Obama Surrogate Attacks McCain's Age, Cancer

Appearing on This Week with George Stephanopolous today, prominent Obama supporter Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said that Americans should be "uncomfortable" with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as Sen. John McCain's Vice-President because of McCain's advanced age and history of cancer. McCaskill was answering a question about Palin's experience when she veered into an attack on McCain's past health issues and age.

"[I am] uncomfortable with anyone, regardless of gender, that is going to be vice president to one of the oldest presidents we've ever had that has never met a world leader.

I think what we're talking about is a reality. Other people talk about his melanoma. We're talking about a reality here that we have to face. This is someone who's going to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. All of us know it. I just think that it's the facts, George, and that's something that we need to start focusing on, are the facts, instead of distortions and lies."

McCain released a complete set of his medical records earlier this year. The 1,200 pages of records, made available to a group of reporters, show McCain to be in good health for a man his age and declare him to be cancer-free. McCain's personal physician, internist Dr. John Eckstein of the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, AZ, said that McCain was fit for the office of president. "While it is impossible to predict any person's future health, today I can find no medical reason or problems that would preclude Senator McCain from fulfilling all the duties and obligations of President of the United States." By contrast, Sen. Obama has not released his complete medical history. Instead, he released a one-page, 276 word summary of his medical history in which his personal physician proclaimed him to be in "excellent health."

McCaskill's comments come at the conclusion of a weekend which saw the Obama campaign ramp up both its attacks on McCain and the personal nature of the rhetoric it employs. The Obama campaign released a television commercial on Friday that takes McCain to task as being "out of touch" for, among other things, not using e-mail. McCain finds it very painful and difficult to use a computer keyboard due to the injuries he suffered as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, and usually has others including staffers and his wife, Cindy McCain, do his typing for him. The Obama campaign clearly did not do its research in preparing this round of attacks. McCain's physical limitations with typing have been part of the public record for at least eight years.

The aggressively personal nature of the message coming from the Obama campaign about McCain in recent days is evidence of a growing sense of desperation on the campaign. McCain and Palin now lead Obama In the Real Clear Politics average by about 2 points, leading in nearly every national poll by as much as 10 points in at least one. The selection of Palin as McCain's running mate has energized Republicans like never before in the campaign, and has thrown Sen. Obama off message for the better part of the last two weeks. The Obama campaign has faced adversity before, trailing for most of 2007 in the Democratic primary before soaring past Sen. Hillary Clinton in Iowa this past January. But Obama has not consistently trailed McCain in the presidential race until this week. Combined with the relative short time until the election, McCain's new-found vigor has served to throw the Obama campaign into a virtual state of panic, as evidenced by its message missteps this weekend.