McCain Conference Call on Health Records
posted at 2:45 pm on May 23, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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John McCain’s campaign held a press conference call this afternoon to discuss the release of his medical records. From the pool reports, it looks as though McCain is in excellent health, with cardiovascular fitness of a man far younger than 71 years of age. His bout with melanoma appears completely under control, and other than some cholesterol issues, is a picture of health and strength.
The opening statement notes the unprecedented nature of this release. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have not released their medical records, and Bill Clinton never did disclose his. His doctors insisted that the reason it took so long to release the records was because they wanted to include his regular quarterly checkup in May. That happened eleven days ago, and this was the earliest all of the physicians could coordinate to compile a complete look at his records.
Undoubtedly, this was a shot at the New York Times.
Most of the rest of the statements from the doctors got deep in the technical weeds. The bottom line: the doctors state that they have no reason to conclude that McCain could not fulfill the duties and obligations of the office of the presidency. Even the melanomas didn’t amount to much concern; only one of the four were “invasive”, and that was removed in 2000. No melanomas have recurred, and there is no evidence of spread.
Questions:
- ABC News: Was the shoulder melanoma in 1993 invasive, and do they have the records from that procedure? They didn’t treat it, and so they can’t comment on it. It hasn’t recurred.
- CNN: What does “impaired fasting glucose” mean, and what was the significance? He had a fasting blood sugar of 111, but a follow-up test shows no evidence of diabetes. What about the risk of colon cancer? He has regular colonoscopies and found nothing more than benign polyps. He also had an MRA of the neck and brain, and those studies came back normal; his carotid arteries look clean of plaque formation.
- Arizona Republic: What’s his prognosis on the melanoma? The odds of recurrence would be in the single-digit area.
- CBS News: If he wasn’t taking a diuretic, would he have high blood pressure? What about cardiovascular risk? His blood pressure has been good, and the one that piqued CBS’ curiosity was within normal limits (134/84). They have advised McCain to limit salt intake.
At the point of the time when I had to start my show prep, the CBS News doctor had begun filibustering the conference. He apparently figured that some sort of conspiracy surrounds McCain’s use of hydrochlorothiazide, a routine diuretic indicated by the kidney stones McCain has had in the past. I hung up at the eighth follow-up on this question.
Here are the two parts of CNN’s coverage of the release:
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Offtopic: Are you guys ready for President Tucker Carlson?
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/12630.html
I’d vote for him, but I live in Illinois so my vote don’t count anyway. I’d vote for McCain over the rest of the name brand LPers.
ninjapirate on May 23, 2008 at 2:48 PM
Ah, now this is the kind of intense journalism we need, rather than focusing on “distractions” such as The Obamassiah’s policy towards rogue regimes such as Iran and North Korea.
rbj on May 23, 2008 at 2:53 PM
This is really complete nonsense and a big ado about nothing.
Chudi on May 23, 2008 at 2:53 PM
Did they make him starve then give him that nasty glucose soda thing, which is super sweet and makes you sick to your stomach? Anyone who has had that has my sympathy.
upinak on May 23, 2008 at 2:54 PM
Pretty much tells it all.
right2bright on May 23, 2008 at 2:59 PM
Did someone ask him about his flip no immigration enforcement?
pabarge on May 23, 2008 at 3:02 PM
Although they did find one anomaly in his blood make-up. They had seen this gene before, but never this large.It is called the “cranky” gene.
right2bright on May 23, 2008 at 3:02 PM
Yes, and they said because of the damage to his colon he may have a hard time passing this, it is called the “tight ass” syndrome.
right2bright on May 23, 2008 at 3:03 PM
Were there any questions on his mental health?
There must be some reason almost everyone who was close to him is scared to death he’ll win the presidency.
Valiant on May 23, 2008 at 3:06 PM
CNN seemed visibly disappointed that more was not found
ConservativePartyNow on May 23, 2008 at 3:07 PM
They should scheck the White House press corps for herpes and publish the results. That would be interesting.
Oh yeah, hey, when’s Bill Clinton going to make his health records public? I wanna know how many times he had his nose cauterized. (”He has a nose like a vacuum,” -Roger Clinton.)
Akzed on May 23, 2008 at 3:07 PM
I was going to write in wondering if they did a mental health evaluation, but then I saw that Valiant beat me to the punch!
How about a Rorschach test?
BigD on May 23, 2008 at 3:11 PM
A lot of idiots at huffpo are going to be disappointed.
ctmom on May 23, 2008 at 3:13 PM
LOL and crying at the same time.
JiangxiDad on May 23, 2008 at 3:14 PM
McCain should go on Letterman and do push-ups.
JiangxiDad on May 23, 2008 at 3:14 PM
Sure, if Ryan Seacrest waits till 2012…
mymanpotsandpans on May 23, 2008 at 3:15 PM
Associated Press headline: McCain appears cancer-free. [We can't be too sure...]
Right. And Ariana Huffington appears to be human.
Akzed on May 23, 2008 at 3:16 PM
He should stop taking the statin, it is doing nothing positive for him. Some studies have shown that higher cholesterol is beneficial for older folks and if his arteries are not clogged by now then in all likelihood they are not going to clog.
