Why McCain's "Mole-Like Skin" Doesn't Matter--Despite the MSM Hype

re: Why McCain's "Mole-Like Skin" Doesn't Matter--Despite the MSM Hype

pastor123 — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:44:11 GMT

I guess it doesnt matter, about his mole like skin. I dont think McCain can win as the Nominee anyway. Could you imagine McCain even having enough energy to run your local Mcdonalds. Seriously. Think about it next time your in line watching the Mcdonalds manager run around taking orders and shouting orders. McCain couldnt do it. So I ask You, how will McCain be president??? Looks as though the RNC got behind the wrong candidate and they will pay for it., Guess they should of let the primary season play out without trying to minupulate the outcome.. Good news is i think McCain is just about done, I wouldnt doubt the GOP ditch him at the last second and run a younger more charasmatic charachter. Did you see him knock all that stuff off the shelf at the supermarket. the video is at http://www.mccanes.com all the while barack obama is looking like an NBA super star, (arrogence and all) even taking time to stop and have a cigar break video at http://www.theobamaplan.com

re: Why McCain's "Mole-Like Skin" Doesn't Matter--Despite the MSM Hype

Dollared — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:45:56 GMT

Wow, Andrew, hurry in there and defend McCain!

Now, how about the same "analysis" of McCain's flipflops and contradictory positions on privatizing Social Security? On "being the Iraq War's biggest critic" when he was a big, consistent cheerleader? On his demonstrably false attack on Obama regarding the troop visit in Germany?

How is it that you know how to do your job when it comes to protecting McCain from rumors of cancer recurrence, but you can't do it when it comes to demonstrable falsehoods and blatant inconsistencies from the man?

re: Why McCain's "Mole-Like Skin" Doesn't Matter--Despite the MSM Hype

Andrew Romano — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:55:03 GMT

Thanks for reading, Dollared. For the record, I've addressed McCain's flip flops in the past. Here's the link:

http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/06/20/will-the-real-flip-flopper-please-stand-up.aspx

Regarding Obama's troop visit in Germany, I weighed in here:

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/07/28/why-mccain-s-iraq-attacks-may-hurt-more-than-they-help.aspx

Best,

Andrew

re: Why McCain's "Mole-Like Skin" Doesn't Matter--Despite the MSM Hype

J. Sharp — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:02:57 GMT

Many voters are concerned about John McCain's age and health. Many wonder, and mainstream media refuses to ask, if John McCain suffers from PTSD from his the five years of captivity, including three years in solitary and torture so extreme that, as he put it, "broke" him to the point

he attempted suicide several times.

Google the news section for 'mccain ptsd' and you will see zero articles from mainstream media pondering this question.

Google the news for 'mccain mole' and you will see over 600 mainstream media articles.

One of the most important considerations with regard to medical predictions of future PTSD, is how the initial trauma was dealt with.

In 1999, Dr. Michael M. Ambrose, director of the Robert E. Mitchell Center for Prisoner of War Studies, was contacted by John McCain to conduct a mental health review. The quality of the review is a matter of dispute as some say Dr. Ambrose did a full medical exam of the patient

and others say the doctor only reviewed McCain's old medical records.

After the evaluation was completed, John McCain's 1999 campaign released a statement by Dr. Ambrose, which stated:

"McCain has never been diagnosed with or treated at the center for a psychological or psychiatric disorder (The term PTSD first appeared in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980, years after John McCain's initial military medical evaluations). He has been subject to an extensive battery of psychological tests and following his last examination in 1993, we judged him to be in good physical and mental health.''

The McCain campaign press release included a statement by Dr. Ambrose, which reveals John McCain created a fantasy world in order to escape the reality of captivity and torture. They further stated McCain always heard the guards coming with his food, but "was often so much in his private world, that he strongly resented their coming around and bringing him back to reality by intruding. He was enjoying his fantasies so much."

"findings suggest that it is less what happens at the time of a trauma (e.g., disrupted encoding) that predicts PTSD than what occurs thereafter (i.e., persistent avoidance)." [John Briere, Ph.D., Catherine Scott, M.D., and Frank Weathers, Ph.D.]

The keyword here is 'persistent avoidance' which was evidenced by the findings of Dr. Ambrose.

"The presence of dissociative symptoms soon after exposure to trauma has been found to predict the subsequent development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)" [Gary Tucker, MD, Published in Journal Watch Psychiatry October 9, 2002]

"The amount of dissociation that follows directly after a trauma predicts PTSD" [American Psychiatric Association]

"Individuals that are more likely to dissociate during a traumatic event are considerably more likely to develop chronic PTSD" [Brown, Scheflin and Hammond (1998). Memory, Trauma Treatment, And the Law.]

"In several studies, dissociation at the time of a trauma (peritraumatic dissociation) has been found to predict symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder at follow-up assessments' [Michael W. Otto, PhD, Published in Journal Watch Psychiatry July 21, 2005]

" early numbing contributed to the prediction of later PTSD" [Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, Psychiatry Department, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine]

"Peritraumatic dissociation is frequently considered to be a risk factor for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)" [Doris C. Breh PhD, Department of Psychotraumatology, Psychosomatic University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany]

Ambrose later told the Associated Press "He had a very healthy way of dealing with his experiences." One of the examiners even noted that McCain had improved his ability to control his infamous temper due to his years of torture and captivity.

