Edwards gets rid of mole

[kskiska]

Headline makes me wince.

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- John Edwards was frequently asked about the large mole on his lip during last year's national elections. Radio personality Don Imus even gigged him for "that thing on your lip."

Now the mole is gone, or at least barely visible. But Edwards said part of it was removed to provide a medical biopsy, rather than for any cosmetic reasons.

"I didn't want to do it," Edwards said in an interview before a speech to a Democratic dinner. "What the doctor told me last summer when I got the physical for the v.p. thing that the thing on your lip has gotten bigger and could be skin cancer and you need to get it biopsied."

Edwards said he couldn't do it in the middle of the campaign. But he decided to have it done several weeks ago -- especially in light of his wife, Elizabeth, being diagnosed with breast cancer. The mole turned out to be benign.

more…
http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/2097769p-8476456c.html

[Chico Man]

1. Praise the lord!

It seemed to get larger as the campaign wore on and it was definitely distracting.

[blm]

12. I never focused on it. Cindy Crawford's mole never bothered me, either.

I cared much more about what Edwards was saying rather than his looks.

It was the MEDIA focusing on his looks to diminish his words on policy positions, just as they do to EVERY Democrat. They find ANY excuse to ignore the Democratic platform and policy positions.

[Chico Man]

13. Well it distracted me

And I'm not the media.

I always wondered why he didn't just have the thing removed. Unfortunately, in the world of television broadcast media, sound and pictures make their way to the audience. It would have been much easier to forget the mole if Edwards was only on the radio.

He also does this wierd thing with his tongue where he like licks his teeth or something. I think it's wierd.

[tblue37]

17. Snake tongue.

I think part of the problem is that in public speaking situations people often get dry mouth. But nowadays it is considered too "weak" to take a sip of water from time to time, so the tongue thing is all that is left to them. Edwards just has a particularly odd way of using his tongue to wet his mouth. Solution? Take a sip of water, doggone it!

[Chico Man]

18. Gives a lot of fuel to the "lizard people" crowd :)

[Greybnk48]

2. Good--it was distracting.

Everytime I saw him talk I stred at the thing. And could someone tell Al Gore to get some eyebrows--I'm serious. Not the Uncle Leo marker type, just normal ones.

[BlueEyedSon]

3. Really? I never noticed it! nt

[HeeBGBz]

30. Me neither n/t

[xchrom]

4. he's cute 6 ways to sunday

now he's cute 7 ways.

[trumad]

5. Jeezzzz... I thought he had a spy in his camp!

[BrklynLiberal]

10. That was my first thought too!

[cascadiance]

11. Me too!

I guess that's what some of us get for being 24 addicts...

[DulceDecorum]

23. He did.

Larry the Cable Guy's sister.
The one he always talks about.

[Eurobabe]

6. Good move

It WAS distracting, and he is handsome.

[NNN0LHI]

7. I had moles once

Gophers too.

:)

[LizW]

8. Poor guy, he can't win

Half the people will say he's vain for having it taken off, and half will complain that he should have done it sooner.

I have one on my chin that doesn't really bother me, but I realize that some people might find it unattractive. However, if I had it removed, there would likely be a scar, and people would be asking "What happened to your chin?" So it stays. :shrug:

[ginnyinWI]

21. you won't have a scar

if you go to a plastic surgeon. I went to one, and had four removed from different areas on my face two years ago. Barely a whisper of any scars--I would have to point them out to someone using a strong light. Worth it--local anesthetic, a few days with stitches in, and voila!
(Some people are just genetically programmed to get moles.)

[Dr Fate]

9. Now they just need to remove the moles from the DLC.

:)

[R Hickey]

14. I had a mole removed during the election, and now I'm a dogcatcher.

...actually everything but the dogcatcher part is true.

[mulethree]

15. You can catch a recent speech on CSPAN.org

Clip is a bit fuzzy for mole-watching. Speach at a N.H. Dem Fundraiser. Much Much on Dem Values, esp Dems have values of the working classes and value Work over Wealth.

Can't find a direct address for the clip.

It is on page - http://www.cspan.org/VideoArchives.asp?z1=&PopupMenu_Name=Politics/Elections&CatCodePairs=Issue,PE;

and titled "RWH: John Kerry in New Hampshire"

[Cocoa]

29. the first campaign speech I've heard for 2008

jeez they're starting early.

[BiggJawn]

16. Oh, I thought I was gonna read that he shitcanned Donna Brazille...

Rove's cel-tel "pillow talk" buddy...

[BlueInRed]

19. Aw, I thought it was gonna be about a different kind of mole n/t

[d_b]

20. He had a mole?

[TheWebHead]

25. it was right above the lip on the left corner of his mouth

Since it wasn't black, it looked like saliva and was quite distracting.

[lonestarnot]

22. No more moley moley moley!

[oasis]

24. I thought Lucianne Goldberg was back to her old tricks.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

26. I guess I was always looking at his eyes...

I never noticed it...

[MsAnthropy]

27. He was gorgeous before--now he's perfect

I have a feeling I'll be voting for him again someday.

[Lisa]

28. I'm glad the tests came back negative

Both Bush and Gore have had pre-cancerous lesions removed (twice, in Bush's case, I think?).

Of course, for Bush, it was just about the only thing on the guy that WAS "benign".

I mentioned to my college environmental science class yesterday that there was a time when relatively few people had skin cancer. Even allowing for greater public awareness (and I think that the increased willingness to see a doctor about moles, etc., is a very good thing indeed) -- we seem to be seeing skin problems, and other UV-related stuff like cataracts, in relatively young people these days.

Kudos to Edwards. It's not unheard-of for a harmless-looking mole to start changing -- and if it's melanoma, that would be scary.