“Another bout of cancer for John McCain while he’s President of the United States would profoundly impact his capacity to lead,” says Dr. Michael D. Fratkin in a new ad on McCain’s past battles with melanoma, a highly deadly skin cancer.
The commercial, put out by Democracy For America and Brave New PAC, takes on McCain’s secrecy surrounding his health, particularly the fact that he’s only given the press three hours to examine his medical records. The narrator concludes “Why won’t John McCain release his medical records?”
The Republican National Committee’s obviously not pleased. Spokesman Danny Diaz has already played up the the fact the Democracy for America is chaired by James Dean, DNC Chairman Howard Dean’s brother. Brave New PAC, meanwhile, is run by filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who also has a non-profit called Brave New Foundation. That foundation’s board is chaired by Lawrence Lessig, who advised Barack Obama during the primaries. Said Diaz:
The fact that Howard Dean’s brother and an adviser to the Obama campaign are behind despicable and cheap smear ads against Senator McCain is deeply disappointing, but in no way surprising. Barack Obama has promised Americans an elevated debate offering nothing but gutter, Chicago-style politics.
Representatives from Democracy For America, the DNC and the Obama campaign have already attempted to defuse criticism and say there has been no communication between the campaign, Howard Dean and the PAC leaders.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Watch the commercial, after the jump.
Wayne
When the Dems start mocking cancer victims you know this election has crapped out (not to mention that Obama was a heavy smoker for decades, who has yet to fully quit. So after years and years of cigarette smoke, you have to wonder what Obama’s lungs look like).
CitizenGeek
That’s a fair point about Obama’s smoking, but this isn’t an official Democrat ad. Nor is it mocking McCain’s cancer. It’s raising legitimate questions about McCain’s health and about why he’s being so secretive about it. He is obviously prone to cancer, and another bout of it would seriously impact his ability as president.
ChristopherM
Wayne, Obama has released all of his medical records. That is the point here. You have a man with a suspect health record who won’t release his medical records. And notice how his eye was drooping during all this mess yesterday regarding postponing the debate. I think they just want to pull him off the trail for a couple of days because he’s exhausted. Voting for John McCain is like an endorsement to put Sarah Palin in the White House.
Jose Arribas
The man is 72 years old and everything said in that ad was truthful. Health is a major issue in this election, especially when you have Palin as the possible second-in-command.
Greg
I’m a left-leaning indepent, but this is a garbage ad, and exactly why I despise 3rd-person politics today. ‘Raises legitimate questions?’ Horsedroppings. Our current president (whom I do NOT support) has had melanoma removed while in office. It’s an outpatient procedure. I’d like to think we were smarter than this, but apparently we’re just going to keep falling for the same crap. This is swiftboating, folks, and by eating the garbage they’re shoveling we’re just begging for more. Support the candidate you want because you BELIEVE in them, not because someone’s in the corner under a blanket screaming about the boogeyman.
ChicagoJimmy
Given the McCain campaign’s strategy so far, I’m guessing Wayne is foretelling the next ads we see from the right. They have no message so they keep stealing from Obama. I’m sure we’ll see ads pointing out Obama’s smoking habit, his risk of cancer, and Biden’s relative age.
Matt
I think this ad is garbage. I mean FDR had Polio and was in a wheelchair and he was one of our greatest leaders. I’m not saying McCain will be a great leader but I don’t believe his past cancers should be an issue. There is nothing in the constitution that says he has to maintain a certain health status.
ChristopherM
How is his health not an issue, people? The person he has hand-picked to be his successor is a nitwit whose foreign policy knowledge is limited to what she can see from her front porch! We should know what his health status actually is! If his past cancers are not an issue, then why doesn’t he release his health records to prove that?
CHURCHILL-Y
Obama’s smoking habit which he hasn’t given up is more than fair game but they also shouldn’t forget Obama’s admittance to drug use which I’m sure he hasn’t quite let go off also.
