I agree with TPM's Greg Sargeant...McCain's health is a huge issue. Ad is necessary.

[madfloridian]

I found the ad done by Brave New Pac disturbing, but I also think there is something far more disturbing.

John McCain is running for president, and he won't release his medical records. Add Sarah Palin to the mix, and if there are problems with returning malignancy then it puts her closer to the White House. A very scary thought...and far more disturbing than the ad.

MSNBC won't run the ad. It is a controversial ad. Yes, it is. But didn't we want these groups going into action with ads the candidate can't and shouldn't do?

We want our groups to stand up, and when they do we get upset because it is not so pretty. Well, there is nothing pretty about McCain's refusal to release his records.

MSNBC Refusing To Run Outside Group's Ad Questioning McCain's Health

MSNBC has notified an independent group running an ad questioning John McCain's health that it will no longer air the spot, only a half day after Fox's Bill O'Reilly attacked NBC's corporate bosses on the air over the ad, the group tells me.

The spot, which has been running on MSNBC since yesterday, is the work of Brave New PAC and Democracy For America, which is headed up by Howard Dean's brother. It demands that McCain release his medical records and quotes doctors saying that McCain's age and bouts with cancer should raise concern, with one saying that another round of cancer would "profoundly impact his capacity to lead."

MSNBC informed the ad buyer for the two PACS today at around noon eastern time that the network was yanking the spot, Brave New PAC spokesperson Leighton Woodhouse tells me. The network said that the reason for their decision was "viewer complaints," Woodhouse says.

The spot is hard hitting, controversial, and goes where few others will go -- the Obama campaign was quick to point out that it has nothing to do with the spot. But it isn't hate speech, and MSNBC didn't question the ad's accuracy, Woodhouse claims.

MSNBC's decision comes after Bill O'Reilly unleashed an on-air tirade over the ad last night, saying the ad was put out by "two despicable human beings," a reference to Dean and Robert Greenwald of Brave New Films.

If you are going to fear the truth, then we will not win. The truth is the ad is unpleasant, the ad is hard-hitting. But the ad is true.

It needs to be said, and there is no pretty way to say it.

Cut Bill O'Reilly's microphone...he has had too much to say for too damn long.

[madfloridian]

1. Statement from Brave New Pac

"It's outrageous that MSNBC is choosing to stifle a message about the very real health risks John McCain faces, risks that the McCain campaign has done its best to conceal by refusing full, public disclosure of his medical records," Woodhouse says. "Over 2,500 degreed medical professionals stand behind the message in this advertisement. Is MSNBC backing down because of intimidation from FOX?"

A call to MSNBC wasn't immediately returned."

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/msnbc_refusing_to_run_ad_by_in.php

[seabeyond]

2. stupid repugs have got to THINK. 72, 4 bouts with cancer = PALIN

it is a relevent and significant message

[AndyA]

3. If there are no health issues, there should be no problem releasing the medical records.

There must be something to hide.

[madfloridian]

5. Exactly....

The info needs to get out someway. So many people are not aware of it at all.

[dkofos]

4. I'm hoping he has a stroke after Obama bitch slaps him tonight.

[madfloridian]

6. Denver Post blog agrees with me.

Why the Health of a Presidential Candidate is relevant

A liberal advocacy group, Brave New PAC and Democracy For America, which is headed up by Howard Dean’s brother, is running television ads demanding that Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, who has survived four bouts of skin cancer, release his medical records.

The group argues that McCain’s age, 72, and bouts with cancer should raise concern.

Republicans have fired back condemning the ad as in bad taste.

I disagree.

We routinely call the President of the United States the “leader of the free world.” But few Americans today realize how close we came to not having a “free world” to lead back in 1944.

[DinahMoeHum]

7. This is EXACTLY what fellow POW Phillip Butler was talking about

why he was not going to vote for McCain. Among other things:

(snip)
Most of us who survived that experience are now in our late 60's and 70's. Sadly, we have died and are dying off at a greater rate than our non-POW contemporaries. We experienced injuries and malnutrition that are coming home to roost. So I believe John's age (73) and survival expectation are not good for being elected to serve as our President for 4 or more years.
(snip)

http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,164859_2,00.htm...

BTW, this is why McCain and other POWs collect what is known as "presumptive disability" pay from the VA. Someone like McCain could look like the picture of good health when you first see him. Then again, he could drop dead or become disabled from a heart attack or stroke the next day.

I should know - that happened to my father, a former WW II POW (start of Battle of the Bulge December 1944). On January 29, 2005, I last spoke with him. During the Christmas holidays a few weeks back, I could see he was getting on in age (he was 81). However, he sounded good and seemed to be in good spirits. The next morning, my mother called to tell me he died in his sleep.

[Frisbee]

8. This would be much less of an issue...

had he not chosen Palin as a running-mate. By doing so, he made it a very important and relevant issue.

[Vinca]

9. Bottom line: if McCain was horizontal you'd think he was a corpse. nt

[paparush]

10. The Ad should stay on the table! Its a real issue.

[Night_Nurse]

11. Hell yeah, it's relevant..

and why is it, that just about everywhere else in the job sector - especially in fields like the military, police, fire, airlines, etc - a potential candidate for a job has to have a comprehensive physical exam (including a drug screen) and in some cases, a psychological exam as well? Yet a candidate for the "top job" in the United States gets a free pass? I don't get it! I had to go through a physical and drug screen myself when I took a part-time waitress several years back. So WTF?

Perhaps McCain's medical records would show that he's suffering from PTSD, or is taking psychotropic medications, or alzheimer's medications... anything is possible, and I think he's hiding much more than skin cancer, and we the people have a right to know. We're the ones doing the hiring, right?

Oh, and btw: Billdo O'Reilly needs to STFU already.

[madfloridian]

14. It's arrogant for him to withhold them.

It's unbelievable.

[Overseas]

12. K&R -- Recurrent melanoma could flare up and take Johnny away

and leave us with a racist Christian Fundamentalist in the White House if we vote for him.

Is there any reason in his health records that shows us we should not worry about a Palin presidency? Then show us that to put us at ease.

I really don't like objections to ads that are just because the truth is disturbing.

I saw many comments about this ad saying they thought it would be insulting to seniors! But seniors of all people know how fast cancer can take someone away. I know from personal experience that it can happen in the space of one month-- cancer flares up and takes the person. Facing that reality is not insulting. It is just fact.

I think half of those "oh no don't run the ad, it would alienate seniors or cancer sufferers" were fake comments by Republicans who don't want that ad to prompt the undecided to think seriously about how quickly McSame's recurrent melanoma could bring on a Palin presidency.

[happygoluckytoyou]

13. HEALTH OR NOT..... 1 heartbeat away is TOO CLOSE FOR PALIN... ! ! ! ! ! !

[mnhtnbb]

15. Lie and deny--it's the Republican way. Add in Paul Newman's death from cancer

which will get loads of media attention, and the Repubs are scared shitless of people putting
the two together.

[TexasObserver]

16. McCain could not get either health or life insurance if his name was John Q. Public.

Even without the pressure of the presidency, McCain doesn't look like a man that has more a couple of years left before he meets his maker. He looks seriously ill, already.