McCain Says Latest Checkup Shows He's Just Fine
Republican president candidate Sen. John McCain says that he had a routine medical checkup on Monday and that "everything's fine" with his physical condition.
The Arizona Republic reports that McCain told national and local media about the checkup at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
"I got the full cancer check a couple of weeks ago, with my dermatologist," McCain said. "(On Monday) I just went through a regular routine. . . . Like most Americans, I go to see my doctor fairly frequently."
McCain's age, 72, would make him the oldest man ever elected to a first term as president, and has raised some concern about his health. McCain has a history of melanoma -- cancer of the skin -- and has a prominent scar along his face from a 2000 bout with the disease. In 2001 he underwent surgery for an enlarged prostate gland. He also endured "severe physical trauma during his more than five years in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp."
But some political experts say there is no need to worry. Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, points out many of the same questions were raised about former Sen. Bob Dole when he ran against Bill Clinton in 1996. (If Dole had won, he would have been 73 when he took office.)
"Well, it's 12 years later and Dole has got all his marbles and has more energy than most people half his age," Sabato says.
2:10 PM ET | 03-11-2008 | permalink
