something tells me this won’t be the last we hear of this. Stay tuned.

July 28, 2009 at 8:28 pm

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Arlen Specter

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