Tim Johnson for South Dakota | News | Latest News | Senator Johnson's aphasia is no handicap in this election

Sen. Tim Johnson suffers from aphasia and doesn’t do a very good job of orally communicating his thoughts, which are a direct reflection of his intellect, which in turn is unaffected by aphasia.

So what’s the big deal? For obvious reasons his handicap makes debating his Republican opponent, state Rep. Joel Dykstra, a virtual impossibility, as the quick give-and-take of a spirited debate is beyond the incumbent senator’s grasp for the time being. Naturally, that compels more than a few people around the state to question his ability to function as their representative in the United States Senate, and probably with some reason. I suspect that the most vocal complainers about the senator’s decision not to debate just happen to be Republican supporters of Dykstra, who are taking this opportunity to turn Johnson’s impairment into a political asset that might be of some value to their man Dykstra come November.

Whether my suspicions are unfounded or not, though, I can’t think of a more irrelevant factor in comparing the merits of the two opponents, who should be judged on the basis of experience and political inclinations, not physical handicaps. After reading up on the literature of aphasia, I’m convinced — as anyone who studies up on it would be — that the condition has no affect on the intellect and judgment of those unfortunate enough to suffer from it, and I have absolutely no problem with Johnson’s decision to stay off the debate platform.

For one thing, his halting speaking manner would only take attention away from the content of the senator’s utterances, making a debate, for all practical purposes, meaningless. For another, even when the senator is on top of his rhetorical game, he’s neither a tower of charisma nor a gifted orator, certainly not remotely comparable to the quick-witted Tom Daschle or the charm-laden John Thune.

Some might even say that the senator is doing himself a favor by not debating, and I’d be one of them. Kidding aside, his dull style notwithstanding, Johnson has been a competent, even courageous (and extremely so, when you consider what it took to buck his party and senior colleague Tom Daschle by voting for the Bush tax cut) representative, taking that word seriously even when it meant crossing political swords with his party’s national establishment.

Though it’s true that Johnson has no hope of keeping up with many of the prima donnas in the United States Senate when it comes time to discuss issues on the floor of the Congress, most of us should be politically sophisticated enough to understand that virtually all of that rhetorical posturing has more to do with political grandstanding than doing the actual work of analyzing and discussing the merits of legislation.

That work is done with staff experts and political advisors, and gets accomplished in the quieter reaches of senatorial offices and chambers. In that setting, Sen. Johnson’s impairment will have no bearing on his ability to function. As to debating, South Dakota media are perfectly capable of preparing policy issues and submitting them to the campaigns, then publishing or airing the respective responses and positions — which is probably a much more thoughtful and rational way of getting at the differences among the candidates than putting them under the pressure of a televised confrontation, where points are scored more on the basis of personality and telegenisis than actual approaches to policy.

No doubt the Dykstra campaign can take the lead on this by issuing specific policy points and challenging Johnson to respond, point by point. The Republican is probably in such tough political shape at this point that he’ll have to do something dramatic to get people’s attention. If he or his surrogates continue to make some hay off Johnson’s aphasia, the campaign might as well concede that it can’t win on the issues.

I have yet to make a decision on this race, but I know that physical impairment won’t be part of the process that determines my vote. To that extent, South Dakota as a whole should be able to take some pride in the fact that its voters aren’t swayed by physical handicaps when it comes time to choosing their elected officials.

John Tsitrian is a Rapid City businessman and writer. Contact him at tsitrian@rap.midco.net.