The Pill is younger than John McCain.
According to WebMD, the Searle drug company received FDA approval for Enovid - the first birth control pill - in 1960…. about 24 years after McCain was born and about a year before Obama was born.
People often squirm when they learn that they realize that they forgot to use birth control. Want to see someone squirm even more? Watch McCain’s reaction when confronted about the fact that insurance companies cover Viagra but he voted against requiring them to cover birth control.
I particularly like the parts where he says “I certainly don’t want to discuss this issue” and “I, I, I don’t know what I….” - not to mention the pregnant pause (pun intended) when asked for his opinion on the subject.
Hilarious, but sad! The guy is completely out of touch with the modern world….
Comment by Nigel — July 24, 2008 @ 9:06 pm
oh, just give him the viagra.
Comment by pansypoo — July 24, 2008 @ 10:01 pm
“i, i, i just need to check my voting record.”
hmmm … sounds like someone likes that little blue pill.
Comment by jessi — July 24, 2008 @ 10:27 pm
Old man, young lady reporter, and the topic is Viagra. No wonder he loses it…
Comment by Rob — July 25, 2008 @ 3:26 am
I don’t think Insurance should cover either one.
Comment by Ron — July 25, 2008 @ 12:21 pm
thanks ron. it’s not just for birth control ya twit.
Comment by pansypoo — July 25, 2008 @ 1:47 pm
Hey, it’s a lot cheaper to cover one month of birth control than 18 years of welfare, right?
However, I’d point out that birth control pills were available long before Searle received FDA approval. The first pills were available in Germany in the 1930s, but were only available to Nazi party functionaries’ wives (since other women were supposed to be having babies whether they wanted them or not). One of the first women to take them was Eva Braun, and thank God she did. (Not everything was invented in the US. I know that’s an unexpected and massive shock, but try not to sob.)
Comment by Charlene — July 25, 2008 @ 11:17 pm
Well if viagra isn’t covered and we give women birth control, how are old white conservative men going to keep it up in order to breed and produce more blowhards? Don’t you know there is a war on?!?!
Comment by msgolightly — July 25, 2008 @ 11:21 pm
This video of him alone, if I hadn’t already made up my mind, would singlehandedly convince me not to vote for this guy. You can tell the dude never even thought about the issue before.
Comment by Rusty Shackleford — July 31, 2008 @ 3:37 am
I saw it on the Daily Show, this clip is just hilarious ^^
sent from: fav.or.it [FID950295]
Comment by Christian Decker — August 2, 2008 @ 9:15 am
The reason Viagra is covered is because the pill is designed to treat an actual medical condition, erectile dysfunction.
The reason birth control is not covered is because the pill is designed to treat a choice. Being pregnant is not a disease or a dysfunction… thus shouldn’t be covered by medical insurance. If someone wants to make the choice to use birth control, they should pay for said choice.
Comment by ed — August 3, 2008 @ 12:56 am
11,
I think there are two slight flaws in your argument… and they’re both built off the premise that you kind of allude to - namely that having sex is a choice people make. If a man chooses to have sex and he is unable to maintain an erection, he can either elect to take Viagra or find other ways to be with his partner. If a woman chooses to have sex and, based on biology, she is most likely unable to do so without getting pregnant, she can elect to take birth control or find other ways to be with her partner. Women should not be penalized because they are the only ones who are able to conceive. (I guess - to be fair - vasectomies and condoms should then also be covered by insurance.)
Additionally, I take issue with the classification of erectile dysfunction as a ‘medical condition’… or, at least, not one that is as nearly widespread as the amount of prescriptions written for it would seem to indicate. Just because Pfizer and their lobbyists say that it is, it doesn’t necessarily put it in the same class as cancer, the flu, or even a broken bone. Follow the money - they make a boatload of cash if Viagra is seen as a necessity and, by giving impotence a fancy name, they’re trying to do just that.
My 2ยข…
Thanks for writing.
Comment by admin — August 3, 2008 @ 12:34 pm
Birth control pills should be complimentary to all immigrants!!!!! We have a serious population problem and perhaps the Chinese might have had a good idea and only allow 2 children per family. Hey…I didn’t have any kids and never had to ask the government to help me to survive and it really sucks because I’m still living hand to mouth and have worked all my life. I’m going to be 54 next month and own an 85 Toyota and an 84 4-runner that is parked and I’m trying to sell and rent a house.
Comment by judy marino — August 3, 2008 @ 6:34 pm
13,
“Birth control pills should be complimentary to all immigrants!!!!!”
Seriously….the vast majority of us are either immigrants or the children or grandchildren of immigrants. Blaming “immigrants” for your own problems is not a way to solve them. Plus you contradict yourself - you want to spend more money on “immigrants” or less??
Comment by Nigel — August 4, 2008 @ 8:52 am
I love how you guys rally up and start running your mouths at any chance you get to take a shot at John McCain. The man obviously didn’t know enough about the topic to give an answer and unlike most politicians he didn’t want to make up some b/s. Your boy Barrack Obama would have just digressed and started talking about hope or some stupid shit. Get real..like you guys could remember every single issue/topic.
Comment by anthony — August 5, 2008 @ 3:44 am
15,
RE: “Get real..like you guys could remember every single issue/topic.”
If one is speaking from his/her actual beliefs, one doesn’t have to remember anything. All you have to do is look inward, take census of your beliefs, and talk from the heart. See how easy?
Now remembering talking points? That’s hard.
Comment by Matt from Winchester — August 5, 2008 @ 7:52 am
15, I don’t think we were watching the same video. It was obvious that he DID have an opinion on the matter and simply didn’t want to say it for fear of looking bad in the public eye. He probably wanted to check with his advisors on what he should say. It’s not like she was simply saying “do you remember how you voted on such and such issue?”…she was asking for his opinion on a topic which she first described to him.
Comment by MeredithC — August 19, 2008 @ 12:17 am
In response to the above comment by Ed about birth control not being medically needed, it absolutely IS medically necessary for thousands, if not millions of women. If you don’t believe me go read up on ovarian cysts and uterine fybroids. Women depend on these pills to reduce the need for surgeries or worse, hysterectomies which were previously done almost immediately to women suffering from disorders that can be far more inexpensively treated with hormonal birth control. In addition they reduce the lingering pain and anemia that many women suffer from with their “normal” cycles and the hormonal imbalances that can cause very strong emotional problems including severe depression.
Saying that erectile disfunction is a medical disorder and PCOS, endometriosis, and other disorders are not displays enormous ignorance about the human body and medical treatment.
Also, if McCain knew enough to vote on it in the senate, he should know enough to answer a simple question. But guess what, he didn’t know enough to vote, he just followed the party/corporate line.
Comment by liz — August 29, 2008 @ 7:43 pm
Be fair to John, he was not trying to avoid any question, he is old and had to think about what the reporter was talking about, maybe he couldn’t remember what pill she was talking about. Do you think he picked Sarah to always be beside him so when he has a memory loss, he can turn to Sarah and she can tell him what the question means!!
Comment by Danny — September 2, 2008 @ 4:29 am
You guys really shouldn’t dis people unless youve been in a similar situation. your in the public and you cant make your own “response” to questions as you have to reflect what the public wants and you have to remember what the different viewpoints are and if not give a difenite answer, mention both sides.
Comment by ally — January 15, 2009 @ 4:22 pm