I don’t know whether to be sad that nothing much has changed since Tom Eagleton, or to be angry with the Jackson operation for how they’ve been handling Jesse Jr’s mental illness, but after he’s absent a solid month, a vague press release (citing a “mood disorder”) and the whole aura of a shameful secret that surrounds this story just isn’t the right way to handle a mentally ill politician forty years after Eagleton’s withdrawal.
Twenty percent of the population has a mental illness, and five percent have a severe enough illness that it interferes with their daily life. The list of accomplished people with major depression is staggering. Jackson is a smart and capable man. With good treatment (and treatment for mental illness, especially depression, is miles ahead of what it was in Eagleton’s day), it’s likely that he’ll be able to have a remarkable career.
I think the smart political move is for Jackson surrogates to stop stonewalling and start talking about the positive steps he’s taking to address his problem. But, for a variety of reasons, I’m pretty used to treating mental illness like any other illness, so maybe I’m underestimating the stigma that accompanies it.