(NewsNation) — Democrats appear split on whether to acknowledge the quiet part out loud and note U.S. Senate candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is just a vote for Chuck Schumer as majority leader. As in, tell the truth: He obviously can’t perform as a normal senator would, but that’s OK.

To be fair, he’d be an effective senator, that’s what Bob Casey said. All he has to do to be effective is vote with the Democrats. He certainly sounded more with it the past few days than he did at the debate.

As opposed to debate night, when he started the evening leaving a lot of questions as to his cognitive abilities.

It got worse through the night, and Bill O’Reilly joined NewsNation’s “CUOMO” with a blunt message.

“He’s not OK, he’s not OK,” O’Reilly said.

No doubt, Fetterman is not OK. But neither is Dianne Feinstein.

Colleagues worry Feinstein is now mentally unfit to serve, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote in April.

Literally nobody cared that the 89-year-old really didn’t seem with it. Granted, she won reelection to the Senate and John Fetterman has yet to be elected. But same idea. It’s true, both are probably ill-served by friends or family who don’t step in much like grown children who take the keys away from aging parents and say, “its time.” But who are we to judge that?

Strom Thurmond served in the Senate past his 100th birthday. It’s unclear what he did and did not understand as he voted in his elder years.

Two things can be true at once. Fetterman clearly has issues. Pointing them out is our job. But then it’s really up to voters to decide what being an effective senator means.