The MSM needs to pressure McCain to fully release his medical records

[sfam]

Senator McCain's bizarre 3 hour viewing of "1200 pages" of medical records for just the last 7 years is a flat-out cover-up. Like good little lemmings, the MSM largely went along for the ride.

1200 pages of medical records for only 7 years???? Are you kidding me? And we only get to view them for 3 hours, with no photocopies, phone calls or anything else? If McCain thinks this answers the question, he's fooling himself. Worse, if we allow this episode to be the last viewing, we truly deserve a short-lived McCain presidency.

Lets give this issue some legs, folks. McCain's medical history IS a legitimate issue - one which DOES require a fuller evaluation.

McCain's a Medical Mess - Diane Francis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-francis/mccains-a-medical-mess_b_104212.html
Posted May 29, 2008 | 08:58 PM (EST)

John McCain and his handlers finessed nicely his dreadful medical records which were released last Friday. They opened them up to only a handful of media outlets on a Friday afternoon before the long Memorial Day weekend. Simultaneously, they cynically announced that McCain would host a barbeque for three men, all touted in various quarters as possible vice presidential candidates when in fact none of them would be acceptable to Republicans. There was Mitt Romney, McCain's arch rival, and a Mormon who has a poor following. The 35-year-old Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, a man of South Asian descent with a fraction of the experience in politics that Obama has. And finally, Charlie Crist of Florida, who many believe to be gay.

It was all manipulation designed to take attention away from the fact that John McCain's health is pretty terrible which has frightening implications for the country and its economy should he be elected. Frankly, he's falling apart which not only raises the issue as to whether he will die in office but, most importantly, whether he will be sick, in pain, anxious or preoccupied with health near-misses if he should win the White House.

I think the guy's a medical mess and here are the highlights which were buried in other news (Hillary's reference to Bobby Kennedy's assassination that same day overtook all political coverage):
-- We all know that he has Stage II melanoma which means that he must undergo extensive tests every month. There must be blood tests, catscans and his body has to be carefully examined from top to bottom. He is one lesion away from Stage III which is fatal at his age.

-- He has serious arthritis and may need a joint replacement. Which joints are involved here were unspecified.
-- He recently had benign polyps removed from his colon.
-- He has dizzy spells.
-- He was treated for an enlarged prostate
-- He underwent cataract surgery
-- He suffers from vertigo.
-- He takes medication for high cholesterol
-- He had early stage squamous cell cancer this year.

I'm no physician but anyone will tell you that the lifespan of anyone who has had serious heart problems or cancer before their 70th birthday isn't going to make the cut. Conversely, if someone has remained cancer and heart disease free until that age they can expect to live to 87 years on average.

Voters, and one in five Republicans, are concerned about his age. I'm not but I'm concerned about his health. Reagan was as fit as a fiddle and slightly younger when first elected. Even so, toward the end he began exhibiting symptoms of the alzheimers that he eventually succumbed to.

A poll last week by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that 50 percent of registered voters say they're less likely to support a candidate in his 70s -- higher than the share of voters who would be less likely to support a Muslim (48 percent), or a gay (46 percent), or a Mormon (32 percent). That poll didn't mention McCain by name, but Pew did so in a separate survey and found that 19 percent of Republicans deem him too old for the job.

On top of it all is the fact that the medical records and opinions trotted out about McCain came from his personal physician and friend.

I think Americans deserve a second opinion.