Thread: Laura Bush Derangement Syndrome

Laura Bush Derangement Syndrome
December 20, 2006 01:33 AM

I, for one, was glad to hear that the surgery to remove the skin cancer tumor from First Lady Laura Bush's right shin in early November was successful.

My relief seems not to have been shared by female members of the White House press corps, who tried to instigate a David Gregory-style swarm and imitate their male WH press corps counterparts' VP Cheney accidental shooting feeding frenzy. They are justifying their attacks on the grounds that somehow Mrs. Bush is obligated to become a public crusader for whatever ailments she suffers. Never mind that this is the same press corps that mocks the First Lady any time she expresses an opinion on health matters or any other policy matter.

You can watch the mob on the White House website Press Briefing by Tony Snow but reprinting the transcript really reveals how thoroughly pathetic and idiotic the self-parodying WH press corps has become.

From the transcript:

Q Tony, can you tell us about Mrs. Bush's skin cancer? How is she doing? And how was the decision reached not to disclose this publicly until questions were asked?

MR. SNOW: Yes, I talked to her a couple of minutes ago. She's doing fine. And she said, "It's no big deal, and we knew it was no big deal at the time." Frankly I don't think anybody thought it was the sort of thing that occasioned a need for a public disclosure. Furthermore, she's got the same right to medical privacy that you do. She's a private citizen; she's not an elected official. So for that reason she didn't disclose it. But she's doing fine, and thank you for your concern.

Q She is often an advocate for women's health in the area of breast cancer or heart disease, advocating screenings, preventative care. Is she likely to talk about skin cancer in that way?

MR. SNOW: I don't know. Fortunately, squamous cell carcinoma, at least in this particular case, was not dangerous. But let me just say, without having cleared it with her, I'm sure that she would be more than supportive of anybody to go out, and if you think you've got a problem with a change in a mole or some skin problems, go get it checked out by a doctor.

Q And she didn't feel any obligation as a person of public status to talk about this?

MR. SNOW: No, again, there are any number of -- this is a room full of public people who tend not -- and I know you say, wait a minute, I'm different than the First Lady. Well, no, she's a private citizen. And the fact is, she is entitled to her medical privacy. And, again, it's no big deal. In this case, it's just not a big deal.

Q May I follow on that? The President is also a private citizen, as well as being the President. So --

MR. SNOW: Well, he's an elected official. It's different.

Q He's an elected official and a private citizen. You can make the same claims of a number of people who have public lives. Mrs. Bush has made herself part of this party and this White House's very public face. So my question is, if this were to be something that is a big deal, would the White House feel obliged to share that with the public?

MR. SNOW: I don't know. She didn't feel obliged, and she believes that she has the same medical privacy rights that you and I have.

Q Did the White House doctor treat her?

MR. SNOW: That I don't know. I didn't ask. There is the confidentiality -- and guess what? Medical privacy also applies to her case in this particular incident.

Q This morning you said you'd make that inquiry.

MR. SNOW: Yes -- you know what, I didn't.

Q But you will?

MR. SNOW: No. It's medical privacy, and I'm not going to get into this.

Q Was it done offsite or was she treated here at the White House? That's a question to add to your list.

Q May we ask, just so that you don't say, you never asked so that's why we haven't told you -- is the Vice President well these days? Has there been any medical incident that would be of interest to the American public?

MR. SNOW: As you know, whenever there is a medical incident involving the Vice President -- I've been an anchor when these things have happened -- you are notified promptly and immediately; cameras are dispatched to the scene, where people stand and wait and wait and wait and wait, until they can see the Vice President getting back into a limo and returning to wherever he is.

So as you know, the President and Vice President, being the two chief elected officials in this country, if there are important health developments, you hear about it. And we think that that's appropriate.

Q Tony, on this point, did the First Lady say she actually does not plan to come out in any way? You know, as someone who would advocate for people --

MR. SNOW: Let me repeat to you exactly what she said. She said, "It's no big deal, we knew it wasn't a big deal at the time." Apparently, she's wrong about this.

