People who have nothing to hide don’t act like they have something to hide
After months of delays, a handful of carefully-selected reporters will have access this morning to 400 pages of John McCain’s medical records. By all appearances, the McCain campaign is rather panicky about what journalists might find, and have gone to almost comical lengths to make this process as ridiculous as humanly possible.
At the outset, let’s not brush too quickly past the series of delays. A year ago, reporters began asking for access to the records. At the time, the campaign said the release of the materials would come in a matter of weeks. It didn’t. Then, McCain aides said they’d release the information in March. Then, without explanation, they changed the date to April. Then, again without explanation, they changed the date to May. (I wasn’t inclined to be suspicious about this until McCain started acting suspiciously.)
Finally, the McCain campaign picked this morning — the Friday before Memorial Day weekend — to “show” the materials to a select few, none of whom will be able to even make a photocopy of a single page.
As Americans kick off Memorial Day weekend, Sen. John McCain today will release 400 pages of his medical records to a handpicked group of reporters who can neither walk out with the documents nor photocopy them, illustrating the campaign’s sensitivity about the 71-year-old candidate’s age and health.
The health of the presumed Republican presidential nominee, who bears large scars on his face and neck from surgery in 2000 to remove an invasive form of skin cancer, has been a question throughout the early part of the campaign.
For more than a year, the four-term senator has repeatedly promised to release his recent medical records but has not done so.
The closer one looks at this, the more unusual it appears.
In 1999, during McCain’s first presidential campaign, the senator, then 63, was quite forthcoming when it came to his medical history. Months before a single vote was cast, McCain made available 1,500 pages of medical and psychiatric records.
This morning, in contrast, McCain will make 400 pages available for three hours to hand-picked reporters who won’t even be allowed to make photocopies. What’s more, McCain’s psychiatric records will be off-limits. (The medical records released today will only cover the years 2000 to 2008.)
For a candidate who has nothing to hide, he’s acting like he has something to hide. And given that McCain is running to be the oldest president ever elected, and he has a history of medical problems including melanoma, this is a little unsettling.
I’m not a medical reporter, but it seems obvious to me that a journalist would want — indeed, need — to get a copy of the materials and then show them to medical professionals for an independent evaluation. Reporters aren’t experts on medicine. A brief look at records they can’t take with them is, by design, intended to conceal. Doing all of this the Friday before Memorial Day weekend just drives the point home.
I should clarify that most reporters aren’t experts on medicine. The New York Times’ Lawrence Altman not only covers medicine for the paper of record, but is also a trained physician. In the world of medical reporters, Altman is arguably the nation’s most respected, and he covered McCain’s health during the 2000 campaign.
It’s interesting, then, that the McCain campaign decided not to invite the New York Times to this morning’s gathering at all.
The last time McCain released his medical records, one of the reporters who viewed them was the Times’ Lawrence Altman. Not only is Altman the dean of science reporters, but he’s also an M.D. — i.e., somebody who, even in the short span of three hours, would be able to assess the significance and full meaning of the records. And in an article earlier this year, Altman started raising questions about McCain’s present health — and his campaign’s curious delay in making the records public.
It sounds like the Times isn’t in the pool this time around, which means no Altman.
In all likelihood, there’s nothing to this. In 2000, the records, which drew minimal scrutiny, didn’t raise any red flags. This year, if McCain had a serious health problem that would interfere with his duties, he probably wouldn’t have run in the first place.
But the campaign’s conduct on the issue raises questions, doesn’t it?
Non-nefarious things he might want to hide could include something like a Viagra prescription. Or prescriptions for drugs his wife may or may not have been addicted to at some time. I would hope the press and the Democrats wouldn’t go there, but I guess I know better.
“In all likelihood, there’s nothing to this.”
Naturally. I mean, it’s not like there’s a pattern of secrecy here, like say about his wife’s finances…and releasing medical records like a peepshow viewing is standard, right?
Sounds like a perfect guy to bring accountability and transparency back to the White House :O
if McCain had a serious health problem that would interfere with his duties, he probably wouldn’t have run in the first place
Never underestimate the incredible draw of political ambition to trump things like physical incapability or simple math skills. When someone like McCain has been waiting in the wings for so long he wouldn’t allow something like an aging body to deny him “his turn”. That said, he’s probably the fittest 72 year old politician anyone knows, but I agree that the less than transparent handling of the records begs more questions than the limited review answered…
and a full series of skull x-rays showed nothing.
