Washington: Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann released a doctor's letter yesterday describing her as in overall "good general health" as the Minnesota congresswomen dealt with queries about her migraine headaches.
"Your migraines occur infrequently and have known trigger factors of which you are aware and know how to avoid," wrote Dr Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician for the US Congress.
Bachmann, 55, is "able to control" the migraines with prescribed medication that does not require daily consumption of the drugs, the letter said.
"I keep a very vigorous schedule," Bachmann told reporters in Norwalk, Iowa, when asked whether her condition would hamper her performance should she win the presidency.
"I feel great and so we've answered that."
Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, one of Bachmann's opponents in the Republican race, said in Indianola, Iowa, yesterday that he didn't "know enough about her particular medical situation to comment," and would defer to the judgment of the medical professionals, according to a report on the Radio Iowa website.
"But, setting that aside, all of the candidates are going to have to demonstrate they can do all of the job, all of the time," Pawlenty said.
Romney's assessment
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was more direct in dismissing Bachmann's migraines as a campaign issue.
"There's no question in my mind that Michelle Bachmann's health is in no way an impediment" to her serving as president, he told reporters in Los Angeles. "Her health should not be an issue."
