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McCain's Health Concerns - 8/3/2008 6:54:50 PM
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todd_t
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Since this topic cropped up in another thread, I thought I'd give it a life of its own:
Do you (as a voter) harbor any concerns over John McCain's age (he would be 72, if elected, on his first term in office, and 76 at its conclusion), how the severe stress of the presidency would affect his health, not to mention his history of cancer?
To my knowledge, no president has entered office having been diagnosed with the disease (in McCain's case, skin cancer - developed from heavy sun exposure during his captivity in Vietnam). And to date, McCain has had four malignant incidents of melanoma (skin cancer tumors) surgically removed from his face.
He would also be the oldest president ever inaugurated (Reagan was 69, and in much better health throughout most of his life).
Furthermore, do these question marks place an even greater importance than usual on who McCain picks as his running mate?
< Message edited by todd_t -- 8/3/2008 7:08:24 PM >
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In Memoriam: 1st Sgt. Obediah Kolath, US Army, Died in Iraq War (1973-2005)
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/3/2008 10:48:11 PM
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Jhud
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I had hoped for a younger man, but the man isn't dying, nor do his mental facilities seem to be failing him.
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It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first..
- Ronald Reagan
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 11:15:55 AM
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cow451
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Definitely a one-termer, making his VP choice crucial.
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 11:39:23 AM
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todd_t
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quote:
Definitely a one-termer, making his VP choice crucial.
Well, no offense, but what's the point of voting for a candidate who may not be able to go the full eight years?
A president who can likely only manage one term is more of a glorified chair-warmer (not to mention an instant lame duck) for the next POTUS rather than a chief executive himself.
If he is elected, IMO, McCain's presidency will be brief, adversarial, and inconsequential (due to my skepticism of him being able to endure the rigors of a re-election campaign at age 76).
< Message edited by todd_t -- 8/4/2008 11:48:08 AM >
_____________________________
In Memoriam: 1st Sgt. Obediah Kolath, US Army, Died in Iraq War (1973-2005)
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 1:13:36 PM
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Evangel70
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quote:
If he is elected, IMO, McCain's presidency will be brief, adversarial, and inconsequential...
I agree. If elected, McCain will have to find a way to work with a democratic congressional majority that he has spent his campaign attacking. Why would anyone want to elect a "lame duck" president?
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May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 1:41:06 PM
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Jhud
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quote:
I agree. If elected, McCain will have to find a way to work with a democratic congressional majority that he has spent his campaign attacking. Why would anyone want to elect a "lame duck" president?
Because we don't want Barack rubber-stamping the Democratic congress?
_____________________________
Jack
It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first..
- Ronald Reagan
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 1:50:49 PM
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HighPlainsDrifter
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quote:
I agree. If elected, McCain will have to find a way to work with a democratic congressional majority that he has spent his campaign attacking. Why would anyone want to elect a "lame duck" president?
Because we're just wrapping up an empty-suit presidency and we don't have the time or money for another?
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 1:56:07 PM
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JimboFletch
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quote:
ORIGINAL: todd_t
Well, no offense, but what's the point of voting for a candidate who may not be able to go the full eight years?
One-termers like Johnson and Carter are evidence that 1 term is plenty for some presidents. Plenty.
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 5:34:12 PM
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ljmac
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Kerry had cancer surgery not long before the election last time around. It wasn't an issue. He had a top surgeon at a top hospital, the kind of thing the wealthy ruling class takes for granted and won't give up if government health care is implemented.
It is wise for voters to know as much as they can about candidates including potential life threatening or disabling illnesses.
Kennedy, for example. hid some serious health issues that sapped him of his energy and provoked him to take drugs to keep up with his schedule. F. Roosevelt did everything he could to hide his inability to walk so the people wouldn't know the full extent of his disability.
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 5:46:12 PM
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inthysite
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Well if you want to look at health problems just look at JFK.
However, Kennedy didn't die from health issues, no he was assassinated. Just goes to show you never know when you are going to go. Any president may just be a short termer, you never know.
(Oh and before anyone accuses me, this is not a jab or wishful thinking or any other ugly thing about NObama, it is just a statement that we don't know how much time we have on this planet)
John Kennedy had so many different medical problems that began when he was a boy. He started out with intestinal problems... spastic colitis. In 1937 they began giving him steroids. They didn't know how to dose properly and the steroids caused him to have osteoporosis of the lower back. His back problems were essentially the consequence of the steroids. But he also had Addison's disease, which was the failure of the adrenal glands to function. They, in essence, shriveled and died.
