ST. LOUIS, March 28 -- Sen. John F. Kerry, by most measures an unusually fit 60-year-old, has spent key parts of his presidential campaign battling ailments ranging from prostate cancer to a stubborn cough and cold.
Kerry frequently complains to reporters of a stiff right shoulder or allergies that leave his voice raspy and sore. For much of this year, Kerry has curtailed speaking and sipped hot lemon tea to nurse a voice strained by hacking and yakking. In mid-February, he described the ailment to reporters as a "chest thing" and griped about its persistence.
On Wednesday, Kerry will undergo elective shoulder surgery for a slight tear, marking the second time the Democratic candidate has missed time on the hustings for an operation. In 2003, shortly after announcing his campaign, Kerry had his prostate removed to cure early-stage cancer. This week, he will be in Boston for at least four days.
In some instances, the aches and illnesses have come at inopportune times, slowing his campaign at critical junctures. But mostly, they have simply frustrated an athletic candidate who plays hockey and bikes, snowboards and windsurfs, and once bragged to reporters he might ride a bull. His biggest complaint: Aches and pains are precluding more frequent and vigorous workouts.
"Kerry is the most athletic, most vigorous guy in the race," said David Wade, his spokesman. "He bounced back from surgery last year way faster than most, he windsurfs, mountain climbs, skis and snowboards; in great shape -- not exactly the kind of guy whose health is a question mark."
A St. Louis TV reporter's first question to Kerry after Wednesday's surgery was announced was whether the candidate had a "Cheney problem," a reference to health questions that have dogged the vice president as a result of his heart condition. Kerry brushed off the inquiry with a simple "no," and declared, "I'm healthy." Indeed, based on Kerry's partial medical records, which were released last year, the Massachusetts senator appears to be in fine shape. Sunday morning at Chris' Pancakes and Dining, three patrons commented about how Kerry looks better in person than he does on television. Yet one man commented, "You need a little flesh on." Kerry agreed and said, "I know. I'm working on it."
On Monday, Kerry's general physician, Gerald Doyle, is slated to release an updated summary of the candidate's health record. And Bertram Zarins, from Massachusetts General, will brief reporters on Kerry's shoulder surgery.
Because Americans generally have chosen presidents they view as strong -- from Theodore Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush -- the candidates routinely portray themselves as vibrant and virile.
In the 1992 campaign, Paul E. Tsongas, who had lymphoma, showed himself swimming in a television commercial to prove his good health. In 1996, Robert J. Dole, who had been treated for prostate cancer before running and had minimal use of his right arm from a World War II injury, frequently battled to prove himself fit to unseat a much younger Bill Clinton. And Bill Bradley did not disclose his three years of heart problems until he was forced to do so during the last presidential campaign.
In earlier years, politicians and presidents hid their ailments, underscoring how essential the image of strength is to leadership and how open, by historical standards, Kerry and other modern politicians are today about their health.
Grover Cleveland underwent two operations for cancer of the jaw in 1889, but told America he had a tooth removed. Most famously, Franklin Roosevelt hid his disability from Americans in an era when the president's every move was not captured on camera. Now, candidates publicize hospital visits and quickly release medical records to the public.
Kerry released some of his medical records last year after having his prostate removed and is compiling more health information for an impending release, said Stephanie Cutter, a Kerry spokesman.
This year's election features two men who revel in their athleticism. Bush runs a sub-seven-minute mile, bench presses more than 200 pounds and performs other cardiovascular activities. For relaxation, the president chops wood and clears brush at his ranch. He struts like a cowboy and often shoots a stare that says, "Don't mess with me." He famously taunted U.S. enemies to "bring it on" after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Bush did have four noncancerous skin lesions removed in December 2001 and recently stopped running because of a knee injury.
Not to be outdone, Kerry has played hockey with the Boston Bruins and, last week, was photographed snowboarding and hiking up snow-covered mountains. At airports, before takeoff, he often tosses a football or baseball with a top aide before the cameras. He sometimes brings a bike along for working out.
Kerry rarely gives a speech without calling himself "a fighter" and often punctuates his speech by taunting Bush: "Bring it on!" As a soldier in Vietnam, he killed people, one aide noted.
But, several aides said, Kerry's bout with prostate cancer was to blame for the candidate's slow and uneven start to the presidential campaign. After surgery in February 2003, Kerry missed several weeks of campaigning and was sore and tired for many more.
Kerry lied to the Boston Globe when asked whether he was sick. Kerry later explained that he wanted to tell his family first. At a news conference to announce his surgery, Kerry's staff distributed a quote from the candidate's doctor describing him as "strong as an ox." Kerry now often proudly tells audiences how he survived cancer and how ordinary Americans deserve the type of high-end insurance he, as a senator, benefited from during the operation.
In the past, Kerry battled bouts of pneumonia, and Newsweek recently suggested the decorated veteran may have been exposed to Agent Orange when he skippered a patrol craft through the Mekong Delta.
This week's surgery, however, comes at the beginning of a fast and furious general election campaign -- and only days after Kerry vacationed on the slopes of Idaho. Some Democrats complained last week that Kerry's absence from the trail was ill-advised, pointing to the 2000 election, when Al Gore got off to a slow start, allowing Bush to define him and get an early leg up.
Wade told reporters on Saturday that Kerry could delay shoulder surgery, but wants to get it over early so it doesn't bother him later in the campaign.
