The Politics Of Skin Cancer

It's not the economy, stupid. It's not even national security. It's... skin cancer.

That's the issue that two liberal political action committees want to put on the presidential campaign agenda.

Brave New PAC and Democracy For America -- the duo that brought us McCain's fellow POW who doesn't think McCain is fit to serve -- have a new ad on MSNBC focusing on the candidate's medical condition.

In May, McCain's campaign let some reporters peruse his medical records for three hours, and the campaign presented doctors who pronounced him healthy and his melanoma unlikely to return. This ad questions all of that. It shows photos of McCain with scars and bandages on his face, accompanied by ominous background music and the text: "John McCain is 72 years old and had cancer 4 times."

Two doctors appear to question McCain's ability to serve as president -- or even survive -- IF the skin cancer comes back strong.

The ad is part of a broader campaign to get McCain to release his medical records to the public. Brave New Films, the 501(c)(4) affiliated with Brave New PAC, boasts a petition including 2,500 doctors saying the records should be released more broadly.

More after the jump...

The Brave New folks, led by director-activist Robert Greenwald, continue to produce some of the most inflamatory ads against John McCain. CNN took "a pass" on this ad, according to Brave New's spokesperson.

The New York Times points out that the affiliated Brave New Foundation is chaired by a past informal adviser to Obama. The group's spokesman said the Foundation chair has nothing to do with the PAC's ads, and called the Times story "sloppy reporting."

Brave New's partner, Democracy for America, had its roots in the 2004 presidential campaign committee of Howard Dean, now chair of the Democratic National Committee, and is currently led by his brother, James.

-- Will Evans

3:18 PM ET | 09-25-2008 | permalink

comments | | e-mail