He was on anti-spasmodics. He was on hydrocortisone. He was on testosterone to beef up his weight because the diarrhea, the intestinal difficulties, caused him to lose weight. He was on a variety of antibiotics to combat his periodic prostatitis, urethritis. He was occasionally on sleeping medication, lots of pain killers to deal with his back... As my medical colleague, Jeff Kelman, said when he looked at this list of medications, "My goodness, if he took all of this at once he would have been dead!" So it was really a striking demonstration of how substantial his medical problems were.
Somebody once said that Kennedy was more promiscuous with his physicians than he was with women. He had so many different problems -- especially his back caused him such misery, such pain. This "Dr. Feelgood," Max Jacobson, would inject him with a variety of things -- including apparently amphetamines. Kennedy, at one point, was told that what he was doing might be dangerous. "I don't care if it's horse ****," he said. "It makes me feel better."
A Viennese man by the name of Hans Kraus was brought in to consult and he told Kennedy, "If you don't start exercising and stop taking those Procaine shots in your back and whatever else you're taking, you are going to end up in a wheelchair. You won't be able to walk." He had such misery that he could barely turn over in bed at night; had trouble pulling the sock and shoe on his left foot. Going up the staircase was a trial by fire, out of the eyeshot of the press, of the media, of photographers.
John F. Kennedy's Health
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Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer - Psalm 19:14
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 6:19:04 PM
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Leon_Figg3
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IMO the job of the president is to be the top administrator and the final decision maker. It is his job to make sure that the people he surrounds himself with have some experties on issues that face this country. It is then their job to do research, and make recommendations as well as to be ready to deal challenges and questions as to why certain courses of action are better than others, and what problems may be faced and result from those actions.
Yes the job ages a person. It does so because he is responsible for making the final decisions-the hard decisions.
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To whom much is given, much is expected. Luke 12:48
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 7:00:17 PM
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Leon_Figg3
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At what age does a person cease to be a contributing member of society?
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 7:04:44 PM
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todd_t
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quote:
IMO the job of the president is to be the top administrator and the final decision maker. It is his job to make sure that the people he surrounds himself with have some experties on issues that face this country. It is then their job to do research, and make recommendations as well as to be ready to deal challenges and questions as to why certain courses of action are better than others, and what problems may be faced and result from those actions.
I'm not saying that McCain is physically unable to serve as president. However, I do carry serious concerns about the current health questions he'd carry into the job.
_____________________________
In Memoriam: 1st Sgt. Obediah Kolath, US Army, Died in Iraq War (1973-2005)
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 7:11:47 PM
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todd_t
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quote:
Because we don't want Barack rubber-stamping the Democratic congress?
As opposed to the one that bowed before Prince George for six years (not that the current Dem Congress isn't as spineless and lacking a single clue), and addressed such grave concerns facing the nation as rampant flag-burning?
_____________________________
In Memoriam: 1st Sgt. Obediah Kolath, US Army, Died in Iraq War (1973-2005)
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 7:23:21 PM
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Evangel70
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quote:
At what age does a person cease to be a contributing member of society?
It's not about contributing to society. My grandfather is 70, in excellent health and sharp as a tack. However, I wouldn't expect him to compete with 20 year olds in a cross-country competition (although, he may give them a run for their money). That doesn't mean he should be sitting in a rocking chair in a retirement home waiting to die, simply that he should enjoy his retirement years and his grandchildren so that he can live long enough to see them graduate from high school.
_____________________________
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 8:11:28 PM
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inthysite
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quote:
Now, Kennedy's presidency may have been slightly before my time but I'm 100% sure that he wasn't in his 70's when he took office.
This next presidency requires someone who will be able to handle the stress of 2 wars (possibly 3 if McCain is elected because he will go after Iran); an economy in a recession; curbing our dependence on foreign oil while at the same time coming up with an immediate short-term solution; restoring our global reputation as a world leader so that we will have allies when we need them; and work with a congress with an approval rating lower than President Bush's. Is a 70-year old the right man for the job?
My point was/is it doesn't matter how old or young you are, you don't know when you are going to die.
As far as health is concerned (which is the topic of this thread by the way) several presidents were in worse health than McCain and they served just fine.
As to his age, well his mother is 95 years old and seems to be holding her own. And as was noted above Reagan was 69, only 3 years younger than McCain, and he lasted two terms.
_____________________________
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer - Psalm 19:14
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 8:35:54 PM
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todd_t
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quote:
As far as health is concerned (which is the topic of this thread by the way) several presidents were in worse health than McCain and they served just fine.
Which president had a history of malignant cancer tumors?
