# Mitch McConnell and Medical Issues **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 26, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661 "2023-07-26T19:02:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/81 "2023-07-27T15:02:06Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Shit. I feel like a heel for sharing that meme, now. > > Sorry about that. No apologies needed. I’m so glad you did, and I shared it with a few friends, feeling very edgy as I did. I felt sorry for Mitch in the moment… but that moment passed. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/82 "2023-07-27T15:06:06Z")
\<\< removed by poster \>\> ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/83 "2023-07-27T15:06:39Z")
Didn’t he have blue lips and fingers awhile back? What as that all about? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/84 "2023-07-27T15:07:27Z")
He’s had an undead/zombie vibe for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/85 "2023-07-27T15:20:29Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > > [@Akaj](#): > > > > Next time some MAGAt says Biden is too old and senile for the job, show them this clip. > > I think this clip is an illustration of why Biden (and Trump, and Mitch, and Feinstein) are too old. My point was that Biden looks and acts nothing like McConnell does here. And nothing like the deranged logorrhea of Trump, either. He’s neither too old nor too enfeebled for the job, despite what rightwing media says. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/86 "2023-07-27T15:25:18Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > falls are serious stuff when you are over 70. Which is why it is so annoying when the right wing has made fun of Biden for falling. The fact that he can get up without any injury tells me he is in great shape for his age. Mitch, meanwhile, looks _horrible_. > [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Didn’t he have blue lips and fingers awhile back? Yeah, it looked really bad. [![](https://i.ibb.co/WcttPxn/DAF2-D536-337-E-48-E8-B6-F4-9018-C6-D1243-A.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/WcttPxn/DAF2-D536-337-E-48-E8-B6-F4-9018-C6-D1243-A.jpg) [![](https://i.ibb.co/JnwDGq4/92-D68823-8224-497-D-B294-D7-A90-D7-D241-D.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/JnwDGq4/92-D68823-8224-497-D-B294-D7-A90-D7-D241-D.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/87 "2023-07-27T15:29:44Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Yeah, it looked really bad. Ok…I was joking about the zombie thing before but those pics make me think he really might be one of the undead. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/88 "2023-07-27T15:35:38Z")
My lovely wife thinks Jewish space lasers got him. I think g-d struck him dumb. However, TIA, absence seizure, or exacerbated post-polio or post-surgical consequences, or a combination, is more likely. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/89 "2023-07-27T15:54:47Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > My point was that Biden looks and acts nothing like McConnell does here. And nothing like the deranged logorrhea of Trump, either. He’s neither too old nor too enfeebled for the job, despite what rightwing media says. This. I’m in my mid-70s, I have plenty of friends in their '80s, and even some in their '90s, and all of us are in much better shape than Mitch. Age in itself is no determiner of mental acuity. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/90 "2023-07-27T16:18:45Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Age in itself is no determiner of mental acuity. No but it is not a bad metric either. Certainly many keep their faculties about them well into old age. My grandma was sharp and clear-headed (with only a few senior moments of forgetfulness…nothing to remark on) till she died at 92. My mom (her daughter) had advanced Alzheimer’s when she died at 87 and barely recognized me. That’s the thing though and why there should be mandatory retirement ages for government officials. Some may be great as they age, but some will not. And we can be sure some will falter…it’s just a numbers game at that point. Clearly the voting system is so locked in for incumbents that the ideal way to remove them…vote them out of office…just does not work well. And I say all of that as someone close enough to these ages that it is real for me too (not quite there yet…I’ll keep pretending I am 35 for now). ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/91 "2023-07-27T16:40:32Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > Next time some MAGAt says Biden is too old and senile for the job, show them this clip. They hate Mitch just as much. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/92 "2023-07-27T17:19:27Z")
True. Unfortunately, the really important metrics are hard to spot (until their absence is obvious when it’s too late) and impossible to quantify: intelligence (v. utter stupidity), moral values, good judgment, honesty, good character, long-range thinking, generosity, unselfishness, kindness, humor, leadership ability, self-esteem. You know, the general stuff that makes a good human being. The life of a politician doesn’t foster these, but we saw some of these qualities in Obama and in Jimmy Carter. But to be an effective president, a person also needs a certain ruthlessness and drive-- preferably not to the exclusion of the good qualities. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/93 "2023-07-27T18:37:26Z")
I don’t like the idea of age being used as cause to dismiss a more qualified official in favor of one less so. Even the executive position has safety valves in the case of non-performance. They might become better, and the rules of the senate could be improved, but those are things that can be changed through elections. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/94 "2023-07-27T18:55:22Z")
MCConnell made a few remarks about the issue today. He made a joke that president Biden called him and he replied that he “got sandbagged” (a clear reference to when Biden tripped over a sandbag and fell - with nary an injury - at a recent military event). He also ignored the question of whether he saw a doctor, and instead said that he’s “fine”. Then he sort of repeated “sandbag” and turtled down the hall. At least, that was my take on it. For an attempt at dismissing this as just a minor matter, it really came across as exceptionally feeble. > **[McConnell says he's 'fine' after freezing during news conference | CNN Politics](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/07/26/politics/mitch-mcconnell-freezes-press-conference/index.html)** > > Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters that he’s “fine,” after freezing during a news conference on Wednesday. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/95 "2023-07-27T18:58:01Z")
Agree. The problem with the “sandbag” defense is that a sandbag is an external thing that momentarily tripped up President Biden. Whatever tripped up McConnell was _internal_. Not two equal things in my book. Or many other people’s. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/96 "2023-07-27T19:03:55Z")
Yeah, a 22-year-old professional athlete could trip over a sandbag. What happened to Mitch was a real “yikes” moment. Incidentally, in other really-old-person news out of the Senate, [Diane Feinstein continues to enjoy her Weekend at Bernie’s.](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4123343-feinstein-told-just-say-aye-at-vote/) “Silent Generation,” my ass. These geriatrics won’t shut up! ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/97 "2023-07-27T19:05:21Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > He made a joke that president Biden called him and he replied that he “got sandbagged” Wait a sec … you mean Biden didn’t tweet anything about Mitch being a walking corpse, or imply that the nation is doomed if the GOP doesn’t replace its leadership immediately? What the hell kind of president is he? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/98 "2023-07-27T19:14:18Z")
Classy. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/99 "2023-07-27T20:03:03Z")
To be fair, Dianne Feinstein needs to resign too. I know this thread is about McConnell but I think this speaks to the broader issue of people no longer capable of serving and, while I despise McConnell, I think the same should apply to all sides: Full Title: **A confused Dianne Feinstein tried to give a speech in the middle of a Senate hearing vote and was told to ‘just say aye’ instead** > **[A confused Dianne Feinstein tried to give a speech in the middle of a Senate...](https://www.businessinsider.com/dianne-feinstein-confused-just-say-aye-senate-hearing-video-2023-7?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=insider-politics-sub-post)** > > "Just say aye," Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Patty Murray repeatedly pleaded to Feinstein during the vote. Eventually, Feinstein did just that. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/100 "2023-07-27T21:24:14Z")
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