John McCain Watch: Cancer Free But Political Health?

In this Feb. 11, 2002 file photo, a bandaged Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., takes part in a Washington news conference to discuss campaign finance. Three-time melanoma survivor John McCain appears cancer-free, has a strong heart and is in otherwise general good health, according to eight years of medical records reviewed by The Associated Press

A review of Senator John MCCain’s medical records reveal the presumptive GOP Presidential nominee free of cancer and healthy.

Three-time melanoma survivor John McCain appears cancer-free, has a strong heart and is in otherwise general good health, according to eight years of medical records reviewed by The Associated Press.

The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting remains at risk for developing new skin cancers, and gets a thorough check by a Mayo Clinic dermatologist every few months.

“I do not see any worrisome lesions,” Dr. Suzanne Connolly concluded after McCain’s most recent exam, on May 12.

The details of McCain’s health are contained in 1,173 pages of medical documents spanning 2000 to 2008 that his campaign made available to the AP to make the case that he’s healthy enough to serve as president, as well as to counter the notion that he’s too old. The Arizona senator will turn 72 in August and would be the oldest elected first-term president.

Like many aging Americans, McCain takes medicine to keep his cholesterol in check.

But Mayo internist Dr. John Eckstein, his longtime personal physician, lauded McCain’s performance on a heart stress test — sweating it out for 10 minutes when Eckstein routinely sees patients decades younger quit at five or seven minutes.

“I think physiologically he is considerably younger than his chronologic age based on his cardiovascular fitness,” Eckstein said in an interview Thursday. “I got a call from the cardiologist who said that he had not seen anyone that age exercise for that long in a long time.”

McCain’s most recent exams show a range of health issues common in aging: He frequently has precancerous skin lesions removed, and in February had an early stage squamous cell carcinoma, an easily cured skin cancer, removed. He had benign colon growths called polyps taken out during a routine colonoscopy in March.

But, his POLITICAL health with the RIGHT took a turn for the worse when conservative blogger John Hawkins of Right Wing News withdrew his endorsement of McCain’s candidacy.

Put very simply: John McCain is a liar. He’s a man without honor, without integrity, who could not have captured the Republican nomination had he run on making comprehensive immigration a top priority of his administration. Quite frankly, this is little different from George Bush, Sr. breaking his “Read my lips, no new taxes pledge,” except that Bush’s father was at least smart enough to wait until he got elected before letting all of his supporters know that he was lying to them.

Under these circumstances, I simply cannot continue to support a man like John McCain for the presidency. Since that is the case, I have already written the campaign and asked them to take me off of their mailing list and to no longer send me invitations to their teleconferences. I see no point in asking questions to a man who has no compunction about lying through his teeth on one of the most crucial election issues and then changing his position the first time he believes he can get away with it.

John McCain is NOT a conservative. McCain is a pro-life moderate Republican that supports a comprehensive “Shamnesty” approach to illegal immigrtion. This is not a surprise. But, does John Hawkins rather have a moderate Republican or a radical left-wing Democrat making the appointments to the next Supreme Court, the federal appellate courts, the federal district courts? These appointments will live on for decades.

Flap was disappointed that Rudy Giuliani was not nominated by the party. John Hawkins did not like him either, writing excoriating pieces about his pro-choice positions on abortion and personal baggage. However, Giuliani would have been the best leader this country could have elected this Presidential cycle. He had a record of achievement and accomplishment using conservative, free market principles.

Elections are choices that occur every few years.

When Flap has to decide between Barack Obama and John McCain in the polling booth, he may not be enthusiastic and may be suspect of some of the man’s positions on issues, but will vote for him.

An Obama Presidency is just too hard to swallow.

However, Flap is afraid others will stay home and it may be a very rough year for the GOP.