Karl Rove Thinks He's Smarter Than 2,900 Doctors Regarding McCain's Health

Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films at 8:00 AM on October 27, 2008.

One thing Karl Rove has never lacked is hubris.  A few days ago, Rove, an informal adviser for John McCain, appeared on FOX News and claimed McCain has been "an open book about his health issues for years and years and years."  Obviously, Rove thinks he knows more than the 2,900 doctors who have signed our open letter calling on McCain to provide full disclosure of his medical records.  Not to mention Dr. Lawrence Altman, a physician and journalist who has covered the health of presidential candidates for the past 36 years. 

In an article for The New York Times last Monday, Dr. Altman expressed grave concerns about McCain's lack of candor regarding his health history.  Dr. Altman wrote:

Last May, [McCain's] campaign and his doctors released nearly 1,200 pages of medical information, far more than the three other nominees. But the documents were released in a restricted way that leaves questions, even confusion, about his cancer.

A critical question concerns inconsistencies in medical opinions about the severity of his melanoma; if the classification of his melanoma is more severe, it would increase the statistical likelihood of death from a recurrence of the cancer.

Altman's article called for a fuller release of records from all four nominees in this election.  And while he concluded that McCain has released more pages of medical records than Obama, Biden, and Palin, he stressed the fact that McCain has been far more elusive about his health history with both the press and the public.  

As I have written previously, McCain released a relatively small portion of his health history this past May under suspiciously restrictive conditions.  He allowed only a select group of journalists (not including Altman) to view nearly 1,200 pages of medical records -- covering the years from 2000-2008 -- for just three hours, without use of photocopiers or cell phones.  This was a wholly insufficient means of examining medical records.  Though ironically, it was similar to how McCain controlled press access to his records in 1999, just before two melanomas were detected on him.  

Of course, Rove twisted Altman's findings in McCain's favor. Rove made the ludicrous comparison between McCain's 1,200 pages of medical records and the one page from Obama's doctor that declared the Democratic candidate to be in "excellent health."  He also raised concerns over records regarding the aneurysm Biden suffered in 1988.  

This is typical Rovian spin, coupled with a move straight out of the FOX playbook.  First, Bill O'Reilly cries foul over Brave New Pac's ad regarding McCain's medical records.  They compel other networks to censor the ad.  But rather than discussing McCain's health record secrecy, FOX merely objects to our ad and uses its impact as an excuse to go after Biden in a warped double standard.  

Make no mistake, I think all four candidates ought to come clean about their health, especially when two of them have histories of life-threatening ailments.  And I'm not the only one.  A CNN poll from earlier this month found that 47 percent of Americans question whether McCain could finish his first term, and actuarial math suggests McCain stands a 25 percent chance of not surviving a second one.  The reality is that McCain has been the least forthright and the least transparent about his records.  He continually goes out of his way to obfuscate his past, which Dr. Richard Sagebiel, co-director of the UCSF Melanoma Clinic, said leads us to wonder "What is he hiding?"  

Let's continue to make this an issue for McCain and his obvious friends at FOX.  We've obviously got them on the defensive here.  Sign the open letter to McCain and continue getting this video to all of your friends, especially the doctors with the expertise to weigh in on this crucial debate.

Tagged as: health, cancer, john mccain, 2008 election, doctors, medical records, melanoma, brave new pac

ZP Heller is the editorial director of Brave New Films. He has written for The American Prospect, AlterNet, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Huffington Post, covering everything from politics to pop culture.