What's Up With John McCain's Left Eye?

AmericaBlog:

Joe and Rob both mentioned this to me in the past week, and now several readers have brought it up. I also just noticed that Atrios picked up on this too today. Something wrong, changed, droopy or puffy with McCain's left eye. Anybody else notice anything? I just searched Google a bit more and found references to his eye being droopy in April and May of this year as well. But whatever it is, it seems to be intermittent. (McCain has had 4 bouts of melanoma, and did in 2002 have a benign growth removed from under his left eye.)

I decided to take a look at McCain's Herbert Hoover Speech, as Rob calls the economic speech McCain gave last Friday in Wisconsin, and tried to see what it was that Rob was noticing wrong with McCain's left eye. It was only a 15 second video, so I pulled it up in my iMovie movie editor and checked out each frame (see a selection of still shots above). What you see is apparently McCain's left eye more closed than this right, and/or when he blinks, his left eye is lazier, or blinks slightly out of phase with his right. Either way, it does look like something's up. Perhaps McCain has always had a bad left eye, though it's odd that so many people just noticed this week.

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Comments

[cobobs]

Presidential campaigns are an incredibly stressful process. I am >20 years younger than McCain and I do not think I would have the patience or stamina to follow this through, so I admire everybody who puts himself or herself through the process. Stress can cause latent illness to pop up or to progress. Whatever this is, my best wishes to John McCain, but if there is something, he should put country (and planet) first and not conceal it.

[chitown8]

Thom Hartmann just spoke of the same thing!

[bubito54]

1. I think the Delegates and RNC would designate a replacement. Those delegates sure loved them some Sarah;
2. We are almost certainly going to learn that the eye thing is a POW-related injury, and how dare we?

[SatinPanties]

He was a POW?!!?!!!

I didn't know!!

LOL

[CrctEsq1]

THANK YOU!!!!

I mentioned this a number of people. I thought it was just me.

There is something serious going on there!

[LORISNJ]

I noticed the eye too but I also noticed that his right eyes pupil is huge, makes me think he is on something.

[WornOut]

I've been trying to figure something out. If McCain drops out due to health reasons, who takes his place? Would that be Romney? Or could it be Palin even though she wasn't nominated by the people? There isn't enough time to nominate someone else.

On the other hand, McCain's name would still be on the ballot so if he were to win Palin would become President.

[reliant1]

The RNC would have to meet and choose and vote on the replacement. That alone could be time consuming - unless someone has already made a plan B.

I don't know about Palin tho....she­'s been duly voted into the VP slot. A reasonable person would guess that she would step down to graciously allow the sucessor to choose his own VP.

What if she refused to step down?? Well, the troopergate investigation would be ramped up and as public as it has so far been private. And all the other detritus would become very meaningful again andf they would drive her off.

[Artos]

WornOut,
Or, Bush could simply use it as an excuse to declare that the Election process would be unfairly held without a Republican contender and therefore he should stay in power until such time as another contender could be submitted. Who knows how long the Republicans could draw that out. I personally would hold out for a timehonored tradition that says if your guy is out then our guy is in by default. That would be fair. They had their turn to screw up our Country. The sooner they are out the better.

[WornOut]

That crossed my mind as well.

[Outofnowhere]

And while we're on the subject, Bush looked drunk at his U.N. speech and like a drugged zombie in his address last night. Must be a GOP thang.

[ajax2]

As someone who plays a DR on TV I can tell from the pictures that John McCain is suffering from HUBBA or Head Up Bush's Bad A.. It's incurable.

[DavidK08]

I disagree. Fewer votes is a perscription for this. I think it would work. Lets try it.

[zendem1]

LOL..

[Sparty1]

Everyone on here is just quick as hell. I mentioned to my husband last night about that twitching eye. I told my hubby that his eye was trying to tell America that he was lying!

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

sarah palin's take: "...well guys and gals, thats why Jesus gives us two eyes!"

[mainlinegirl]

Ha! Serious subject but your comment is actually funny, especially when you hear if being said in that twangy voice of hers.

[warsaw]

Too bad he didn't give us two brains. When one's not working, we can use the other....

[jellinda]

Could be mini-stroke, could be eye infection, could be losing sleep over failing campaign..­.

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

...s. palin could be the end of your country!

[Trollstakeyourmeds]

Don't remind us, sparky.

[CBS]

It looked to me like he wears contacts and was having trouble with the left one. Anyone who wears them knows this can happen

[ophthomd]

Having seen McCain's face on TV numerous times in the past few months I was struck by something different in his appearance during his speech announcing his campaign suspension yesterday. It was the marked asymmetry of his eyes. The appearance of the droopiness (ptosis) of his left upper eyelid was accentuated by the retraction of his right upper eyelid (the entire iris showed and maybe some superior limbus). This is a compensatory mechanism in unilateral ptosis. It's Herring's law of equal innervation. He's also seemed to be trying to use his brows to elevate his upper lids, revealing some brow ptosis on the left side. A history and physical would be useful in making a diagnosis but without that one can only speculate.­....like that the upper division of the seventh cranial nerve is weakened possibly from extension of the melanoma into the superior peripheral branches of the nerve as it travels by the area of tumor resection/­reconstruc­tion.

[AurigaRa]

huh?

Ya know, I noticed his EYE is drooping, You?

[reliant1]

Without a hx - is this weakening possibly due to a recurrence of the melanoma or is weakening possible from degradation of the nerve as a result of prior procedures/aging and might a current round of tx be ongoing? All pure speculatio­n....but this has been noticed almost nationwide and it would be interesting to just speculate.­...

[sandpiper1]

I think it was mentioned that he has stage 2 melanoma..­.which is not good. There are 4 stages of cancer. Lets wait and see if the MSM will pick up on it or cover for him as they always do.

[JohnDrake6]

Only two groups of people know about the extra H in ophthalmologist: proofreaders and MD's. So this former proofreader is inclined to believe that ophthomd knows what he's talking about.

Thanks for the info Doc.

Can I read anything into the left-eye-only blink that occurred right after he stated that he was suspending his campaign?

[TScheisskopf]

Or, it could be a result of the return of his melanoma(initial lesion was 2.2mm deep. Bad juju, that. Very bad indeed.) and said returned melanoma having metastasized to the brain, as it so often does, especially in a recurrence.

[jitterbug]

Is there anyway McCain can be forced to get a real "clean bill of health" and release it to the public? Don't we have a right to know? How can we make that happen?

[Heaphy]

The media should pressure McCain for full disclosure of his medical records and his military records.
- Jim Heaphy

[emily00011]

I've been wondering if that was a bulge on the side of his face too. It's not that easy to tell in photos, but it does look like it could be something.­.