RUBEN NAVARRETTE JR.: Pennsylvania senate race raises delicate question

Given that this is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, it’s fitting that Americans — both in and out of Pennsylvania — are debating whether a stroke victim who seeks employment as a U.S. senator from the Keystone State could do the job.

Congress set aside this month that “celebrates the contributions of America’s workers with disabilities past and present and showcases supportive, inclusive employment policies and practices.”

John Fetterman, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania, wants to make a contribution.

Some Democrats will bristle at the claim that Fetterman is “disabled.” They’re worried about losing this race and about relinquishing control of the Senate. So they’re going to insist that the Democratic candidate is fit as a fiddle.

Since his stroke in May, Fetterman has had difficulty communicating. Sometimes, the 53-year-old can’t find the words — or get them out. In fact, his protective campaign staff won’t even let reporters ask questions unless the candidate can use real-time closed captioning, where queries are transcribed on a computer monitor for him to read.

Fetterman will use the same accommodation on Tuesday when he debates his Republican opponent, Mehmet Oz.

Although the Fetterman campaign acknowledges that the Democrat has an “auditory processing challenge,” it’s unclear whether the stroke damaged his cognitive ability. These unanswered questions, together with the fact that Fetterman hasn’t released his medical records related to the stroke, have fueled a separate debate — over how the media should handle the stroke and its effects.

The correct answer is “with extreme care.”

How hard can the media press for answers before we cross a line? Or is there even a line to cross?

Last week, NBC News’ Dasha Burns — who had the chance to interview Fetterman — told anchor Lester Holt that, during their pre-interview chitchat, “it wasn’t clear he understood our conversation.”

That harmless remark prompted liberal journalists and Fetterman supporters to decide that Burns was the problem. So they attacked her on Twitter, and elsewhere, with accusations of “ableism.”

The Fetterman campaign is so used to being treated with kid gloves by a media that have been compassionate toward their candidate that it’s pushing back against anything that even faintly resembles criticism.

Or perhaps the pushback is about discouraging other journalists from following Burns’s lead and being in any way critical of Fetterman.

A Fox News poll of registered Pennsylvania voters suggests that Democrats don’t need to cover their Senate candidate in bubble wrap. When asked if they were concerned that Fetterman might not be able to do his job if elected, just 34 percent said “yes,” while 61 percent said “no.”

I’m taking all this in from a safe distance here in California. Yet I do have some understanding of what it means to be physically challenged.

I’m scheduled for a hip replacement surgery that has been repeatedly delayed. For the past few years, I’ve used a cane. And like Fetterman — who is two years younger than me — has said about his stroke, the experience of being what my surgeon calls “severely disabled” has given me something valuable: empathy for the challenges and prejudices faced by the more than 60 million Americans with disabilities.

Also like Fetterman, who seems to be making strides toward recovery, I don’t expect to be a member of this club for much longer. But I’m here now. And membership has been a privilege. From this perch, it’s easy to see how ableist our society has become. We look past the physically challenged, or look away. They make us uncomfortable.

It’s disgraceful how these people — whom I now consider my people — are treated by the able-bodied. The next time you’re in an airport and running late — and you find yourself behind someone with a cane, a walker or a wheelchair — maybe you could be more patient and not scoff out loud at the inconvenience of having to go around us to make your flight.

Americans must do better. And the case of John Fetterman gives us a chance to improve our performance. We should give politics a rest and focus on a more worthwhile goal: treating with greater respect the heroes who each day bravely face a world that was not built for them.

My people aren’t perfect. Who is? Our bodies, or our minds, don’t always do what we want them to do. But America isn’t about perfection. This tribe has more valuable attributes — such as resilience, strength and the knowledge that we’ve gone through something difficult that made us stronger. That used to be called character.

If there is one place that could benefit from having more people like that around, it’s the U.S. Senate.

Ruben Navarrette’s email address is crimscribe@icloud.com. His podcast, “Ruben in the Center,” is available through every podcast app.