Maybe they’re ‘secret’ aneurysms

September 26, 2005

I hadn’t given a lot of thought to Dick Cheney’s surgery over the weekend, because it didn’t seem like a terribly big deal. A man in his mid-60s having two aneurysms repaired behind his knees doesn’t seem the kind of thing that should raise suspicions. (I will say, however, that a friend of mine had a funny one about Cheney signing over power of the government over to Bush while he was under the knife, but that’s another story.)

Nevertheless, I can’t help but find it at least a little odd that the Bush gang is treating the procedure with such secrecy.

Two doctors on Mr. Cheney’s medical team said they would be willing to discuss his case with this physician-reporter if given permission to do so. But the White House declined to grant such permission.

Is it me, or is this a little odd? I’ve seen doctors host press conferences on ESPN for athletes who’ve had surgery. And yet, the vice president, who’s had four heart attacks, goes in for a double aneurysm repair, and reporters aren’t even allowed to speak with the attending physicians? Under White House orders?

Is it possible the Bush gang feels the need for secrecy because this was a little less routine than the Bush gang has let on?

[Dr. Thomas R. Bernik, chief of endovascular surgery at St. Vincent’s Manhattan Hospital], said the decision to do both repairs on the same day was “surprising and a little bit irresponsible, I must say.” That is partly because the extra procedure could increase the risk of complications now or in the future, he said.

“You really never want to tackle both sides at once,” Dr. Bernik said, “because even though things may go smoothly on one side, you can still run into a problem while you are doing the other side, or shortly thereafter, and then you really could have a big problem on your hands.”

It’s just odd. Considering Cheney’s medical history, the public has a right to know if the VP has a serious health problem. By shielding doctors — who are willing to speak to reporters — from questions, the White House is only fueling suspicions. Why?

Secrecy is instinctive with these guys. The less anyone else knows, the more flexibility they have in any and all circumstances.

Also, by keeping the little stuff under wraps, there’s no change in MO when they keep the big stuff under wraps. If they keep everything secret, there’s no indication on the outside which things are important and which ones aren’t. A kind of meta-secrecy.

My guess is there’s no big story here. But if there were, they’d treat it exactly the same way as if there weren’t. The totalitarian mindset in action.

  • My guess is there’s no big story here.

    Me too, I just find it hard to understand the constant need for secrecy, especially when there’s no need for it.

  • I agree guys, If we waste valuable time wondering just what was happening in the OR to Dick, we might lose sight of larger problems, like….you know…..the entire coast of Louisiana being obliterated by
    hurricanes, or that pesky Iraq thing, or even the thing with that girl….you know the one that was in the CIA what was her name again??????

    Watch the shells closely…..

  • Panic would ensue if people thought Bush was actually in charge?

    Eh, probably just the paranoid reflex to make everything secret.

  • They may have found “something” and are waiting for the results.
    Don’t hold your breath for a brain or heart!

  • Oooooh, you know T. Gracchus, you might just be right, so Dick goes into the hospital, and dies, and they send out the animatron to replace him, aside from the slightly jerky motions when he walks, nobody will ever be able to tell the difference…….I mean, nobody’s figured it out about Bush yet……..LOL

  • I just found this Cheney Surgery Raises Awareness Of Aneurysms

    During a routine physical exam in July, the vice president’s doctors discovered popliteal aneurysms behind both of his knees, reported WRAL-TV in Raleigh.

    I wonder what caused the decision to operate on both knees instead of just one. They knew about both beforehand. Did they plan to operate on both after lying to everyone or was something serious discovered? Is it normal to check both legs when operating on just one?

    Remember when Bush pushed back his physical until after the election…

  • Doctor-patient confidentially. Those doctors giving press conferences on ESPN have permission. I believe it would be unethical for them to talk about the operation withough Cheney’s permission.

  • Popliteal aneurysms are bilateral in 50% of all cases, so it’s not unusual, I think, that they checked the other leg. Unlike other aneurysms, the big problem is not a rupture, but a thrombosis that, in effect, kills the leg (or sometimes just the foot), requiring amputation.

  • Kind of ironic how they wanted to just insert themselves into the whole Terri Schiavo situation, something they had no business being involved in, but when it comes to the condition of the Vice President of the United States…mum’s the word.

    Hmmm. Maybe it makes sense after all. Terri Schiavo had signs of life. Cheney, on the other hand, does not. 😉

  • I’ve wondered about all this myself. I recall reading a story on Huffington Post earlier that Cheney had gone into a hospital out west (I forget where), and it was all hush hush, and never reported by the MSM. He was completely AWOL during Katrina (oh, he made a brief visit a few weeks later, but didn’t wander into any big crowd situations or anything of the like).