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In Memoriam: 1st Sgt. Obediah Kolath, US Army, Died in Iraq War (1973-2005)
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 9:44:34 PM
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inthysite
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This is a little long but hey, you asked. Listed are presidents with cancer, tumors, and other serious illnesses.
George Washington
1789 - 1797
Our first president almost died of pneumonia in 1790, his second year in office. He was so ill that secretary of State Thomas Jefferson wrote to a friend, "We have been very near losing the President". Though his doctors thought he would die, Washington did recover and completed two terms in office.
Andrew Jackson
1829 - 1837
When he was inaugurated as our seventh president, the 62 year-old, rail-thin Andrew Jackson was described by one observer as "a tottering scarecrow in deadly agony." The new president was in pain emotionally as well as physically. Not only had he just lost his wife to a heart attack, but he was also suffering from rotting teeth, chronic headaches, failing eyesight, and constant pain and internal bleeding from two bullets lodged in his body.
William Henry Harrison
4 March - 4 April 1841
One of only two Whig party candidates elected to the presidency, William Henry Harrison was, at age 68 the oldest person to reach that office until Ronald Reagan was elected almost a century and a half later.
Due to his age, Harrison faced election rumors that he was unwell. To discredit these rumors, Harrison waged a very active campaign that left him exhausted. Although the day of his inauguration was bitterly cold, the new president wore neither an overcoat nor a hat. His inaugural address lasted almost two hours. He developed a severe chest cold, from which he never fully recovered.
Two weeks after his inauguration, Harrison, weakened from a lingering chest cold, took an early morning walk and got caught in a rainstorm. The new president developed pneumonia. Harrison's physician bled and purged him, but to no avail. Harrison died on 4 April, one month after taking office.
Zachary Taylor
1849 - 1850
General Zachary Taylor was 64 years old when he became the 12th President of the United States. He was given the nickname "Old Rough and Ready" by his fellow soldiers.
In August 1849, during a trip through the northeastern United States, Taylor was bedridden with a violent attack of diarrhea and high fever. His personal physician feared that the President would not recover. "Old Rough and Ready" did and returned to Washington. A year later, Taylor faced a similar attack, but this time it proved fatal.
Early Presidents and Their Illnesses
Franklin Pierce
1853·1857
Both Pierce and his wife had tuberculosis of the lungs and hemoptysis
Abraham Lincoln
1861·1865
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2b (MEN2B) is a genetic cancer syndrome. Its most common cancers occur in two endocrine glands: the thyroid (medullary carcinoma of the thyroid) and the adrenal (pheochromocytoma).
Did Lincoln have cancer? If he had MEN2B, the answer is certain: yes. The historical record also suggests he had cancer.
Lincoln began losing weight in 1860. There is no quantitative data about his weight after becoming President, but many people wrote of his declining appearance and increasing thinness. Casts of his face in 1860 and 1865 show a striking loss of soft tissue. Temporal wasting is present on the 1865 cast.
In his last months, Lincoln had headaches, cold feet & hands, exercise intolerance & sweating, pervasive fatigue that a work respite did not ease, fainting, and nausea. These findings are compatible with a pheochromocytoma [33s].
MEN 2B is rare -- perhaps about one in a million people have it -- and there are no large studies on survival statistics. Lincoln lived to be quite old for someone with MEN2B.
Chester Arthur
1881·1885
Arthur was fatigued, irritable, and physically ill during 1882. There are reports that the Surgeon General examined Arthur in October (i.e. about a year after becoming President) and diagnosed the kidney affliction known as "Bright's disease" [1a]. (Bright's disease is no longer a recognized concept in medicine, because it lumped too many different kidney disorders into one "disease." Thus, the exact nature of Arthur's ailment is unknown. But because Bright's disease was considered uniformly fatal, Arthur knew he had a death sentence.)
Grover Cleveland
1885·1889 & 1893·1897
On June 13, 1893, Cleveland noticed a "rough place" on the roof of his mouth. It was diagnosed as cancer, precipitating one of the most celebrated incidents in the history of Presidential medicine.
Ultimately, on July 1, the President underwent a risky operation aboard his yacht. At his insistence, his illness and surgery were kept secret from the public, the press, the Cabinet, and (one presumes) the Vice President. A second, less risky operation was performed aboard the yacht on July 17.
Afterwards, direct questions about the President's health were answered falsely. "Cleveland is alleged to have said that he had done more lying in the period just before his surgery and the period immediately thereafter than he had ever done in the remainder of his life" [3d]. It was 25 years before the secret was compromised.
