Tel-Chai Nation

Caroline Glick discusses Ariel Sharon's two recent setbacks in his bid for reelection as part of a "centrist" party, that being Kadima. The first one:

The first blow came with former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's election as Likud leader on Monday. Netanyahu's victory cleared the way for the Likud to finally enter the general elections race. Before Netanyahu's election, Kadima had the political field to itself. If the Likud is able to unify behind Netanyahu, and if Netanyahu runs a strong and competent campaign, we are in for an extremely competitive electoral season.

So let's hope that Netanyahu works things out well in the coming weeks and months, and that the party members will be properly united in the coming election campaign. Both very important keys to succeeding in the elections.

Now for the second one:

The second hit was, of course, the mild stroke that Sharon suffered, which landed him in the hospital on Sunday evening. Sharon's health problems, which his stroke and subsequent hospitalization brought dramatically to the public's attention, dealt a serious blow to Kadima because now the issue of Sharon's medical condition will likely become a central issue in the campaign.

An excellent point indeed. In fact, it's something that should probably have been an issue in many political campaigns the world over: the importance of good health for a candidate, especially in as important a position as a country's premier.

As Glick notes in here, the doctors reports on Sharon's health status are far from clear, and it's apparent that they're keeping mum about something. As she says here:

From the contradictory reports on the cause and consequences of his mild stroke this week, it is impossible to know what his health status actually is. But it is obviously far from satisfactory. The doctors at Hadassah claimed that his stroke did not increase the likelihood that Sharon will suffer from future strokes. But according to New York-based neurosurgeon Dr. David Poulad, "this is simply untrue." The fact of the matter is that Sharon's stroke indicates that there is a problem with his blood flow and such a problem constitutes a serious medical condition.

According to a number of reports, Sharon's stroke was caused by a blood clot in his heart. If this is correct it indicates that Sharon suffers from an irregular heartbeat. Again, according to Poulad, "Sharon's apparent heart condition increases the risk of future strokes as well as a host of other problems. If his heartbeat is irregular then he can suffer from blood clots anywhere in his body. The anti-coagulant medications that he was placed on during his hospitalization can themselves cause a whole host of additional problems, such as hemorrhaging." People who have suffered mild strokes and are medicated with anti-coagulants do not generally have long or healthy life expectancies, Poulad concludes. Given that Poulad himself can only draw his conclusions from the fragmentary information made available to the public this week, he cautions that his views may very well be alarmist.

And yet, given that Sharon is basing his entire campaign - as he has his entire tenure in office - on the public's faith in him personally, the public must be provided with a clear understanding of how long he can be expected to continue functioning at his current level. The Likud must demand that Sharon's medical records be made public immediately.

While there was a press conference today by doctors on the issue, they still did not reveal much, and interestingly enough, no cameras or tape recorders were permitted at the meeting. Which is why a demand must be made for the exact records to be made clear, and not just simply a superficial statement.