Who's in charge?

[Ian David]

Monday, March 12, 2007

Have we really descended to such a level in society that a family crisis is subject to political analysis?

The commentary and speculation surrounding Diane Patrick's illness and Deval Patrick's work schedule is a bit frightening in terms of what is says about our attitude toward elected officials. Particularly unnerving is the line in the Globe the citing comments on its own message board (comments I have no real interest in reading, thank you very much).

I'm left to wonder -- would the reaction be the same if it was announced Diane Patrick had multiple sclerosis as Anne Romney or a different type of chronic condition? Everyone has been straining to avoid Dukakis comparisons in describing Patrick's early missteps, but the parallel here is just too clear to avoid.

Michael and Kitty Dukakis closely held the fact the former first lady suffered from depression. It was a less-intrusive political era to be sure, but the public was none the wiser (or worse for wear) by not knowing about her bouts.

It was only when Dukakis took to the presidential campaign trail that the family opted to make the information public -- on its own terms. That included a very early in the day news conference and a series of one-on-one interviews by the first lady that stretched across the rest of the day.

More:
http://baystateliberal.blogspot.com/2007/03/whos-in-charge.html