# Gabrielle Giffords Interview Special Next Week on ABC **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2011, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678 "2011-11-12T10:02:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Apollo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@Apollo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/21 "2011-11-16T04:43:17Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > She has to prove that she’s capable of discussing complex issues and engaging in at least a informal debate. The vetting process in any election is crucial. > > [http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html](http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html) Meh, Michelle Bachmann managed to get elected with her performance and that’s without suffering from massive brain damage. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/22 "2011-11-16T04:57:46Z")
My heart absolutely goes out to Gabby Giffords, but I have to say that I think the people of her district probably need someone who is fully capable of performing all the necessary duties and responsibilities of her office. If they want to let her continue serving out her term and remain in office, fine, but there should probably be a vote of some sort to see what her constituents think. ---
**Author:** ![mil0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mil0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mil0)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/23 "2011-11-16T07:41:00Z")
The 41 minute interview is on Hulu. [http://www.hulu.com/watch/300217/abc-2020-gabby-giffords-and-mark-kelly-courage-and-hope](http://www.hulu.com/watch/300217/abc-2020-gabby-giffords-and-mark-kelly-courage-and-hope) ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/24 "2011-11-16T12:29:36Z")
I’m really glad you put up that link, **mil0**. I saw Diane Sawyer The Spew yesterday, and it made me cry. And I am so not a sentimental person. The interview her husband did with John Stewart last night was very moving as well. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/25 "2011-11-17T17:44:17Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m not sure what they mean by 50% vision loss. Total vision loss in one eye is 50% loss of total vision. Or do they mean 50% from both eyes? Maybe they’ll clear it up in the interview. If it’s 50% of both eyes, then I’d imagine that everything is blurry to her. That raises a further question: can she read? Or would she need to have someone read everything out loud for her? It hurts to say this, but at this point I’m expecting Giffords to be a new Robert Byrd: someone who can’t really function, and is just kinda wheeled in to provide a party-line vote. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/26 "2011-11-17T18:13:29Z")
I’m getting soft in my old age. I had a little moment at the part when Giffords began to cry from frustration, then her therapist comforted her. How incredibly touching. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/27 "2011-11-17T18:38:12Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I’m getting soft in my old age. I had a little moment at the part when Giffords began to cry from frustration, then her therapist comforted her. How incredibly touching. As a human, yes. But I agree with several other posters in this thread - that level of functioning is inconsistent with service as a member of Congress. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/28 "2011-11-17T18:57:47Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > As a human, yes. But I agree with several other posters in this thread - that level of functioning is inconsistent with service as a member of Congress. You’re kidding, right? That level of functioning would be an improvement for some members of Congress. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/29 "2011-11-17T19:11:07Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I’m getting soft in my old age. I had a little moment at the part when Giffords began to cry from frustration, then her therapist comforted her. How incredibly touching. That made me cry. I also loved how Mark encouraged her when she said she was beaten and he said, no, you’re just beat up, not beaten. Of course, I cry at commercials these days too, so keep that in mind. She’s lovely. They are lovely. And brave. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/30 "2011-11-17T19:19:04Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > You’re kidding, right? That level of functioning would be an improvement for some members of Congress. 😉 The impression I got from the interview was that she has all her cognitive ability, but has had to rebuild her ability to speak, like a person who has suffered a massive stroke. Will she be able to deliver a stump speech by the 2012 campaign season, or will [her husband Mark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Kelly_%28astronaut%29) run in her stead? Looking at his Wikipedia page, he has as solid a resume as I can imagine one needs to run for Congress. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/31 "2011-11-17T19:21:52Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > My heart absolutely goes out to Gabby Giffords, but I have to say that I think the people of her district probably need someone who is fully capable of performing all the necessary duties and responsibilities of her office. The vast majority of the work of a member of Congress is done by their staffers, especially the direct interaction with their constituents. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/32 "2011-11-17T20:10:16Z")
Just watched it on Hulu. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/33 "2011-11-17T21:27:19Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > The impression I got from the interview was that she has all her cognitive ability, but has had to rebuild her ability to speak, like a person who has suffered a massive stroke. That was my impression. No one seemed as though they were speaking down to her or phrasing their questions as though she was “slow”, and she seemed to understand what was going on, she’s just trapped in a body that can’t respond as she’d like yet. More of a shame for that in my estimation but I pray she’ll come back from it. ---
**Author:** ![BarefootOkieGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BarefootOkieGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarefootOkieGal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/34 "2011-11-18T00:53:54Z")
> [@Queen\_Tonya](#): > > She’s had an amazing recovery and it was great to see her doing so well. > > One small however, though. It made me feel oddly voyeuristic to watch the home videos her husband made of her recovery. I tried thinking of it like this shows how far she’s had to come to get where she is now and let’s all celebrate her progress…but it felt exploitative somehow. Kinda oogy. Am I the only person who thinks her husband might be just a tad - pushy? I know he’s trying to be encouraging, but some of the things he says make him sound a little bit overly forceful; from what I saw of the special, she is doing well but the fact is that no one knows how much better she will get - and I get the feeling that he’s the sort of person who wants her to be right back the way she was before she got shot, and that would be a pure miracle. ---
**Author:** ![BarefootOkieGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BarefootOkieGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarefootOkieGal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/35 "2011-11-18T00:57:31Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > She seemed kind of child-like to me in some ways, like she has the personality of a little girl instead of a grown woman. > > Hopefully this will be fixed as she improves on her communication skills. I really hope she hasn’t plateaued yet. I noticed that, too - that may be because of the frontal lobe damage caused by the bullet. I don’t know if that is something that will improve with time, or if it’s permanent. Same with her speech - she appears to understand all that’s said to her, but she has great difficulty putting sentences together, which seems to indicate damage to Broca’s area in her brain, and that may or may not be permanent. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/36 "2011-11-18T02:30:36Z")
I’m pessimistic that this is as good as she’ll get. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/37 "2011-11-18T06:05:44Z")
> [@BarefootOkieGal](#): > > Am I the only person who thinks her husband might be just a tad - pushy? He’s an astronaut and a career military officer. She’s a member of Congress who had the potential to go all the way to the White House. Neither were on career paths that encouraged meekness. From what I know of their lives before the shooting, he expects no more from her than she would expect from herself. ---
**Author:** ![BarefootOkieGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BarefootOkieGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarefootOkieGal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678/38 "2011-11-18T16:32:09Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > He’s an astronaut and a career military officer. She’s a member of Congress who had the potential to go all the way to the White House. > > Neither were on career paths that encouraged meekness. From what I know of their lives before the shooting, he expects no more from her than she would expect from herself. I’m just hoping they’re not forming false hopes - don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE to see her come back 100%, and am rooting for her with all my heart; it’s just that when you’re dealing with a head injury, there’s no real way of knowing how much a person will improve before they reach a plateau; I could see clearly that she’s frustrated by her inability to express herself the way she wants to, and she’s definitely a fighter, but all the fight and grit and gumption in the world won’t change the fact that her brain suffered damage is certain crucial areas, and chances are that there will be some permanent effects. I noticed that her right hand was curled slightly, and she still has a definite limp; these may be things that improve with further therapy, or these may be permanent. I guess I’m just hoping that if she never regains full functionality, the two of them are able to accept what she can do, and go on from there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gabrielle-giffords-interview-special-next-week-on-abc/602678.md?page=1)