AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

A dermatologist of 35 years weighs in on the unanswered questions surrounding McCain's cancer

2008-10-07T14:31:00.000-04:00

The doctor has been practicing dermatology for 35 years.

As a dermatologist, I'm particularly troubled by the lack of information that has been released by the McCain campaign about the malignant melanoma, or skin cancer, that was removed from McCain's left temple in 2000. I have spent considerable time researching this issue in an effort to compile complete information about McCain's lesion, to no avail. While I have been able to obtain some information, I have to the inexorable conclusion that critical information about this potentially deadly cancer remains missing from the public record.

This is what I have been able to learn: McCain has had four melanomas. Three of these were "in situ," i.e., very superficial, caught at the earliest stage they can be detected, and of no threat if removed upon discovery. However, the left temple melanoma at issue here, which was excised from an area of relatively thin skin, was described as being a Stage 2A lesion that was 2cm, 2.2mm in diameter. Further, it was HMB-45 and S-100 positive; these are special stains, which, if positive confirms the diagnosis of melanoma skin cancer. Despite finding this information, I could find no mention of the Breslow level of the lesion, which describes the depth of the lesion related to the micro-anatomy of the skin, nor could I find any or data about ulceration, mitotic rate, or other common markers that help determine a patient's prognosis after a serious episode such as McCain's in 2000. Because all of this data is a part of the standard pathology report about any melanoma, I can only conclude that the actual pathology report for this skin cancer was not released last spring, when reporters were allowed a few hours to review over 1,000 selected pages from McCain's medical records. The absence of this information is very troubling as this lesion still has significant potential to be life-threatening.

The prevailing statistics suggest a 10 year survival rate of 65% from malignant melanoma. "For patients with a melanoma like Mr. McCain's who remained free of the disease the first five years after the diagnosis, the probability of recurrence during the next five years was 14% and death 9%." (Lawrence K. Altman, MD, NY Times, March 3, 2008).

Remember, however, that the true depth of McCain's lesion in the thin skin of the temple (Breslow level) is not known. Thus, the potential for metastasis (that is, spreading of the skin cancer to internal organs) cannot be determined without more information. This information must have been available to his surgeons and given that McCain had a sentinel node biopsy evaluation (reported as negative) and the removal of an unknown number of lymph nodes from the left neck, (all also reported as negative for melanoma), it strongly suggests that the information his surgeons gave them cause for concern. The steps they took were are common unless there is a real concern about the possibility of spread at the time of biopsy. Metastases in melanoma may bypass the regional lymph nodes in any case.

Given the office he seeks and, particularly, his choice of running mate, the stated odds will be unacceptable to a significant number of voters.

The American public has every right to complete disclosure and an open discussion of McCain's potentially catastrophic health history.

Another McCain ethics scandal

2008-10-07T13:45:00.000-04:00

I missed this one back in June.

GOP movie star Chuck Norris appears to suggest that McCain may die during his first term

2008-10-07T12:59:00.001-04:00

Greg Mitchell reminds usof something that action star, and Republican, Chuck Norris said this past January, which Mike Huckabee looking on and not objecting:

"Chuck Norris brought his tough-guy approach to the campaign trail Sunday, taking aim at John McCain's age and suggesting the Arizona senator might not last even a single term. Norris, an ardent supporter of Mike Huckabee, told reporters he believes serving as president accelerates the aging process 3-to-1. 'If John takes over the presidency at 72 and he ages 3-to-1, how old will he be in four years? Eighty-four years old — and can he handle that kind of pressure in that job?' Norris said, as Huckabee looked on. 'That's why I didn't pick John to support, because I'm just afraid the vice president will wind up taking over his job within that four-year presidency.' added the action star."

President Palin taking over the reins of the finance crisis, anyone? It's okay, you don't need to retire anyway.

"Sit down, boy"

2008-10-07T12:14:00.000-04:00

Coming on the heels of John McCain whipping up a crowd of supporters who called Obama a "terrorist," and Sarah Palin getting her audience to yell "Kill him!" (apparently about Obama), we now find out that Sarah Palin's mob of supporters yesterday turned on a black journalist and yelled "racial epithets" at him while telling him to "sit down, boy."

