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...

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

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Anti-McCain Group Revs Up

UPDATE 9/15/08: Here's the message trimmed down to the 30-second ad.

Brave New Films says its ad featuring one of John McCain's fellow POWs was delayed but is about to hit the air, running Sunday through Tuesday.

The ad was first announced Sept. 2. A spokesman said the ad buy was pushed back, first to avoid being drowned out by Palinmania at the Republican convention, and then to show respect for the 9/11 anniversary.

In the video, former POW Phillip Butler recounts the time that he and McCain spent at the Naval Academy and then, years later, in North Vietnamese prison camps.

Brave New Films, a 501c4, and its political action committee, Brave New PAC, will follow up that ad while it's still on the air, according to director Robert Greenwald, who founded the groups. The first follow-up will look at McCain's medical records, he said, with more videos and ads examining what Greenwald calls the "Real McCain."

-- Peter Overby

5:59 PM ET | 09-12-2008 | permalink

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A Swift Boat Ad Against McCain?

UPDATE: Well, that was quick. Leighton Woodhouse, communications director for Brave New Films, called us to "really, really, really strongly object" to our comparison of their new video to the Swift Boat attacks of 2004. Beyond the "superficial similarity" that both efforts dealt with the candidates' war service, Woodhouse says they differ in these ways:

Says Woodhouse, "(Butler's) charges are completely within the bounds of reasonable discourse."

This is certainly the closest thing we've seen to a Swift Boat attack this election, at least in substance: A liberal film company has released an online video of a Vietnam veteran who was a prisoner of war with John McCain; vet criticizes candidate as unfit for the presidency.

Just as Democrat John Kerry stood to benefit from his record as a Vietnam War hero, McCain's campaign has vigorously promoted his service as a veteran and POW. And just as the conservative group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacked Kerry's war record in 2004, this somber four-minute video by Brave New Films seeks to turn McCain's POW experience against him.

In it, McCain's Naval Academy classmate and fellow POW Phillip Butler says, "I think I can say with authority that the prisoner of war experience is not a good prerequisite for President of the United States." Butler says that former POWs die earlier and "suffer lots of residual things."

Butler goes further to critcize McCain personally, remembering him as hot-tempered and saying, "John McCain is not somebody that I would like to see with his finger near the red button."

In other ways, though, the organization that produced this video is quite unlike 2004's Swift Boat group.

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5:12 PM ET | 09- 2-2008 | permalink

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Film Company Coordinates With AFL-CIO On Anti-McCain Message

A new, would-be-viral Web video slamming McCain for his many upscale houses is a result of some joint brainstorming by the AFL-CIO and an activist film production company called Brave New Films.

The liberal film company released the video, called "McCain's Mansions," to the YouTube masses yesterday (below). It portrays McCain as the "The Real Elitist," citing his multiple houses, fancy shoes and estimated net worth -- all of which were also highlighted in an AFL-CIO mailer sent out last week.

"Working with the AFL-CIO, we coordinated with them on what the message was behind the video. We timed it deliberately to come out around their mail piece," said Brave New Films communications director Leighton Woodhouse. "We're in agreement with them that this is the right message to drive at this particular time in our effort to sort of define the candidate. Someone who's that affluent...is out of touch with struggles that ordinary Americans are going through."

Brave New Films is working with both the AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union to blast the video to union members.

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11:16 AM ET | 08-19-2008 | permalink

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