If the Obama thugs are willing to drag people into the gutter then I say let McCain throw a couple of bombs right back at the criminals.
marco channing
Historically, 1 in 3 presidents have been replaced by their VP. McCain would be the oldest President ever and has had cancer 4 times. It raises the odds that his VP will replace him.
John McCain was a smoker who quit in his 40s, same as Obama–so they are dead even on that.
McCain’s cancer is a legitimate consideration since he dropped out of the 2000 Presidential race because of it, and just suspended his campaign to “save the economy”. He can’t do both? A young man like Obama sure can.
McCain’s health wouldn’t be AS MUCH of an issue is he picked a running mate other than Palin. The reality that someone who prays to God for pipelines and believes in creationism could have access to the nuclear codes terrifies many Americans. Religious extremists will sacrifice their lives and the lives of others for their beliefs. Palin is a religious extremist.
Todd
ChurchSHRILLY — so you’re suggesting Obama is currently doing drugs? “He hasn’t quite let go OFF”…is that what you’re implying? Dude, you are so f**kin’ desperate.
M&M
Even though I’m left wing supporter. I found this ad is DISGUSTING. Joe Biden had brian operation years ago!
Does it matter people’s disase’s?!! Extreme discrimination!
Extremely low-level ad! I just want to puke!
ousslander
As if the dnc and Obama did not know about these ads before they were played. So according to them all cancer victims should be stripped of any responsibilities and you should be able to legally fire them.
How about an ad that goes on about how dangerous it would be for Obama to get in office when he takes advice from anti-amercians and terrorists.Just paint him as a Manchurian candidate1 Would that be fair and honest?
ChristopherM
No one is saying people who have health problems shouldn’t be let into office. What they are saying is that everyone ESPECIALLY people with a health history like John McCain should release their medical records for examination if they want to be president of the United States. Obama has done that, McCain has not.
CHURCHILL-Y
It is what it is. On the democratic side you have a smoker and drug user as the Presidential candidate along his chosen veep who has suffered from two brain aneurysms, and on the republican side we have a war veteran who has more than
proven a clean bill of health as optimal as old fart Biden along with his chosen veep a woman who’s more youthful than all three and in the prime of her life. She is needless to say a more than clean bill of health and has shown her vitality in the campaign trail.
DNC- Presidential candidate: smoker/drug user
Vice Presidential candidate: brain aneurysm sufferer.
RNC- Presidential candidate: War hero who’s been through hell; tortured, suffered from illness has fully recovered and still has chosen public service. Needless to say if he has inherited his mother genes not only will he live beyond old age physically but he will also retain all his cognitive abilities better than some twenty and thirty year olds.
Vice Presidential candidate: Youthful, at the prime of her life, mayor, governor, mother, full of vigor and desire to serve the public.
Hmm, which pair sounds better to a flesh and blood human being(as opposed to a kool-aid drinking drone)the choice is obvious.
ChristopherM
Again, you fucking moron, you’re missing the point: McCain HASN’T proven a clean bill of health because he won’t release his medical records. As for Palin, Forrest Gump desired to serve the public too.
David Hauslaib, Queerty
McCain gave Americans more reason to worry about his health by choosing the inexperienced Palin as his running mate, making the Alaska governor a very real possibility of becoming president should something happen to him. I think his health, then, is not necessarily a private issue, but one subject to debate. (As is Obama’s. And is President Bush’s, which is why we get to hear about his physicals. Cheney’s health, however, is a more guarded secret.)
How, then, do we responsibly and RESPECTFULLY talk about McCain’s physical health .. not as a partisan issue, nor one to be used in attack ads, but as a serious qualifier for the presidency? This ad veers in the wrong direction (just listen to the doomsday music).
Wayne
John McCain was a smoker who quit in his 40s, same as Obama–so they are dead even on that.
—
But it should be said that both Obama’s parents died at an relatively early age, whereas McCain is in his 70’s and his mother is still alive, healthy and doing quite well.
Jaroslaw
Maybe the speaker here at work is not playing right, but I heard very little of anything in the background when I watched the YOU TUBE clip.