Actually, a report about Viagra would help his campaign and do more to dispel the “old” issue in the public mind more than any SNL jokes.
Psychiatric evaluation might include findings of the onset of dementia, would it not?
Just wondering why this article is running before the alloted time for the records to be reviewed:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080523/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_health;_ylt=AuMeB0QYUzpDWhfkZ3XXTKKs0NUE
Seems strange.
Wow and I thought was paranoid….
So let’s get this straight tap my phones, go through my bank records, track us on cameras or satellites, and strip me naked before I go on a plane and what ever other rights you can take away
But we are not allowed to down, get some professional medical opinions,
To see if you would even last next year
It’s a 4yr Job VP will end up being President
His so called dreams for 2013 (no ill will) when he might not make it there?
I had heard that Dr. Sanjay Gupta (spelling?) with CNN would be reviewing the records. I can’t speak to his credibility.
He looks ghastly and he acts somewhat adled. I know people in their 70’s who are spry, energetic and very sharp. He looks like he’s dieing in the vine.
McCain didn’t do much campaigning in the early primary season and secured the Republican nomination very quickly. He’s been coasting easily until now. I’ll be courious to see how he appears after a non-stop, hard fought, rough campaign for the general election. By the time the general election arrives he may look like death warmed over compared to Obama.
The Salon article ( will be off-limits. ) was fascinating. Talk about links to Bush:
“Although proud of his father, he has been preoccupied with escaping being in the shadow of his father and establishing his own image and identity in the eyes of others” – Dr O’Connell, psychologist who treated McCain after returning from Viet Nam.
Also I wonder if the documents will be divided, with each reporter doing separate reports, or whether each will actually try to digest 400 pages in three hours.
It is also important to point out that had McCain not been the beneficiary of an excellent Publicy Funded Healthcare Plan he would most likely be a dead man.
For more than a year, the four-term senator has repeatedly promised to release his recent medical records but has not done so.
And this three-hour paper dump is a promise fulfilled?
Yeah, I hadn’t thought about onset of dementia. Honestly, 400 pages of medical records in eight years? And it’s not even all of them? I don’t think I’ve had 400 in my entire life, but I am half his age. I wonder if that is a normal number for someone his age whose cancer is allegedly in remission.
The psych profiles from the 70s seem pretty irrelevant. But anyway, you can see why someone would be nervous about releasing records. When Clinton finally released her records from her years as first lady there was an ABC “reporter” making fun of the fact that Bill was getting a blow job while Hillary was actually home. Any little thing could be become a scandal, so I can see why they would be cautious.
OTOH, the delays are rather odd. Sounds like a lot of redaction was going on.
Too Weary:
Psychiatric evaluation might include findings of the onset of dementia, would it not?
or even casual observations of his resent interviews and overall behavior…
Too Weary and ChicagoPat, don’t forget anger management issues, or the onset Alzheimer’s. Would Reagan have been elected to a 2nd term if the nation had known about his Alzheumer’s?
In 1992 one of the main contenders for the Democratic nomination was Paul Tsongas, who had had cancer less than ten years before. During the campaign he claimed he was cancer-free, and ran commercials showing himself swimming hard, intended to illustrate his physical vigor. A few years later his cancer returned (during what would have been his first term) and he died at 55 (toward the beginning of what would have been his second term).
These are real issues with guys this age.
Grandpa Simpson is acting awefully suspicious for someone with nothing to hide. Why can’t we see the psych records???? That is the most important part. Let real doctors evaluate him for us. This is a clear reason not to vote for the angry old man…add crazy to that until proven otherwise.
Let me get this straight…he put it off a year, then a month, then another month. Then he decides to release it as we go into a holiday weekend and only a couple carefully selected members of his base, I mean the press, get to look at it for a few minutes and can’t make any copies of anything. Also nobody qualified to make a medical diagnosis is allowed in. Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. What could possibly be wrong with this picture?
If McCain had a serious health problem that would interfere with his duties, he probably wouldn’t have run in the first place
How incredibly naive. Did we know about JFK’s very serious health problems, and did that stop him from running? He was on pain killers much of the time. Ronald Reagan probably had Alzheimer’s most of the time he was president. Did he resign? How much did Nancy and others cover for him?
I’d really like to think a politician would put the best interests of his country ahead of his personal ambition, but with almost as many birthdays behind me as McSame I’ve abandoned such childish notions.