Q No, what I'm saying is, as far as encouraging people to be checked. What I'm saying is even though she may not be an elected official, she's a very public official and very well loved. And as someone who has two adolescents who don't like to listen to mother when she says, put on the sun screen, get out of the sun, she could potentially have a great influence on a lot of people's lives, especially young women.

MR. SNOW: She's also had colds, she's had the flu, she's had stomach aches --

Q When? (Laughter.)

Q But those tend not to be --

MR. SNOW: -- she's had a number --

Q Melanoma can kill, skin cancer can kill. It can be very serious.

MR. SNOW: This particular one could not.

Q But she could still -- it could be a platform.

MR. SNOW: You guys are really stretching it. I mean, it is now officially a really slow news day.

But the women wolf pack was not done:

Q Going back to Mrs. Bush, it seems that there are two things going on, in terms of not informing the public and the press. Which was it, was it that it was medical privacy that was the reason for not informing us, or was it that it was no big deal?

MR. SNOW: It was medical privacy, but also what we're trying to do is to console you with the notion that, in addition, it was no big deal.

Q So there was a conscious decision that, okay, we're not going to tell anybody because this is medical privacy, this is something for us, it's not for --

MR. SNOW: Well, I don't know, if you'll be happy to share all your private medical information, maybe we can change it around. But I don't think that's appropriate, nor does the First Lady. She's got the same privacy rights when it comes to her medical information that you and I do.

Q But was the decision made not to share it?

MR. SNOW: Yes, in the sense -- let me put it this way: It never occurred to anybody that this would be a big deal. It never occurred -- but suddenly everybody is --

Q First it was described as a sore, and now, a month-and-a-half later, it's revealed that it's cancer. So there was one story out there that's been corrected.

MR. SNOW: Do you understand -- if you've been -- there are literally millions of Americans who have been through this, and you can ask them whether they thought this was a big deal or not. It was quickly diagnosed. They said, the sore is not going away, we're going to take a look at it. They did. They did a biopsy, they found out it was a squamous cell cancer and they removed it. They did local anesthetic; they removed it.

Q But the White House might have had an interest in correcting the record when bad information was out there.

MR. SNOW: No, there wasn't bad information. She had a sore. It wasn't bad information -- that's what she knew at the time.

And that still wasn't the end of it. One reporter snidely tried to play the hypocrisy card by attacking Mrs. Bush for not immediately becoming a public spokesperson for skin cancer screening:

Q Is the administration's policy when it comes to Medicare or Medicaid health care coverage, as well as health savings accounts (inaudible) -- part of your policy is to encourage regular screening, health care screening, as well as the importance of early protection and treatment. And if you do that then it avoids becoming a big (inaudible). So I'm just trying to understand the message (inaudible).

MR. SNOW: The First Lady, at the first sign that she had not a nick on her shin but, instead, a squamous cell cancer had it dealt with immediately.

Q I know, but I don't understand --

MR. SNOW: I'm not sure that -- look, as somebody who has been through colon cancer, there's screening for that. The people who have been through breast cancer, there's screening for that. Perhaps I am ignorant, and I'm sure I am, of the situation when it comes to squamous cell cancer, but I'm not sure that there's a regular screening process. However, it's important that people take care of themselves. There is also an element of personal responsibility involved. I don't think, and I think it's a real stretch, Paula, to say that this is a mixed signal. What I'd ask you to do is consult your common sense.

Q I'm sorry, but there are -- and I know, personally, of instances where there is a chance of recurrence of this type of cancer. So isn't it important to stress skin cancer?

MR. SNOW: Okay, well, we consider it stressed. Absolutely, take care of yourselves. Get tested all the time -- still do. In fact, I have my next test tomorrow -- day after.

Q Good luck. How is your diet today? (Laughter.)

The insanity is being stoked at the New York Times, which is suffering full-blown Laura Bush Derangement Syndrome, and in the hyperventilating British press.