From the Washington Post:

Worse, Palin's routine attacks on the media have begun to spill into ugliness. In Clearwater, arriving reporters were greeted with shouts and taunts by the crowd of about 3,000. Palin then went on to blame Katie Couric's questions for her "less-than-successful interview with kinda mainstream media." At that, Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse. Others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, "Sit down, boy."

Need any more proof of the divisiveness and elitism that John McCain and Sarah Palin are bringing to our country? Imagine, whipping up a crowd to hate "the other." Any surprise that Palin and McCain have so many ties to anti-Semites?

Mini documentary on Sarah Palin charging rape victims for their forensic exams

2008-10-07T11:25:00.000-04:00

AP: McCain was on board of group linked to former Nazi collaborators

2008-10-07T10:43:00.001-04:00

In all fairness, who hasn't been on the board of directors of an organization with ties to Nazi sympathizers? McCain and Palin simply have too many ties to extremists and anti-Semites.

More from Sam Stein at Huffing Post:

The USCWF was founded in Phoenix, Arizona in November 1981 as an offshoot of the World Anti-Communist League. The group was, from the onset, saddled with the disreputable reputation of its parent group. The WACL had ties to ultra-right figures and Latin American death squads. Roger Pearson, the chairman of the WACL, was expelled from the group in 1980 under allegations that he was a member of a neo-Nazi organization.

The U.S. Council of World Freedom claimed to be cleansed of these elements. The group's director, retired Major General John Singlaub, said he had purged some of the more "kooky" members, including a Mexican chapter that "blamed everything on the Jews," and "even accused Pope John Paul of being a Jew."

Palin held fundraiser at home of troubled financial services exec

2008-10-07T09:52:00.001-04:00

But to be fair to Palin, her fundraiser host was only at the helm of a company that was fined $75 million by the SEC for questionable trading practices. Since when have unethical financial schemes ever been a problem for Wall Street or the GOP? Oh. Never mind.

More here on who Sarah Palin raised this campaign money with yesterday, right after she smeared Obama.

It was her idea to talk about associations.

Bush on the campaign trail in Ohio fighting for his third term

2008-10-07T09:13:00.000-04:00

The Republicans have been trying to hide George Bush given his 25% approval rating . But, yesterday, Bush was on the campaign trail for McCain. The GOPers were trying to be subtle and act like this was a presidential event, not a campaign event. But, let's review facts: Bush was in Ohio. He wasn't talking about the only issue that Americans care about right now, which is the economy. No, Bush was in the swing state of Ohio talking about the need for more right-wing judges.

If it looks like a campaign event, sounds like a campaign event and smells like a campaign event, it's a campaign event:

President Bush stepped gingerly into the presidential campaign on Monday, offering an implicit endorsement of Sen. John McCain's judicial philosophy and accusing Democrats of contributing to a "broken confirmation process" for federal judges.

Welcomed here by an enthusiastic crowd of conservative lawyers, Bush also mounted a vigorous defense of his own judicial appointments over the past 7 1/2 years, saying that his nominees make up more than a third of the federal bench and have been "jurists of the highest caliber, with an abiding belief in the sanctity of our constitution."

"The selection of good judges should be a priority for all of us," Bush said at an event co-sponsored by the Federalist Society, an influential conservative legal policy group. "I appreciate that many people listening today and here in this room have worked hard to recruit more Americans to this cause. This work is in all our interests, because the truth of the matter is, the belief in judicial restraint is shared by the vast majority of American citizens."

Bush's remarks, delivered on the opening day of the new Supreme Court session, appeared to be aimed in part at highlighting the issue of judicial appointments during the final weeks of the hard-fought presidential campaign between McCain (Ariz.), the Republican nominee, and Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), his Democratic opponent.

Oh, yeah. Bush is campaigning for his third term.