Follow up to Scotty (7 – good link, by the way. Thanks.) AP claims to have reviewed 1173 pages yesterday, not just the 400 mentioned above. And aides say he has had no mental evaluations in the last eight years.
This country has quite a record of presidents with serious mental and physical health problems. Not to mention those who died in office.
Jackson – homicidal anger management
Lincoln – depression
Grant – alcoholism?
Coolidge – depression
Wilson – stroke
Roosevelt – polio
JFK – Addisons
Nixon – paranoia
Reagan – Alzheimers
GW Bush – illusions of grandeur
Gupja is a board certified neurosurgeon. He should be ok evaluating the surgical aspects of the melanoma management. Medical aspects of the candidate’s condition is more interesting. Hope they focus on any evaluations/comments regarding Parkinson’s, of which the good Senator’s masked facies may be a symptom.
Don’t worry, I’m sure his next step will be to give a select handful of his fellow Congressmen twenty minutes to ask him questions that nobody will be allowed to record, write-down, listen to, or find out if he ever answered. And he’ll have Cheney at his side in case he needs any assistance remembering stuff.
There’s nothing to see here, folks. Just your typical oldest presidential candidate ever running for the most important job in the world. What’s the worst that could happen: President Huckabee? I saw him on SNL once and he’s a really fun guy. I’m sure this isn’t a problem. One president is just as good as another.
I have a certain amount of respect for Sanjay Gupta (although he was guilty of splitting hairs in his argument with Michael Moore over the facts in Sicko). Gupta comes across as at least *trying* to be fair, which is more than we can say about a lot of news personalities these days.
The restricted pool got its first glimpse of these records at 10 a.m. EDT. The AP released its “Nothing to see here!” report at 10:06. WTF?
if McCain had a serious health problem that would interfere with his duties, he probably wouldn’t have run in the first place.
I disagree. The man is full of shit and full of himself. I’d say that even if he had a problem he would go for it, because this is literally his last shot at a dream he has had for decades.
Tomb (#21),
FDR also had multiple strokes and extremely high blood pressure in his last term. When I was in medical school, I had a lecture from one of his treating physicians. FDR had systolic blood pressures in the 400 range and was clearly having problems with cognition. No one else knew this and it was felt to be beneficial to the country that it be kept a secret due to the war. I am not sure that Truman even knew.
McKinley had a septicemia after being shot that affected his presidency. No one was aware of the seriousness of his condition (which was iatrogenic, by the way, because all of the prominent doctors who treated him kept poking into the hole) and TR was on vacation when McKinley died.
So the reporters have to scan over 2.2 pages per minute, not including note taking. Nothing suspicious there! I’ll bet there was only one copy of the documents for the whole gang, and that they were arranged in random order to make things even more fun.
IMO all the voter needs to know about this charade is that it stinks to high heaven, just like when Bush “testified” about 9/11. No recordings, only selected observers, limited timeframe, no followups. If McCain thinks that Bush’s model of transparency is the one to follow, then we need to make sure that the voters see that.
In all likelihood, there’s nothing to this.
Steve: there is always something to something like this. They are hiding something. Perhaps the beginning of Alzheimers, which Reagan was suffering from for 6 of his 8 years in office.
Medical exams often show conditions favorable for or a high tendency toward when one does not currently have the disease or its symptoms. Purposely not inviting a “medcal” reporter is a sure tell. Something is not right or it would not be such a big deal. McCain has put too many conditions on the release of “innocent” information. Denial is the name of the game or McCain would bow out of the race already due to his age. So unless he’s dying McCain will claim he’s alright to be president.
Keep in mind that one can function with a disability (especially psychological) but it would not help to get them elected.
Nothing to hide except that he has a type of skin cancer where he was given a 35% chance of dying by 2010?
No medical reporters allowed to look at the records of the oldest candidate
for President with a severe and troubling medical history?
I think those excluded publications, NYT, should raise a big stink about this.
maybe this just proves his low intelligence-after his handlers chose today for the release thinking nobody would be paying attention-they draw attention by the strange conditions and exclusions. stupid! and bad choice of managers!
if McCain had a serious health problem that would interfere with his duties, he probably wouldn’t have run in the first place.
Oh please… let’s not overlook the immense power of:
Stupidity
Greed
Lust for power
Vanity
Typical politician, really.