These people need serious help.

I wish the First Lady a full and complete recovery. You can send your good wishes here:

first.lady@whitehouse.gov

Those Caring Liberals

How many times have we seen the Nutroots show that they, darn it, just care about people? All the sympathy they have shown when W crashed his bike, when the Big D went in to a hospital in Colorado, Ariel Sharon's stroke, when Laura Ingraham had breast cancer, etc. Now, it is Laura Bush's, or, as she affectionately is know by them, Pickles, turn.

*At least they saved on the cost of anesthesia. Laura in her "natural" sate is sedated enough.

*NOT FUNNY. BUT KARMA WILL COME BACK AND BITE YOU IN THE ASS. IN FACT, SHE AND HER HUSBAND SHOULD BOTH BE COVERED IN BOILS.

*Karmas a BITCH!

*the curse of mike douglas…. pray for aids, bitch

*WHO CARES? SHE AND HER FAMILY ARE A CANCER ON THE USA AND THE WORLD. WE CAN OFFER HER AND HER FAMILY THE SAME COLD SYMPATHY THEY OFFER THE DEAD AND WOUNDED FROM BUSH'S WAR.

*When are the doctors going to do something about that big dripping carbuncle between her ears?

*I really hope nobody makes a joke about this even if we are not too fond of Laura Bush. Actually, I don't have anything really against her other than being married to her retarded chimp of a husband. (too late)

*For all the death and destruction Laura's family has caused, and continue to cause, I guess Karma is just beginning. The real tragedy in this story is that the entire Bush regime are not in the grip of aggressive terminal cancer.

*Who gives a flying F$%&? She is no more important than your next door neighboors mother who had the same problem. She HAPPENS to be married to a douche bag. No different than your next door neighboor.

*Someone asked why this was kept secret. Well, that would be because of a) it is her own business and b) to avoid liberal nastiness. Compare this to all the outpouring of caring from the right side of the net for Sen. Tim Johnson.

In all fairness, there were some nice comments. And, surprisingly, the DUer's were nicer then the Hufftarders.

More choice comments

*I couldn't care less about Laura Bush or anybody else in the Bush family. Fuck 'em all!

*In a fair world they would have kept the cancer and gotten rid of Laura.
Too bad they caught it in time.

Pirate’s Cove » >>Merry Christmas! » Blog Archive » Linkfest: Those Caring Liberals

I would say that I can't believe the idiocy of this...but then I would be lying. The media is so full of crap. I also wish Mrs. Bush a complete recovery and feel that it is a private matter for her and her family.

The First Lady’s Skin Cancer
By Jim Rutenberg
December 19, 2006, 12:24 pm

When a First Lady has a cancer scare should everybody hear about it?
The answer from the White House today is, “not necessarily.”

At his morning briefing ,Tony Snow took heat from the assembled press complaining that the White House was not exactly forthcoming about Mrs. Bush’s operation in early November, in which doctors removed a skin cancer tumor from her right shin. The First Lady’s office did not disclose it until Monday night.

As reported by Terence Hunt of the Associated Press, who spotted a bandage on Mrs. Bush’s shin in October: "The First Lady was noted wearing a bandage on her right leg before the election. At the time [First Lady’s office spokeswoman Susan] Whitson said Mrs. Bush had a sore on her shin.

In late October, Mrs. Bush had a biopsy because the sore was not healing, Whitson said, and it was determined to be a squamous cell carcinoma. Whitson said the patch was about the size of a nickel and became a matter of concern just before Election Day, Nov. 7.”

Asked about the late disclosure this morning Mr. Snow said that, A) it was not a very big deal operation, and B) “She’s not a public official, she’s the wife of the president.”

Reporters shouted out that she happens to be a very public figure with her own taxpayer-paid office and staff at the White House. And that she had been out on the campaign trail quite a lot.

But also, Mr. Snow said, “she’s fine.'’ So there.


