In a battle between an ordinary person like Paul Banyan and a famous doctor, the doctor may be the responsible candidate. And Dr. Oz will know how to sell it, said Samantha Magic, a political scientist at John J. College of Criminal Justice who studies style and celebrity in politics.
“A celebrity in the modern sense is someone who is famous, highly produced, managed and in the media, but they are also commercialized, they use their celebrity to sell,” said Professor Madzic. She added: “As campaigns become more expensive, you need to have capital from celebrities to invest it in financial capital. You have to stand out. ”
Mr. Feterman is popular with Democrats and many independents in Pennsylvania. A poll by Franklin & Marshall College just before the primary election – and before his stroke – found that 67 percent of Democrat voters viewed him favorably, well over 46 percent who were warm to his main opponent, Connor Lamb.
Berwood A. Yost, director of the Franklin & Marshall Center for Public Opinion Research, said that given the Democrat nominee’s 52-year-old age, his health problems “could make Feterman even closer.” You are in your 50s as a working … class person and you have some marks to show for that, don’t you? he said. “This is an additional contrast between the two candidates. I want to say that the contrast could not be sharper. “
And returning from a health crisis is not uncommon. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont whose progressive policy is similar to that of Mr. Feterman, suffered a heart attack in late 2019, when the primary presidential seasons were set, and almost did not skip.
But Mr Feterman will remain out of the campaign for some time.
“The doctors told me I had to keep resting, eating healthy, exercising and focusing on my recovery, and that’s exactly what I’m doing,” he said in a statement. He added: “It’s disappointing – even more so it’s my own fault – but be patient, I need a little more time. I still haven’t returned 100 percent, but I’m getting closer every day. “
Rebecca Katz, Mr. Feterman’s strategist, categorically denied that the campaign had hidden his condition. Campaign officials said he needed a pacemaker as soon as they learned, and the campaign released the statement Friday as soon as the doctor gave his permission, she said. Democratic officials were so worried that there was talk of recruiting a new candidate, gossip that she stubbornly dismissed.
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