Palin palling around with secessionists

2008-10-07T08:26:00.001-04:00

Why does Sarah Palin pal around with people who hate America? Why does she associate with people who want to secede from the United States? Maybe she just wanted to run her own country. Using Sarah's standard for "palling around," we have to ask: Does Sarah secretly hate America? This is all very 1860s. Watch yourself, via Jed:

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

2008-10-07T07:39:00.001-04:00

Good morning.

28 days. We're down to four weeks til election day. People are already voting in many states.

One of McCain's strategists said yesterday that if we're still talking about the economic crisis, they'll lose. Despite the efforts of McCain and Palin, we're still talking about it. McCain and Palin are in full-throttled negative attack mode. They are desperate, just desperate to change the subject.

Have I mentioned lately what a tool NBC's David Gregory is? He's smug, annoying and vapid. If the Republicans picked a mascot, one who would just regurgitate any lie they spewed, they'd probably pick Gregory.

Anyway...four weeks left. Make it happen.

Business unimpressed with McCain health care plan

2008-10-07T04:46:00.000-04:00

Oh boy, better look out for yet another erratic stunt by McCain. Even his business supporters aren't impressed with the McCain health care plan that will cost even more and do nothing to help the uninsured. Does anyone even care about "tax credits" anymore? That has to be the oldest trick in the book in Washington because it does so little to even impact taxes, unless maybe you're worth hundreds of millions and have the serious tax credits. What good is a stingy $5,000 tax credit when family coverage is over $12,000 per year? Only an aloof millionaire sitting on a dozen houses and teams of attorneys and tax accountants would think this plan is good for regular families.

Over the weekend, Mr. Obama more accurately characterized the McCain plan as a swap but one that would work to the detriment of millions. Middle-class families, he said, would “watch the system they rely on begin to unravel before their eyes.”

The business leaders said that was also their fear. Despite steady declines this decade, employers still provide coverage to 62 percent of Americans younger than 65. Surveys show that they want to continue doing so to attract and maintain a productive workforce.

The business leaders forecast that Mr. McCain’s free-market approach would impose particular burdens on small businesses and old-line manufacturers that are already struggling.

“To some in the business community, this is very discomforting,” said R. Bruce Josten, executive vice president for government affairs at the Chamber of Commerce. “The private marketplace, in my opinion, is ill prepared today with an infrastructure for an individual-based health insurance system.”

CNN poll: 60% see depression as "likely"

2008-10-07T03:13:00.000-04:00

Really? Now why would they think that? John McCain has repeatedly told us that the "fundamentals of the economy are good" though maybe that's why he's flailing with his nutty side show stories that have nothing to do with the economy he helped create. I see others writing about how the stock market doesn't resonate with American voters because it's too distant for the average American but I'm less sure of that. Maybe 40 years ago or even 30 years ago but today, Americans often rely on Wall Street for their personal retirement plan. Most people my age are very focused on it because the days of companies offering pension plans are long gone. As John pointed out on Sunday, Americans are going to be opening their quarterly statement on those plans soon and will be gasping at the numbers.

For decades the GOP has sold America on the cheap and easy idea of pay less and all will be great. Well, Americans paid less taxes, got a system that failed to regulate and now we're so deep in the hole with credit debt and plunging retirement plans not to mention an economy that's shot for at least two years, so what the heck else are people going to think? What, are Americans supposed to see a rosy future after all of this? Outside of the failed CEOs who walked away with hundreds of millions (who Waxman ought to pursue instead of hosting another silly little TV theater show) everyone else is understandably stunned. The idea may be far feteched, but it's not unreasonable to see why Americans think this way. We've witnessed such a major blow to a core belief in the American system being above such a fall and digging out and living beneath our means is not what the country is accustomed to doing.

Nearly six out of ten Americans believe another economic depression is likely, according to a poll released Monday.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, which surveyed more than 1,000 Americans over the weekend, cited common measures of the economic pain of the 1930s:

* 25% unemployment rate;
* widespread bank failures; and
* millions of Americans homeless and unable to feed their families.