61 comments so far...

1. Keeping news of the First Lady’s cancer away from the public is simply business as usual with this secretive administration. I am so sick and tired of the Bush/Cheney team withholding information from us, whether it is honest information about WMD’s in Iraq, bin Laden, domestic spying, or, Katrina failures. I can’t wait for this arrogant group tp get out of office.
— Posted by Joe Gorman

2. Power for the course, if the administration would have released private, sympathetic information like that about the First Lady, who regardless of her husband’s approval rating, is probably one of the most popular First Ladies we’ve had, the conspiracy hounds would have bitterly complained that it was a pathetic last ditch effort to sway votes. And, as always with the media, this administration is damned when they do, and damned when they don’t. Because of new privacy laws, we can’t even find out if a patient is alive or dead unless we are directly related to them, but a band-aid on the First Lady requires full disclosure – disgraceful.
— Posted by Steve Clark

3. This news about the First Lady having some skin cancer is totally irrelevant. Obviously, she having the best in doctors,frequent checkups, and operations this is a non-issue. Let’s focus on who is getting killed in Iraq or loosing arms and legs there.
— Posted by Fred - Bakersfield

4. So many other first ladies have used a personal health problem as “a teaching moment” and brought that malady into the spotlight for the benefit of others. Mrs. Ford was very forthcoming and as a result, millions of people sought help for themselves. What was Mrs. Bush thinking? Skin cancer is a common cancer and is usually quite curable when caught in time.
— Posted by TexasEllen

5. Mrs. Bush’s health is her own concern and none of the general public’s business. Remember “two for the price of one”? It was made obvious by the Clinton administration’s faux pas that the President’s spouse is just that and no more. All presidental spouses need office assistance because they are contacted by the general public on a large scale, arrange government entertaining and have made appearances for decades. This is all voluntary and nothing new. Wanting to know her personal medical details is new and an invasion of her privacy which the press gives her little of as it is.
— Posted by Ann Fletcher

6. How is this anybody’s business? Do the same people who think this should have been public knowledge think we should know when Mrs. Bush has a yeast infection? A bit of gas? Headaches?
Even if this were the most deadly cancer, it’s still not our business. It’s not your body.
— Posted by AustinCrystal

7. I agree with Steve Clark. If the administration had given out the information, you can bet the media (NY Times, Washington Post, et al.) would have a field day complaining about this latest “bid for votes.”
God bless Laura Bush and keep her well.
— Posted by Judy G. Martin - Jax, FL

8. Mrs. Bush is the First Lady and not an elected official and is entitled to privacy, specially in medical matters. Not everyone feels comfortable using a personal health issue as “a teaching moment” and this should be respected. Perhaps we should be focusing on how to provide health care access to all rather than punishing Mrs. Bush for wanting to keep a private health matter private.
— Posted by Daisy Smith

9. Have to agree with Tony Snow on this one. This is hardly a crisis in Mrs. Bush’s health, and yes, she’s not an elected official. I just don’t see withholding this information as being anything terrible, more a way to protect Mrs. Bush’s own privacy. In any event, I wish Mrs. Bush well; she’s a very classy person.
— Posted by Socket in DC


10. Once again we see the unbridled selfishness of these people. How many women of prominence who have suffered major or minor medical conditions have used the opporunity provided by their special status to speak out in order to alert others to the dangers of the particular condition and the need to seek diagnosis and treatment at the earliest opportunity? But for this woman and her family and entourage it is, again, just all about them. Shameful!
— Posted by judith halprin

11. God forbid that I should impugn the wisdom of the Fourth Estate, but the ‘righteous’ zeal with which WH reporters demand such details is annoyingly absurd. The First Lady doesn’t have her finger on any nuclear triggers that I know of and is responsible for keeping no one other than her immediate family informed of her personal health or activities unless there is an issue of possible embarrassment to the nation or unless the health condition is truly serious. Having had two major surgeries and a few minor ones, including skin cancer removal, I agree with Mrs. Bush’s decorous handling of the matter.
— Posted by Webb Perryman

