McCain's Medical Records "Release" Won't Really Be A "Release"!

[Better Believe It]

McCain's Medical Records "Release" Won't Really Be A "Release"
by Steve Perry

April 30, 2008
Minnesota Monitor

It was back in early March when we noted that the McCain campaign was promising the release of their man's medical records "in a month or so." That turned into a pledge they'd be released by April 15. Now the word is May 15.

The delays have occasioned some dark speculations, but McCain's people are pleading logistical difficulties. And that may be so -- because what the McCainiacs have in mind is not really a release of medical records but a carefully managed press event. The plan, detailed by Dan Nowicki in an excellent Arizona Republic article earlier this month, is to convene a gathering where three of McCain's docs will hold forth and a small gaggle of journalists from the Washington press corps will get to peruse the candidate's medical records for a grand total of 90 minutes. Many more journos -- up to 750 -- are expected to participate in a teleconference, but it appears they won't have any direct access to the files themselves.

The dossier that a privileged few reporters will get an hour and a half to digest is likely to be voluminous. When McCain last gave the press a peek at his medical records in 1999 -- under roughly the same terms as he'll show them this time -- the mound of paper comprised over 1,500 pages. And since then, eight years have passed and McCain has undergone a serious bout with stage II melanoma that necessitated extensive surgery.

The question it all begs, obviously, is what a handful of journalists playing against the clock can possibly do with a massive, undigested file of medical data. In the words of local physician and writer Craig Bowron, "I would just be shocked if they'd be able to make any progress in 90 minutes. If they haven't gone through charts before, they won't know what to look for to begin with. Sometimes, for instance, when someone gets transferred from an outside hospital, they'll have a stack of papers that are half an inch to an inch thick. It's a lot less than 2,000 pages, but most of it's just junk. Stuff you don't really need to know. If you don't know what you're looking for and don't have a particular question in mind, I think it would be pointless."

Please read the entire article at:
http://minnesotamonitor.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3849

[RB TexLa]

1. He's an American citizen, no one has a right to his medical records unless he allows them

and he is free to set any requirements on that he wants.

[Lasher]

2. That's right. And he is also free to lie about his intention to release them.

And we are at liberty to note that he is a liar.

[DangerDave921]

4. Big Dog

He never released his medical records either.

No one should have to disclose private medical information. It is a gross violation of privacy and serves no purpose whatsoever.

[Lasher]

5. Did Big Dog say he was going to release his medical records?

If he never said he was going to, this is not the same. Like I said before, I agree that no one should be obliged to release them. See, it's the lying thing I'm talking about.

[Old and In the Way]

3. Where's the media demanding his medical and financial records?

Imagine if it were Hillary or Obama withholding this information. We'd have around-the-clock media coverage asking, "what is she/he hiding?"