In response, 21% of those polled say that a depression is very likely and another 38% say it is somewhat likely.

The poll also found that 29% feel a depression is not very likely, while 13% believe it is not likely at all.

But economists, even many who feel current economic risks are dire, generally don't believe another depression is likely.

McCain and Palin on foreign policy: Tough talk, but not very bright

2008-10-07T02:14:00.000-04:00

Let's hope if John McCain becomes president that Al Qaeda doesn't decide to strike on a weekend. That's his time off.

2008-10-07T01:30:00.000-04:00

John McCain takes weekends off, even during this presidential campaign. Then again, he is 72 years old and has suffered 4 relatively recent bouts of serious cancer, and has recently become erratic and confused. But hey, everyone has seen this kind of erratic, lethargic behavior in their elderly parents or grandparents, so why be surprised when it happens to John McCain - I mean, it has been 22 years since he was eligible to join AARP. It would be unfair to expect McCain to be as awake or have as much energy as, to have the mental acuity or intellectual focus of, your normal younger presidential candidate. Any in any case, everyone knows terrorist attacks and hurricanes never happen on weekends. More from Politico:

After a rigorous primary election schedule, the Arizona senator was "down" on nearly every Saturday and Sunday between the time he clinched the nomination in February and June, Politico reported this summer. And since accepting his party’s nomination on Sept. 4, McCain has taken off at least one day each weekend. He held no public events last weekend, and will keep the same schedule this weekend.

Obama, on the other hand, has taken only two weekend days off in the last month.

Excited for Change

2008-10-07T00:43:00.001-04:00

Wall Street Journal: McCain to pay for health care plan by cutting Medicare/Medicaid

2008-10-06T23:59:00.002-04:00

From the Wall Street Journal, no less:

John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs....

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Sen. McCain's senior policy adviser, said Sunday that the campaign has always planned to fund the tax credits, in part, with savings from Medicare and Medicaid. Those government health-care programs serve seniors, poor families and the disabled.

I mean, it's not like seniors need health care. Look at McCain, he's 72 and fit as a fiddle. Well, an erratic angry fiddle that's had cancer 4 times and can't remember what he just said, where he's going, or what continent Spain is located in.

After six years in the Senate, Norm Coleman can't (or won't) answer simple questions

2008-10-06T23:20:00.001-04:00

How hard is it to answer a simple questions? Very hard for Minnesota's Republican Senator Norm Coleman. He really is a smarmy character. Always has been.

One question Coleman won't answer is whether a really rich friend bought clothes for Coleman and his wife at Neiman Marcus. Is it that hard a question? I tend to remember who bought me clothes. Why won't Norm Coleman give a "yes or no" answer to a "yes or no" question. Harper's Ken Silverstein asked the questions and still doesn't have the answer:

I’ve been told by two sources that [Minnesota businessman Nasser Kazeminy, a big donor to the G.O.P. and to Coleman] has in the past covered the bills for Coleman’s lavish clothing purchases at Nieman Marcus in Minneapolis. The sources were not certain of the dates of the purchases; if they were made before Coleman joined the Senate in 2003, he obviously would not be required to report it under senate rules. But having a private businessman pay for your clothing is never a good idea if you’re a public official (Coleman was mayor of St. Paul from 1994 to 2002).

Kazeminy did not respond to a request for comment. I’ve been trying unsuccessfully since last week to get Coleman’s press office to give me a direct answer about the matter.

Here’s my most recent email exchange (with a few typos cleaned up):

My email to LeRoy Coleman:

Wanted to run this by you one last time: Two sources have told me that Nasser Kazeminy has paid for clothing for Senator Coleman and his wife at Nieman Marcus… Seems like a pretty straightforward question, and [I] was hoping I could get a response to it. If it’s not accurate, please let me know. [I] am planning to write an item about this over next day or two; if Senator Coleman disputes the accounts I have heard, I would like to know.

Coleman’s response:

As required, any gift Norm Coleman has received from his friends has been fully reported.