Anyone familiar with Workers' Compensation or personal injury cases understands full well you can pull the right strings or pay a 'company' doctor to say anything necessary to help your client.

It is worth noting the 1999 McCain campaign only released a small number of redacted medical records, the pages were not allowed to be photocopied and only a few select news organizations were privy to what few medical records were made available under these conditions.

John McCain has a consistent history of out of control outbursts of anger and even admits an adverse reaction to the sound of jangling keys. Author Robert Timberg, who McCain has said "knows more about me than I do," calls these episodes "an eruption of temper out of all proportion to the provocation" and says they are a result of Vietnam coming "back to haunt him."

VA studies have shown time and again that POWs suffer a much higher risk of developing PTSD than combat veterans. Even so, to this date, mainstream media still has not pushed for full disclosure of John McCain's military medical records and refuses to ask the one simple question:

'Is John McCain emotionally fit for the most stressful job in our country, the Office of President of the United States, our Commander in Chief?"

re: Why McCain's "Mole-Like Skin" Doesn't Matter--Despite the MSM Hype

toyboxconundrum — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:19:05 GMT

I really hope I receive a reply on my comment -- somehow.

Anyway, to be fair, skin melanoma is a serious issue, especially when it occurs several times on the face. If treated, melanoma survivors can go on for years without trouble; however, the only problem is detecting how deep the melanoma actually is, and this isn't always apparent by the occurances of "moles." Like a fever, these moles are often a symptom of something greater that requires treatment, and this should cause worry.

Here's why: melanoma on the face can be indicative of a cancer that has an opportunity to spread to the brain -- the consequences of which for Mr. McCain and our country (were he in office) would obviously be dire. Maybe I'm being unfair, but the fact remains that a healthy candidate campaigning is much different from a sick president running the country. McCain's judgment would become questionable at all times, and the last thing our country needs is another brain-dead president (some readers might consider this a comparison to Bush -- and to some extent they're right -- but it might also be considered a comparison to the late Ronald Regan, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, and the early, but limited, reigns of William J. Harding, Henry Harrison and others). One thing we don't need right now is volatility.

Also, you clearly have a negative view of journalism industry that is "political commentary" showcased on MSNBC or CNN or whatever by "the best political team in the business" and/or "the best political minds in the world," and on most counts I'd agree with you wholeheartedly.

This is different though. The standard for journalism as regards political analysis as definitely at an time low, but there should definitely be serious debate over McCain's age and health. Why shouldn't voters be reminded about an issue that at least 1/5 of all American's (based on the poll you cited) take seriously. If there is one thing Americans have, it's a short attention span, and the fact that the media keeps the issue of McCain's health at the top of the "punditry" conciousness (and therefore the political conciousness on some level), is quite valuable.

What if people just started ignoring the issue? Then we elect a sick president, and then America is really screwed. Of course, McCain might be completely healthy -- and then he might not. Unlike the BS swiftboat campaigning of the Bush-Kerry election season, McCain's health deserves to be at the top of American political conciousness.

Look at how leaders age over the span of their presidential terms. Clinton looks COMPLETELY different than when he was first elected, and so does the latest Bush. This happens to all presidents. Could McCain's health stand a full-term in presidency while his body is constantly combating cancer? How strong would his immunity be? What would this mean for our country?

Andrew, this is the second article of yours that I read, and you're a really great writer. I read your latest editorial about Obama's foreign policy perspective (I disagree with your assessment of that as well), but within these two articles, one thing you've done consistently is not take context fully into perspective. This is a campaign for the President of the United States of America -- McCain would be "the leader of the free world" (or whatever). If McCain gets sick, while in office, would we get stuck with Romney? Yuck! McCain's health, in my opinion, is the first issue we should be thinking about -- after that, we can worry about his defunct policy perspectives.

re: Why McCain's "Mole-Like Skin" Doesn't Matter--Despite the MSM Hype

chuckhasker@yahoo.com — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:29:35 GMT

Andrew I am Glad you responed to Dollared's comment. It is obivious that she is not a regular reader and if you would have waited a few hours I would have jumped her or his or whatever's case over their comment. I also noticed that the people who posted comments on your article, so far, are long on yawn without stating that they are actually rambling Obama supporters. That said, I loved your article on rthe Mole skin uproar and your observation about how Cillizza's spun his story on McCain. If you want an example of why I read your reports daily all you need to do is just look at what I don't want to read in Cilizza's observations. I am so tired of trying to sort out the truth in the news. Chuck Hasker

re: Why McCain's "Mole-Like Skin" Doesn't Matter--Despite the MSM Hype

Himtoenotbetter — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:25:29 GMT

Romano you are very young and probably very healthy. You have no idea what it means to be old and sick. John McCain is both. The only reason he is running is because miraculously all his competition self destructed. If that Law and Order guy would have bothered to just show up he would now be the presumptive. If not for all that beer money behind him, McCain would never even have gotten in or out of the starting gate. Anyone who votes for a POW who was in captivity for more than five years and never attempted to escape (you're supposed to do that Andy) is a Section 8. A melanoma can take you out faster than a sniper. And don't forget this Romano -- unless a President of the United States is pronounced dead, the doctors will declare a clean bill of health. And even then I am not too sure.