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The
politics of illness is particularly sensitive in this election, with so
many candidates and their spouses battling one disease or another. Fred
Thompson announced in April that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma but that the cancer was in remission. Before that, Elizabeth Edwards revealed
that her cancer had returned but that her husband's campaign would
continue. And now Rudy Giuliani, pushing his health-care plan in New
Hampshire, is rolling out a new radio ad discussing his experience with prostate cancer, which he defeated in 2000.
"I
had prostate cancer, five, six years ago," Giuliani says in the spot.
"My chance of surviving prostate cancer, and thank God I was cured of
it, in the United States, 82 percent. My chances of surviving prostate
cancer in England, only 44 percent under socialized medicine."
It
feels icky to discuss life-threatening illnesses in PR terms, but it's
no accident that Rudy chose to weave his own story into his message
about health care. We're used to seeing warrior Rudy, victory this and
security that. We're not used to seeing vulnerable Rudy.
Of
course, there's good vulnerable and there's bad vulnerable. In
Thompson's case, people initially wondered if he would be able to
launch his campaign. In Edwards' case, allies speculated that he would
drop out. But Rudy's case is—forgive me for saying it—a good one, at
least from the political angle. For one thing, he beat the cancer.
(Look out, Islamofascism.) But more importantly, it softens him up. As
Elizabeth Edwards might say, he has stared the worst in the face and not blinked.
This
sort of human touch—candid without being cheesy—is just what Rudy
needs. For him, religion is private, and the same seems to be true for
other personal and emotional issues. But personal narratives matter to
voters. We know he's willing to put people in a hospital. It's also
good to know he's been there himself.