Did you know that John Kerry had prostate cancer? Probably so. Did you think that the Rove slime machine was above using this fact against Kerry? After the Swift Boat episode, nothing should surprise me, but I was shocked to read the following in the paper today. Get ready for the next wave of attacks on Kerry that will serve to keep the real issues out of the paper and off of the news.
The newspaper is tomorrow's Sunday Oregonian. Because it is tomorrow's paper, it is not currently online, but will be available tomorrow at
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion.
Media Silent on Kerry's Cancer
Sharon Cornish of Hillsboro claims to be a cancer survivor. She also questions the media's silence on Kerry's prostate cancer. She wonders if Kerry's candidacy is a "responsible undertaking for anyone who could well be faced with a recurrence of cancer" She ends her comment with the question, "In this time when the United States faces an extended war against terror, is the nation best served by a president who has not so long ago been a victim of cancer?"
Clearly, Sharon's position is to denigrate Kerry. When I read this I figured Sharon was a lone individual who had found her axe to grind. However:
Bush backers' scare tactics
Rod Lundberg, a registered Independent in Portland wrote in to let us know that he had been called by a woman in the Bush campaign, seeking to know if "she could count on me to vote for him (Bush) in September". Rod reports that "after a short and respectful discussion, she asked if I knew that Kerry had had cancer" and added that a cancer patient must be cancer-free for five years to be considered a "survivor"? Rod wasn't fooled by this and recognized the message: "I should not vote for Kerry for fear that he will have a recurrence while in office"
I was deeply offended and very angry with the Swift Boat smear. But this seems even filthier to me. Is there no depth to which these people will sink to to hold on to their grip on power? And if these tactics accomplish their goals, what the hell does it say about us as a country?