RobD on May 23, 2008 at 3:17 PM
I am truly happy that John McCain is cancer-free. Sorry if this is not quite on topic, I don’t mean to sound like an idiot but I just don’t understand party politics enough to wrap my mind around how we ended up with John McCain as the Republican nominee. No, really I’m asking a legitimate question. Every conservative I know is indignant, every conservative blog, post and comment I have read reflects anger and disappointment in McCain as the nominee. The NRCC lashing that Michelle linked to recently contained maybe hundreds of negative comments about the liberal direction of the GOP. The overwhelming objection to amnesty last year made me think then that John McCain had no chance at the nomination. Is my sample just too small? Could someone, who understands party politics, please explain to me how this happened?
Renae on May 23, 2008 at 3:20 PM
Whether you support John McCain or not these health records are great news. It’s nice to know that the man who may become President of the United States has no serious medical ailments. In my opinion worries about his health/age should be put to rest.
PaulD on May 23, 2008 at 3:26 PM
Obama needs to release his medical records, considering that his mother died of cancer in her early fifties and that he is/was a smoker for 20-30 years.
rw on May 23, 2008 at 3:37 PM
What’s wrong with being cranky? To be honest, one my the biggest character traits swinging me toward voting for John McCain is that he’s kind of a jerk. He has a temper. He is, as you say, cranky, a combination of cantankerousness that comes with age and a no-BS attitude he probably got from his father (a Naval officer). Whether you agree or disagree wit him (and I don’t agree with him across the board by any stretch ofthe imagination), that he gets angry about things is a good indication that he at least gives a crap.
Lord, save us from the scourge of nice guys, and deliver this nation into the hands of good men.
Spc Steve on May 23, 2008 at 3:48 PM
Probably would have been if NYT hadn’t been left out. Something like this: “So, the doctors insist that Senator McCain is still not senile? If not, how many days until it hits? He’s really old, you know.”
forest on May 23, 2008 at 4:20 PM
I agree, I like a leader that tells some kid he’s a jerk. I don’t want a “girlie-man”.
right2bright on May 23, 2008 at 5:17 PM
I’m glad that Sen. McCain is in good shape. I’m still astonished at how lively he seems from a guy who’s 71 and spent 5.5 years getting tortured.
Sen. Obama’s mother died of Ovarian cancer so I think that’s a bigger concern for his daughters than him. That said, his smoking for so many years and having some history of cancer in the family plus his father’s early death suggest he needs to be vigilant with his health as well.
Jill1066 on May 23, 2008 at 5:50 PM
Did the doctors mention that McCain has a bigger set than the Obamassiah?
GarandFan on May 23, 2008 at 5:58 PM
From the article:
Nope- no bias there. Interesting though that they say Obama only “says he has quit smoking,” not- who has quit smoking. Is he sneaking a few hits off the heaters around the press pool?
Marty on May 23, 2008 at 6:34 PM
ALL Journalists are Traitors and should be Tried and Executed for Treason.
grtflmark on May 23, 2008 at 7:07 PM
I gotta take it next month at my next doctor’s appointment, although my docs said I could eat what I wanted as long as it wasn’t concentrated sweets.
On topic — I’m sure the moonbats are disappointed that nothing was in the reports that could make him unfit for the office.
ScoopPC11 on May 23, 2008 at 7:39 PM
AmericaBlog is claiming that McCain had a squamous cell carcinoma removed in February, and points to the AP article. Except the AP article never says that.
No, you must be joking, the Left making things up to smite McCain??
Seixon on May 23, 2008 at 7:58 PM
Clinton, Obama, Clinton health records, if our government is doing it’s evil.
Herpes, AIDS/Syphilis, Herpes. Plus all around dementia.
2Tru2Tru on May 23, 2008 at 8:10 PM
If his cholesterol and blood pressure are fine, then why doesn’t Eckstein just say what they are?
MB4 on May 23, 2008 at 9:43 PM
Renae,
I’ll take a crack at your question. He’s the nominee because Huckabigot scares a lot of people. Romney got his conservative street cred too late in the game to have any real momentum. Ron Paul is, well, Ron Paul and only appealed to a small fraction of people. That allowed McCain to squeak by on his name recognition, military strength, and a consistent desire to stop earmarks.
beatcanvas on May 23, 2008 at 11:39 PM
We never knew any of Bill Clinton’s medical records. Heck we still don’t know a lot about Kerry’s all kinds of records.
When the media go after them, the ones of Hillary and Obama, I’ll begin to care.
Entelechy on May 24, 2008 at 12:30 AM
Because, whether that will admit it or not, the fact is that True Conservatives as they like to be called have always relied upon the willing collusion of is supposed RINO’s to put their boys and girls in office.
The RINO’s revolted after 06.
Squid Shark on May 24, 2008 at 8:22 AM
John McCain Jr(his dad) is well known to Naval History Buffs as being a kind of sumbitch. But a good sumbitch.
His grandfather used to run around with Halsey, so that should tell you most of what you need to know about him.
Squid Shark on May 24, 2008 at 8:26 AM
Let’s see, 4 years ago the rabid right wingnuts claimed that since Kerry refused to release all of his service records that there must be some reason … probably he did not deserve all his awards or some drivel.
One must assume using that same lame wisdom that McCain not releasing all of his medical records must mean that he is indeed just the old sick man in the race running for president.
Monkei on May 24, 2008 at 9:13 AM
The difference being that he actually did release his record, Kerry did not.
Squid Shark on May 24, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Imagine the disappointment of all of us who said McCain’s one selling point was that he was really really old. Oh well, I guess there really isn’t any reason to vote for McCain now after all.
Snake307 on May 24, 2008 at 2:51 PM
Who’s for forcing AP do Ed’s caption lines?
freevillage on May 25, 2008 at 9:35 PM
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