Woodrow Wilson
1915·1921
Dr. E. A. Weinstein has carefully analyzed Wilson's medical history in a book [14]. He finds evidence of multiple strokes.
Wilson's first stroke was in May 1896. It caused marked weakness of the right upper limb plus sensory disturbances in the fingers. The finger problems were mis-diagnosed as neuritis. Wilson was unable to write normally for almost a year afterwards. Comment: There may be some dispute about this event, in a later article in the New England Journal of Medicine.
NeurologyAtherosclerosis
stroke #2 In June 1904 Wilson developed weakness in the right upper limb that lasted for several months [14].
NeurologyEyeAtherosclerosis
stroke #3 On May 28, 1906, Wilson suddenly lost vision in his left eye. This persisted. Weakness of the right upper limb was present [14].
Ronald Reagan
1981·1989.
A 1984 proctoscopic examination disclosed a small polyp in Reagan's colon. Biopsy showed it was benign. In March 1985, another polyp was found, as were trace amounts of blood in his stool. A change in Reagan's diet eliminated the blood. He underwent endoscopic removal of the polyp and colonoscopy on July 12, 1985, at Bethesda Naval Medical Center. Colonoscopy disclosed a second, more dangerous tumor -- a villous adenoma -- that could only be removed by surgery.
George Bush
1989·1993
Graves disease was diagnosed immediately after the occurrence of atrial fibrillation. Bush had been feeling increasingly tired over the preceding two weeks, had lost nine pounds in two months, and had seen his handwriting deteriorate. Physical examination disclosed a fine tremor of his hands and slight enlargement of his thyroid gland (goiter).
Bush's wife, Barabara, had earlier been diagnosed with Graves disease. The odds of two people (not related by blood) developing Graves disease within a two years of each other are long (Doctor Zebra has seen a one-in-three-million number [9], but thinks this answers the wrong question.)
The Bush dog, Millie, came down with Graves disease, too [4], although there are reports Millie had a different auto-immune disease: lupus [9].
Because of the remarkable coincidence of three cases of auto-immune disease in one household, the Secret Service tested the water in the White House, at Camp David, at the Vice President's residence, and at Walker's Point (Bush's home in Maine) for lithium and iodine, two substances "known to cause thyroid problems" [11j]
William Clinton
1993·2001
On Sept. 2, 2004, Clinton was evaluated at Northern Westchester Hospital in New York for chest pain and shortness of breath. Results were normal, and Clinton went home. The next day, further evaluation at the Westchester Medical Center (probably a cardiac angiogram) led to the recommendation for urgent four-vessel coronary bypass grafting
Medical History of the Presidents of the United States
_____________________________
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer - Psalm 19:14
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 10:34:14 PM
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Leon_Figg3
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todd-T,
I believe you are missing a very important point. Which president had or didn't have cancer is beside the point. Throughout history a number of illnesses have been considered every bit as life threatening, and disabilitating as Cancer is today.
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To whom much is given, much is expected. Luke 12:48
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/4/2008 11:44:20 PM
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todd_t
Posts: 1587
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From: The North Woods
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Your list was certainly detailed, yet no substantiated incidents of cancer diagnosed before a president got into office are cited which is what McCain has a history of.
Illnesses which struck during a president's term are also not what I asked for.
Further, your Lincoln example doesn't fly because it is based on speculation, plus Clinton's heart disease struck after he left the White House.
So nice try. I'll give you an "A" for effort, but you still came up empty.
_____________________________
In Memoriam: 1st Sgt. Obediah Kolath, US Army, Died in Iraq War (1973-2005)
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RE: McCain's Health Concerns - 8/5/2008 3:04:54 AM
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ljmac
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quote:
ORIGINAL: todd_t
Your list was certainly detailed, yet no substantiated incidents of cancer diagnosed before a president got into office are cited which is what McCain has a history of.
Illnesses which struck during a president's term are also not what I asked for.
Further, your Lincoln example doesn't fly because it is based on speculation, plus Clinton's heart disease struck after he left the White House.
So nice try. I'll give you an "A" for effort, but you still came up empty.
Your expectations are silly. Cancer wasn't even known for many of our President's lives and medical diagnostic tools are light years ahead of their times. George Washington couldn't get his lungs xrayed. Thomas Jefferson couldn't get his blood tested for blood born cancers. Franklin Roosevelt couldn't get a CT scan on his spine and Richard Nixon couldn't get an MRI on his chest.
Further clarification; Clinton's heart disease started decades ago. He had it before he became president.
F. Roosevelt had polio, which was not usually fatal, but sometimes was. He hid it from the public. He had it before he became president.
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