posted on Dec, 27 2004 @ 10:10 PM
While elected officials are under no obligation to disclose health problems, the public expects candidates to be truthful because if there is a chance
that someone will be incapacitated or die during office due to illness, it can impact the way someone will vote. However, this isn't always the
case--there have been many times in the past where a candidate and his doctor have lied about health problems during a campaign.
For example, Paul Tsongas claimed that he was cancer-free when he was running in 1992, but his cancer had actually returned and he died 2 days before
he would have taken office had he won the election. Also, doctors downplayed the seriousness of Woodrow Wilson's, Eisenhower's, Kennedy's, and
FDR's health problems. Grover Cleveland had cancer surgery that was completely covered up. More on presidential health deceptions below:
www.healthmedialab.com...
With Cheney being on his last ventricle, I wouldn't surprise me that if Bush had a heart problem, it would have been supressed prior to the
election.
Does this make me feel better knowing that GWB may have lied to me and the country about his health (which is probably the least of his lies!)? Not
really. Especially as his health was discussed in numerous media outlets prior to the election, most notably the NYTimes in-depth profile of both
candidates in the weeks prior to the election, which included an interview with aides & his personal doctor. He was described as being in phenominal
health (Although he is now a bit chubby as revealed in his Dec 2004 physical.) While it is his personal business, if he is wearing some kind of heart
monitor and made up some crazy story about the "bulge" in the debates, as well as told blatant lies to the news regarding his health, this is just
another example of how the government is not above manipulating us.
However, I did notice that in Bush's latest physical, although he was assessed with a "low" to "very low" risk of coronary arterary disease, they
dectected mild coronary artery calcification and downplayed the fact that he was put on aspirin and a statin (a cholesterol lowering drug, like
Lipitor--although his total cholesterol was 177, well below being considered high--200, and his HDLs were good.) Perhaps "phenominal health" is
guilding the lily a bit--I would say that if left unchecked, GWB would be headed for heart trouble. Considering that the official health report card
may be dolled-up for the public and "mild coronary artery calcification" is actually more a more serious version of atherosclerosis, there could be
some truth to his wearing a heart monitor/defibrillator.
www.nytimes.com...
www.usatoday.com...