To Coleman:

Sorry to be so persistent, and maybe I’m missing something here, but I am still hoping you can just give me a direct “yes or no” answer: Has Nasser Kazeminy paid for clothing for Senator Coleman and/or his wife at Nieman Marcus? If, so, when were the purchases made? Was he already in the Senate [then], or was it prior to his joining the Senate? Saying he’s reported any gifts “as required” does not necessarily mean Kazeminy has not paid for Coleman’s purchases at Nieman.

Coleman’s response:

As required, any gift Norm Coleman has received from his friends has been fully reported.

Still waiting for a “yes” or a “no.” I’ll update this post if I receive any further response.

Then, watch this video of Coleman's press secretary who can't answer the simple question of whether Coleman supports John McCain's health care plan. This isn't a hard one -- or shouldn't be:

Al Franken is, of course, the Democratic candidate.

John McCain has a domestic terrorist problem

2008-10-06T22:40:00.000-04:00

John McCain voted against protecting women and their doctors from anti-abortion terrorists. Twice, McCain voted that way. This wasn't based on a perceived threat. Anti-abortion terrorists were killing doctors. Talk about sending the wrong message to terrorists:

Caption that photo!

2008-10-06T21:58:00.000-04:00

LA Times: Mishaps mark John McCain's record as naval aviator

2008-10-06T21:11:00.000-04:00

The point of the very long investigation by the LA Times seems to be that John McCain has always been brash, headstrong, and prone to erratic behavior that ends up getting him into trouble. But I'm sure he'll be fine handling two wars and an economic crisis. I mean, who hasn't crashed a bank or two? Or 1,000.

Help Betsy Markey defeat Marilyn Musgrave, one of the most hateful homophobes in the U.S. House

2008-10-06T20:10:00.003-04:00

This one is personal.

There are many reasons to support Betsy Markey. She's a solid progressive who will vote right on the important issues.

But, the best reason to donate to Markey can be summed up in two words: Marilyn Musgrave.

Betsy Markey is poised to beat one of the worst, if not the worst, anti-gay right wing Republicans. So much can be written about Musgrave's obsession with the gays. My "favorite" is this pronouncement in 2006:

Musgrave declared that gay marriage "is the most important issue that we face today." She told the audience that when you're in a cultural war like this, you have to respond with equal and hopefully greater force if you want to win," and warned that the "future is grim" if gay marriage is not banned.

Yes, she did. Musgrave was the lead sponsor of the anti-gay constitutional amendment for several sessions and is on the bill again this year. One of the best lines ever about Musgrave comes from McJoan at DailyKos:

For those who haven't been following her career, she's as wingnutty as it gets.

According to Chris "The Fix" Cillizza: , Musgrave's seat is the 8th most likely to switch parties this year:

8. Colorado's 4th district (R): A quick look at Rep. Marilyn Musgrave's (R) career in Congress shows a candidate who vastly underperforms in a comfortably Republican seat. Democratic nominee Betsy Markey is the best candidate Musgrave has faced and, according to polling in the contest, leads the incumbent. Republicans believe an alleged conflict of interest on Markey's part is a silver bullet but we remain skeptical. (Previous ranking: 12)

Help make this happen. Help defeat one of the worst homophobes in Congress. When Musgrave finally loses, you'll really feel good about playing a role in her defeat.

Donate this week and every contribution will be matched by a Democratic member of Congress. A t.v. ad in Markey's district costs $345. Every time we raise $172.50, we're putting an ad on the air to defeat Musgrave.

"Kill him!", Palin supporter says of Obama in her presence. She says nothing.

2008-10-06T19:17:00.003-04:00

On the heels of a McCain supporter yelling that Obama was a "terrorist" today - and McCain said nothing in response to admonish the supporter - the Washington Post reports (via ThinkProgress) that a Palin supporter at one of her rallies today yelled for Obama to be assassinated after Palin, again, told the lie that some of Obama's best friends are terrorists:

"Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," Palin said.

"Boooo!" said the crowd.