I want to think this through, be considerate and fair – aren’t those pictures of John McCain? (what I mean is no one is saying they’re doctored…) If he dropped out of the race in 2000 because of the melanomas, it doesn’t seem like that would be minor?
Turn those medical records loose and clear it up Mr. McCain….
adam
Wayne- As long as we’re talking about the statuses of the candidates parents, you forgot to mention that McCain’s father. His father is already dead.
seitan-on-a-stick
My concern about the health of a potential presidential candidate is plaque on the teeth as clearly evidenced by Sen John McCain’s hepatitis-colored teeth (not the recent photoshopped pics). I would not want the plaque to travel through his bloodsteam and cause an angina attack when he loses his failed Presidential bid this November. Churchilly may have to put Margaret Thatcher’s House dress back in mothballs as there will be no GOP Inauguration. McCain-Palin are 40 days away from permanently suspending their campaign and launching her Presidential run for 2012,2016 and 2020 for her Carrie at the Prom moment. President (elect) Obama is over the 50% threshold of the voting electorate in numerous polls. Polls don’t lie but pundits do! No fuzzy math can stop Churshitt-y’s inevitable tears.
Wayne
Obama is over the 50% threshold of the voting electorate in numerous polls. Polls don’t lie but pundits do!
—-
Well you might want to check out the new Gallup poll that just came out today. Obama is down, McCain has come back up and the race is a dead heat once again at 46% each.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/110668/Gallup-Daily-Race-Back-Tie-46-Each.aspx
Dubwise
CHURCHILL-Y
You seem to leave out that the vp pick on the repugnican side ADMITTED to smoking POT.
Your trollish arguments get weaker by the day.
emb
Wayne–National polls are pretty unpredictive of anything except how Gallup’s 1000 subjects feel this morning. The state polls are the ones to watch, since that’s where the electoral votes are and the election is decided, and Obama has been consistently pulling away on those.
http://www.electoral-vote.com/
M Shane
For People who are ignorant about Melanoma; it is one of the most dangerous and easily metatstisized sort of cancer available. The fact that Bush had 1 melanoma removed in office is not relivant to the situation where it has reoccured 4 times the last of which involved the cancer having metastisised into his lyph nodes. That’s the excelent sign that it’s all over,
I got an e-,mail with an Oncologists statement that people almost never live more than 2 yrs past that. We expect McCain (and Republicans for that matter to lie) however he is presenting us with a surefire LIE; a case that we will we having the Vulture Queen as our next president.
Above all, McGoo is an arrogant fuck to run with no consideration for the country but the retarded, egocentric idea that he gets to be president before he dies( knowing full well that he will soon and passing off that pile of rabbit turds as president.)
Bad enough that she is such a fool as V.P.; give thought to that.
Wayne
Wayne–National polls are pretty unpredictive of anything except how Gallup’s 1000 subjects feel this morning
—
It was actually seitan-on-a-stick who said he believed in polls, not me. I was just showing him an expample of the error of putting too much trust in any polling data as it is bound to change. The only poll that matters is the voting on election day.
Byrd
What’s good for the swiftboating goose is good for the swiftboating gander.
will hapeman
I am a melanoma survivor. I resent this ad. Nobody has the right to look at my medical records.
This is so low, so horribly wrong, so horribly wrong.
ChristopherM
Certainly, Will. Unless of course you are running for President. Then we have every right if you are going to be a responsible leader.
Greg Smith
I’m a Obama supporter and Palin scares the hell out of me, but this is way, way over the top. I would love to see Obama come out against this sort of garbage.
I thought this election was going to be different with these two guys. My mistake. It’s win at all costs with partisans putting their party above everything else including the country.
flightoftheseabird
McCain has had 4 bouts of the worst type of skin cancer. Enhanced interrogated for 5 years. Smoked into his 40’s. Has an anger problem so bad that he prone to fainting. And has nearly reached the end of his statistical life expectancy. He is running for President, and any of those is reason enough to release his entire medical record so we as voters know what we are getting ourselves into if he is elected. All of them combined almost warrant him unfit for office.
