Does McCain owe America an Alzeimer's test?

When Bob Fertik broke this off last week, even I -- in my snarkiest self-indulgent moment -- thought it was a little harsh on the old POW. But I don't think that any more:

... McCain's age is no joke. He (turned) 72 (last) Friday and would be halfway to 73 if elected and sworn in on January 20. That would make him the oldest first-term President ever, two years older than Ronald Reagan. He has survived four skin cancers (melanomas), including one in 2000 that was classified as Stage IIa.

McCain is two years older than his father was when he died suddenly of a heart attack at 70. He is 11 years older than his grandfather was when he died suddenly of a heart attack at age 61.

The United States cannot afford the risk that McCain would die suddenly in the middle of an international crisis.

Nor can we afford the risk of dementia. 22% of Americans over 70 are affected by mild cognitive impairment, while 13% of Americans over 65 have Alzheimer's. Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at age 83, but early signs were evident during his first term. Britain's "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher developed dementia at age 75.

Prescriptions can also adversely affect mental function. McCain takes Simvastatin, a cholestoral drug that can cause memory loss. McCain also takes Ambien to sleep, which can cause amnesia and "fugue states" like the one that caused Rep. Patrick Kennedy's late-night car crash. If the phone rang at 3 a.m., would McCain even wake up?

McCain's medical records are not available to physicians. He did not "release" them for the campaign; he only allowed hand-picked reporters to examine them quickly without making copies. And there were no results of an Alzheimer's test, because McCain has never had one -- even though he has 6 of the 10 warning signs, including his inability to remember facts like the number of homes he owns or the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The question has been gently raised a few times before:

But I'm hardly the first McCain critic to raise this question. Frank Rich and Josh Marshall have previously written about how the media is ignoring McCain's frequent "senior moments," signs of possible impairment that look awfully familiar to many who have seen a family member or loved one in the early stages of senility. Back in April, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann aired a commentary on "McCain's Memory" featuring similarly disturbing video. Last Friday, Paul Begala wrote an op-ed for CNN ("Is John McCain Out of His Mind?") that questioned his "shockingly irresponsible" judgment over the Sarah Palin pick.)

How is a timid media -- already cowed by an aggressive McCain campaign determined to attack like snarling pit bulls any reporter or question they don't like -- going to do their job and try to get an answer on this?

Answer: They aren't. As with any senile person who gradually starts to lose it, there are deniers, enablers, and co-dependents all the way to the point that the condition is painfully obvious to everyone.

If McCain can manage to keep his drooling to a minimum in the debates, then the issues will be the same ones they are today: the vast differences in policy, the value of the politics of "values", and the lies.

A Pig to Nowhere

Seven years ago this morning

Today, a show of unity among rivals:

The two candidates, who were on their way to work in Chicago and Washington when the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center seven years ago, will meet for the first time as the presidential nominees of their parties as they lay a wreath together at Ground Zero.

This evening, Obama and McCain will meet at Columbia University, where they will speak separately at a nationally televised forum, laying out their personal visions on civic engagement and service.

"All of us came together on 9/11 - not as Democrats or Republicans - but as Americans," the candidates said in a joint statement. "... On Thursday, we will put aside politics and come together to renew that unity, to honor the memory of each and every American who died, and to grieve with families and friends who lost loved ones."

That's nice and all, but John McCain and Sarah Palin are still two lying POS, and there's just no taking a break from that.

Ike, old boy ...

...you're givin' me a headache. Or maybe that pain is a little lower:

The official forecast for Hurricane Ike maintains a landfall centered upon Brazoria County, near Freeport.

What's been surprising overnight is that the storm's maximum winds have not increased, remaining at 100 mph this morning. The central pressure, after falling Wednesday evening, has settled at 945 millibars. The official forecast now brings a strong category 3 hurricane to Texas. There is considerable uncertainty in both the track and intensity forecast, even less than two days before landfall.

We have a hotel reservation in Austin, but only for Saturday night. Don't think it does us much good to wake up in the middle of a storm and then get in the car and follow it inland. Looks like we're riding this one out.

I'm going to hope -- and not for all of my family, friends, and clients' sake in the Golden Triangle -- that Ike continues doing what Rita did three years ago, which is bend a little more to the east.