"And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,'" she continued.

"Boooo!" the crowd repeated.

"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.

Palin went on to say that "Obama held one of the first meetings of his political career in Bill Ayers's living room, and they've worked together on various projects in Chicago."

Palin went on?

Just like she did when speakers at her church said that terrorist attacks against Israelis were "God's judgment" for Jews having the audacity not to embrace Christianity. Just like she did when a visiting witch doctor at her church lamented the fact that, as he claimed, Jews control the banking industry and that's why Wall Street is so corrupt. Not a word from Sarah Palin when her supporters talk of killing Barack Obama. Not a word from Sarah Palin when her own church talks of the propriety of launching terrorist attacks against Jews in Israel.

In one day, McCain's supporters are so enraged by McCain's new rhetoric, calling Obama an un-American terrorist sympathizer, that McCain's supporters are now labeling Obama himself a "terrorist" and calling for him to be killed.

And McCain has no problem with this. Nor does Sarah Palin.

Approval of John "I did everything I could to get him elected and re-elected" McCain's president is at 25%

2008-10-06T18:13:00.001-04:00

McCain can try to hide Bush, but this is really ultimate association in 2008 - he voted with George Bush over 90% of the time. Today, Gallup reported that Bush's approval had hit the lowest new low yet:

McCain and Bush are inextricably linked:

McCain strategist: "If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we're going to lose." Dow drops 370 closing under 10,000. We're talking about it.

2008-10-06T17:23:00.004-04:00

After a rocky day on Wall Street and in markets around the world, sure looks like we're going to keep talking about the economy. That's not good for the McCain campaign according to the McCain campaign. As noted earlier today, the NY Daily News reported:

McCain's course correction reflects a growing case of nerves within his high command as the electoral map has shifted significantly in Obama's favor in the past two weeks.

"It's a dangerous road, but we have no choice," a top McCain strategist told the Daily News. "If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we're going to lose."

Just about every news website has some major article about the stock market losses today. So, yeah, we're going to keep talking about the economic crisis because it's still a damn crisis, not a political issue to be swept away by negative campaigning.

Someone over at McCain HQ is going to have to write something about the economy on Sarah Palin's Starbucks mocha cup to get her up to speed on the crisis.

UPDATE: Bonddad has a post at DailyKos titled "Economy In Shambles; Markets Crashing." Yikes. This really is a crisis and we'll all be talking about the economy for awhile.

McCain does nothing as supporter calls Obama a "terrorist"

2008-10-06T16:35:00.009-04:00

ANOTHER UPDATE from Joe: We'll hear it said that McCain can't be held responsible for what people in his audiences say. Right. Cause it's never happened before. Oh wait, it did. When an audience member asked, speaking of Hillary Clinton, "How do we beat the bitch?" McCain said it was "an excellent question." McCain fosters hatred and negativity by not standing up to it. He should know better. It's appalling and is destroying whatever is left of his reputation.

UPDATE: Ambinder heard it too. I'm just wondering what McCain's supporters are going to do next, now that McCain and Palin have convinced them that Obama is a terrorist. A reader writes in our comments:

This is dangerous, very, very dangerous. There are nutjobs out there, with just a little bit of encouragement, will do something very bad. The Secret Service needs to take action to put a stop to this type of behavior now.

McCain was speaking today in New Mexico, doing his usual personal attack on Barack Obama, as the stock market plummeted (you can see the ticker next to McCain on the screen, an apt reminder of what McCain and his fellow Republicans represent), and McCain asked the crowd "who is Barack Obama?" Immediately you hear a supporter yell "terrorist." McCain pauses, the audience laughs, and McCain continues on, not acknowledging, not chastising, not correcting. Oh, but McCain does say in the next sentence that he's upset about all the "angry barrage of insults." Is McCain losing his mind, or just a liar?

NB It's particularly ironic calling Obama a terrorist when it's Sarah Palin's church that preaches that terrorist attacks against Israel are "God's judgment" on those awful Jews for not accepting Christ.