So please all of you with your crocodile tears. He is not a run-of-the-mill American, he is the Republican candidate for President of the United States. Who happens to be 72 and will be 72.4 on inauguration day. Which is 3 years older than Reagan.
And no one is making fun of cancer victims, this ad and many others are raising serious concerns about this man’s health, which at best is spotty.
shivadog
I would prefer if we could stick to the issues, but the republicans have been swift-boating the democrats for a long time,using dirty tricks and outright lies to win elections.I think it is high time the democrats hit back. At least this is true stuff,not “Obama is a muslim” or “Obama is the anti-christ” like some of the right-wing propaganda floating around.
flightoftheseabird
Shiv,
I agree. I wish we could stick to the issues. Something Republican John McCain is wrong on every one of them. However, Republican John McCain refuses to talk about the issues. And more sadly, there are a lot of voters who don’t vote based on the issues. If they did, Democrats would never lose. So we have to play to emotions and feelings of the voters. And his deteriorating health is an emotional issue, especially given everything going on. Voters want someone who is strong and can swim through the troubled waters without worrying whether the stress or their health will get in the way of running the country back to stable ground.
Miss Global Warming
How crass and of poor taste this commercial is.
Do they really expect undecided voters to swing their way with such garbage? One would only expect this kind of thing from ruffians and not from a pro democracy group. If Obama sees nothing wrong with this and doesn’t distance himself from it then I must reexamine my choice.
mark
One thing the stock market HATES is indecision
It reacts BADLY to not knowing, and in the current atmosphere and mood swings of 500 points, what if Boehner/McCain’s STUNT for a photo op, causes a 600-700 pts. drop tomorrow. If McCain wanted to parachute in to DC to act a PLAYER…OK lets play.
FIX the mess you made of a difficult negotiations which took SERIOUS SMART folks to craft in 7 non stop days.
Dazzle America with your 884th in a class of 890 shmarts, and don’t fail to bring in the BIG BRAIN TRUST that is Sarah, she who needed 5 colleges in 6 yrs for a BA.
You should have that all knocked out by noon tomorrow, so you can make the debate.
flightoftheseabird
We are all watching the same video linked above right? The video in which two doctors are discussing that Melanoma is very serious and therefore (implicitly) for the good of the country if Republican John McCain is elected President should release his entire medical record?
You aren’t accidentally watching Republican John McCain’s ad saying that Obama thinks we should teach explicit sex ed to kindergartners, when the bill was about teaching kids to prevent stranger danger? The ad that is completely false, based in lies, and at the end there is a very clear vocal resemblance of Republican John McCain saying, “I’m John McCain and I approve this message.” Now this latter ad is crass and in poor taste.
vancav
Wouldn’t the ad be more credible if the lead doctor was not a Grateful Dead quoting, Burning Man attending, John Lennon inspired shamanist practicing in Eureka, California and a founder of Doctors for Obama?
http://www.openplans.org/people/gatito/profile
http://www.shiftinaction.com/declare/1989
seitan-on-a-stick
Is McCain avoiding tonight’s debate because he had a mild stroke and looks limp on one side of his mouth and is not prepared enough to debate?
BTW – Trailer-Wayne, Obama is now polling 57% and I know you will dig up an obscure poll to justify your Old Asinine Candidate. While Polls don’t mean much, it puts a BIG smile on a Democrat’s face to know that it is pretty clear sailing to the White House.
M Shane
For people with all of the bizarre sentiments that attempt to compare one kind of illness to otthers , implying that they are all eqally dangerous. Don’t be studid. I had a Melanoma removed in ’81, and have had no recourances because of careful skin care. I have had other unrelated cancers.
None of this is related to McCains situation and the relative danger of it. A Melanoma, even if it was excised once and has entered the lymph nodes is an unlikely candidate to live long-not funny , just true; a medical fact.
On the other hand, insanuity last s a long time, and Palin has plenty of disaster to make in her wake. So wise up kids.