Bad for them but good for us.

EV 9/10: There's that Palin bounce

Put OH and VA into McCain's column and sure enough, now we got ourselves a horse race:

<p><strong>><a href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign08/electoral-college/'>Electoral College Prediction Map</a></strong> - Predict the winner of the general election. Use the map to experiment with winning combinations of states. Save your prediction and send it to friends.</p>

There's been lots of squealing by Republican stuck pigs already this week, and polling being done as this posts will reveal if the trend is for real or just the same short-lived convention bounce that Obama enjoyed for a few days.

In barely-related news, you have to love Harvey Kronberg, both for his occasional scoops and his Drudge-like screaming:

THIRD PARTY PRESIDENTIAL STUNNER: BARR ASKS PAUL TO BE HIS RUNNING MATE

If Paul, a former Libertarian presidential candidate, accepts the offer, it could have electoral implications in Texas and several other states.

Libertarian Party presidential nominee Bob Barr is asking Texas GOP Congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul to join his ticket as his running mate.

Barr, a former Congressman from suburban Atlanta, said in a press release that Paul is one of the "few American patriots" and asked that Paul "seriously consider this final offer as an opportunity to show true, lasting leadership beyond party politics."

Should Paul take Barr up on his offer, it's safe to say that the electoral calculations in Texas and in several other states could be upset.

Is that really your final offer, Bob? It probably won't happen, but just a couple of days ago I didn't think Ike was coming to Houston, either.

Put it with the news that Paul made the ballot in Montana as a member of the Constitution Party, and the conservatives' squealing may start sounding like the whimpering from a four-year-old under the bed.

Harris GOP judges circumvent the will of the voters

I'll just emphasize the egregious parts:

Three Republican jurists in Harris County resigned at the end of August, just late enough so that their successors will be chosen by the governor and not the voters.

To Gerry Birnberg, chairman of the Harris County Democratic Party, this means the Republicans don't respect the voters and fear the Democrats in the county's November election.

"This is a signal they are running scared," Birnberg said Tuesday.

But to the three judges who resigned, this is just the way it played out. All three said they knew about the deadline for their vacant seats to make the November ballot.

Resigning in late August were David Bernal, former judge of the civil Harris County 281st District Court; John Wooldridge, ex-judge of the civil Harris County 269th District Court; and Wanda Fowler, who sat on the Houston-based 14th Court of Appeals, which serves 10 counties including Harris.

According to the secretary of state's office, a judicial vacancy had to be effective by Aug. 22, for the voters to have a chance to fill it in November. Bernal and Fowler resigned the Monday after the deadline, and Wooldridge's was effective Sept. 1. The next judicial election is in 2010, so Gov. Rick Perry's appointees won't stand for election until then.

All three ex-judges have gone into private law practice at higher salaries. They had varying reasons for the timing of their resignation, but said it was not inspired by fear of the Democrats. In legal circles there is much conjecture about the possibility, even likelihood, that in November, Democrats will make inroads into the local all-Republican judiciary as has already happened in Dallas.

"The Republican platform says they believe in the right of the voters to elect judges. I'm not saying they did anything illegal, but if they are concerned, why undermine voters' ability to elect judges?" Birnberg said. "The answer is: They are pretty damn afraid of what the Democrats will do in '08."

Birnberg characterized it as a "manipulation of the system." He said he was especially bothered by Fowler's resignation because he heard she was leaving the bench in May.

Fowler said Tuesday that she contemplated leaving the appellate bench in the spring but changed her mind after word got out. She said she was informed by other Republicans that if she stayed until after Aug. 22, the governor could appoint her successor.

Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

Palintology: A Lie to Nowhere

"Repeat a lie often enough, and eventually enough people will believe it so that it becomes the truth." -- Joseph Goebbels

McPOW is running the teevee ad on CBS's Early Show this morning where Ms. Mooselini contends she passed on the Bridge to Nowhere in Ketchikan. That claim -- unlike Mrs. Palin herself -- has been thoroughly vetted as a falsehood.

So why do they continue to repeat it?

No, really. What is the point of repeating a lie when people know you're lying? Do they really think Americans are this stupid? That's a rhetorical question.

Will enough voters be deluded by these lies for the Republicans to get elected to the White House again? That's an open question.