12. With all that’s going on in the world, why on earth are the media making a fuss about this? I hope the first lady recovers completely, and now, saddle up media pilgrims, and let’s get back to the war.
— Posted by LB

13. Squamous cell skin cancer? Making a mountain out of a mole…
My husband had multiple myeloma, a fatal plasma cancer that ravaged him over a period of close to two years. The end was a relief to him and everyone who loved him. He would have swapped places with Laura Bush any day of the week.
— Posted by carnap

14. Well to be honest, it is the public’s right to know everything about the First Family including information of private matters to the President’s spouse. They should have absolutely no right to privacy……
— Posted by randbach

15. Don’t the members of the press corps have more important things to worry about? The country needs to know about potentially threatening illnesses to the President’s health, as his health could possibly impact the course of the nation. The first lady is still a private citizen.
— Posted by Scott Hudson

16. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm dont ask dont tell
— Posted by kola

17. God knows I’m no admirer of this administration, but the First Lady’s health is a private matter.
— Posted by hamster

18. Not a big thing? Any skin cancer is a cause for alarm.
My father died of squamous cell cancer which had metastized to his lungs. The number of cases of squamous cell is growing at an alarming rate. Unlike basal cell cancer (the most common and rarely fatal form), squamous and its evil cousin melanoma can be deadly if left untreated.
Mrs. Bush has a golden opportunity to help educate people on the perils of sun worship as well as the importance of self-examination.
Skin cancer is quite treatable IF caught early!
— Posted by Michael Ford

19. Irrelevant, irrelevant, irrelevant. We have more important issues these days then worrying about the First Lady’s squamous cell carcinoma. For the record I had a basil cell carcinoma removed a month ago, just in case the members of the Fourth Estate care. That having been said they are, for the most part, doing a great job asking the questions that need to be asked. I just wish they had started asking them a couple of years sooner.
— Posted by crewdoggy

20. Why does anyone think they have the right to tell Laura Bush how she should react with cancer or any major health issue? She is not a publically elected official and has no obligation to disclose anything to the general public.
It disgusts me to read people attacking her because of what she said or failed to say. Please have some compassion for Laura and for her family then try acting with a little dignity. Someday you may want the same for yourself or a family member.
— Posted by vinny Guacci

( continues )

The First Ladys Skin Cancer - The Caucus - Politics - New York Times Blog

White House stayed quiet on Laura Bush cancer surgery
By Rupert Cornwell
Published: 20 December 2006

The White House was at the centre of another late-disclosure controversy yesterday after complaints that it had failed to announce that the First Lady, Laura Bush, had a skin cancer tumour removed from her right shin more than five weeks ago.

The affair only came to light when Mrs Bush was noticed with a bandage below her right knee, and a spokesman confirmed on Monday evening that she had the excision. The cancer in question was a squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common form of skin cancer, the First Lady's press secretary said yesterday. The tumour was the size of a small coin.

Tony Snow, the President's spokesman, played down the incident , telling reporters that Mrs Bush was not an elected official, but "perhaps if there's something more major, this would be discussed".

A squamous cell carcinoma affects the middle layer of the skin. It is more aggressive than basal cell cancer, the most common form of skin cancer, and is more likely to spread - meaning that patients need to have lymph nodes in the region near the tumour routinely examined.

Mr Snow asserted that although medical statements are issued about the President and the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, that traditionally had not been the case with family members. However, when President Ronald Reagan was in office, his wife, Nancy, revealed in 1987 that she had breast cancer and had undergone a mastectomy.

Monday's episode was the second case this year of a belated announcement. In February, the White House waited almost a day before disclosing that Mr Cheney had shot a fellow hunter during a quail-hunting trip.


Independent Online Edition > Americas

I think people need to mind their own business.

I find if I mind my own business, I don't have time to stick my nose into other peoples business.