    Then, up comes this thing, and some secrecy surrounding it. I agree, its probably not worth spending a lot of cycles on, but I don’t agree its just part of the overall MO. I think there is more to story behind the Veep’s current medical situation.

  • Cheney has had four major heart attacks! The man is in ill-health. Even a minor procedure is not a minor procedure.

    Undoubtedly, he is developing congestive heart failure, which will kill him within the next five years, max. The poor circulation and blood pressure problems associated with congestive heart failure are driving the need to repair the aneurysms, together.

    This is serious stuff, in the same way Spiro’s exit from the political stage was serious stuff. Bush may very well not make it to the end of his term.

  • Please
    Have we all really become that brain dead as to believe he was really in the Hospital never mind for Elective Surgery.

  • No question something’s up. As Bruce just pointed out, the guy’s had more heart attacks than most people have divorces, is probably working on congestive heart failure, and common sense says any operation would be avoided due to the effects of anaesthesia alone, and doing two surgeries at once, on a man in such ill health, must mean something big is really up and they’re unsure of the out come. Worse for them if they go in looking like everything is find and dandy, and do routine press corp chit chats about it, but at the outcome, the big press conference in the hospital lobby is to report that the veep has lost both legs, and is in critical condition. They must know that something serious is in the offing. In secrecy they lose nothing, except to tip their hand that something very major is under way and they are worried. Bush may have his brain, but perhaps his evil mentor is preparing to exit stage right. What will the black prince do in his stead? Raise a glass to the dearly departed? And another? And another?
    Also posted at Burned Out Paranoid Democrat
    http://wwwburnedoutparanoiddemocrat.blogspot.com

  • The insiders know that this wasn`t about aneurysms,or heart failure.He had that replaced long ago with a cash register. The register`s door just stuck when he tried to add the added profits from the second hurricane,and had to be freed up. We should never asume that this slimeball really has a heart.

  • I have a theory about Dick Cheney’s obvious absence for the past four years. Please consider my article and compare it with your own observations.

    Richard Petty

    The Dick Cheney Conspiracy

    I believe Dick Cheney was assassinated on 9/11/01. I am convinced that the airliner that crashed in Pennsylvania (Flight 93) was, in reality, an Air Force II that was transporting Vice President Cheney, a contingent of about 40 supportive personnel and a Taliban peacekeeping delegation (terrorists) to Camp David for peace negotiations. The crater from Flight 93 is in direct alignment from Washington, DC and to Camp David. Because of this observation, I have followed the reports of Dick Cheney very closely since shortly after 9/11. I have not witnessed Cheney ever talking about anything pertinent since 9/11. I have noted that he appears on TV less than once a month and even then is only captured in three to five second sound bytes. Only once or twice a year is he even recorded as giving a speech and even in those instances, only several minutes are recorded.
    I have found overwhelming evidence that my observations are correct. For example: Cheney was “taken to an undisclosed location for his own protection” for three month following 9/11. During that time not even the name “Dick Cheney” was ever mentioned publicly. In the meantime George Bush was throwing baseballs in crowded and unprotected stadiums to convince us there was no danger.
    Not only did Cheney not console any of the families of the 9/11 victims, he never visited a single crash site and was specifically asked not to attend the Pennsylvania crash site or any of the memorial services since 9/11. Now why is that? Could it be because those who were memorializing Dick Cheney (his close family and friends) did not want to see a Dick Cheney body-double walking around at these memorial services?
    Then, Governor Paul Wellstone was tragically killed and Cheney was, again, specifically requested not to attend the funeral services. Why? Because they shared common friends and the body-double would not recognize or remember past relationships. The exact same thing happened when Strong Thurmond died. Yet again, Cheney was specifically requested not to attend.
    Then, the ENRON / Halliburton scandal broke. Everyone was sure that Cheney would be indicted since he was the CEO of Halliburton and heavily invested in ENRON. Cheney has never spoken a single word publicly about either. Of course. the body-double knows nothing about either.
    Then the Columbia Space Shuttle exploded in flight. EVERYONE commented and expressed their condolences. Not only every politician, but every foreign dignitary and every newscaster as well… but, not a word from Dick.
    In fact, all through the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, the reconstruction of Iraq, the capture of Saddam, the Abu Grebe Prison scandal, or any domestic crisis like Katrina, Dick Cheney never comments. Dick Cheney has never spoken of anything of any political significance since 9/11 and has rarely spoken of anything else, otherwise.
    Yet, the general public “thinks” they see him on TV; whereas, really they haven’t. The general public finds it hard to believe that the Bush Administration would lie to the people and cover-up something as important as the assassination of our Vice President. History will prove that they are.
    Abraham Lincoln said: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and, all of the people some of the time; but, you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
    ………..Apparently, George Bush tried.

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