When I graduated college and got my first job, my employer asked me to get a physical checkup. Blood pressure, weight, bloodwork, urinalysis, the usual stuff. I was healthy and I knew it, and I really wanted the job so I didn't make a fuss about it. The doctor didn't find anything wrong, and I reported for my first day of work the following week. In the grand scheme of things, the kind of work I do is not terribly important to anyone else other than the family I support by doing it. Yet I can certainly understand why an employer would want some information about the state of my health.
John McCain, were he elected President, would be doing work that would affect every person in this country. But when asked by his potential employer (i.e., the American people) to provide some information about the state of his health, he balked. Back in May 2008, he released over 1,000 pages of his medical history to a select group of reporters. These reporters had three hours to examine the materials, but were not allowed to make any copies of them. Cell phones and Internet access were barred during this time, as well.
What exactly is McCain trying to hide? Perhaps it's the details of his battles with just about every form of skin cancer known to medicine, including several bouts with malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Should he suffer a recurrence while in office, the treatment would incapacitate him and render him unfit to govern. Or perhaps it's his history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and use of multiple medications to keep these problems in check. Whatever his reasons for keeping mum, it's putting all of us in danger. The video below explains exactly why, and though her name is never mentioned, shows with terrible clarity why his choice of Sarah Palin as running mate is such a horrifying prospect.
A petition demanding public access to McCain's health records is available here. Please sign it, especially if you are a doctor. More than 2,300 doctors have signed as of this writing.
I lost my mother late last year. We bought a house together in 2005, when she was 72, the same age as McCain. Two years ago her health started to deteriorate; last year her health failed in a way I can only describe as catastrophic. She slid away from us in just over six months. And she had no prior history of dealing with an aggressive cancer as McCain does. The thought that the same thing might happen to McCain is something that keeps me awake at night and convinces me that a vote for McCain is actually a vote for Palin.
We need to know what's going on with McCain's health, and we need to know it now. We are going to be his employers, and it's our right to asses if he is going to be able to do his job or if his health issues put us all at risk.