JOHN McCain yesterday sought to underline his fitness for office as he distanced himself from the comments of two controversial pastors and opened his medical records to the public.
The Republican presidential nominee in waiting will turn 72 in August and would be the oldest US president elected to a first term of office.
His age has become an issue in light of the Democrats' likely selection of 46-year-old Barack Obama
as their candidate for the November election.
The details of Mr McCain's health are contained in 1,173 pages of documents spanning 2000-8 his campaign made available to reporters to make the case that he is healthy enough to serve as president.
Mr McCain a three-time melanoma survivor, remains at risk for developing new skin cancers, and gets a thorough check-up by a Mayo Clinic dermatologist every few months.
Tests also show that his heart is in good condition.
Dr John Eckstein, his long-time doctor, said: "Physiologically he is considerably younger than his chronologic age based on his cardiovascular fitness. A cardiologist (who ran tests on Mr McCain] said that he had not seen anyone that age exercise for that long in a long time."
Meanwhile, Mr McCain rejected endorsements from two influential but controversial televangelists, saying there was no place for their incendiary criticisms of other faiths.
The Republican rejected the endorsement of John Hagee, a Texan preacher, after an audio recording surfaced in which Mr Hagee said that God sent Adolf Hitler to help Jews reach the promised land.
In the sermon, delivered in the late 1990s, the preacher said: "A hunter is someone with a gun, and he forces you. Hitler was a hunter … How did it happen? Because God allowed it to happen. Why did it happen? Because God said, 'My top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel'."
Mr McCain called the comments "crazy and unacceptable".
He also repudiated the support of Rod Parsley, an Ohio preacher who has sharply criticised Islam and called the religion inherently violent.
In a statement, Mr McCain said: "I find (Mr Hagee's] remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them. I did not know of them before Mr Hagee's endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well."
And on Mr Parsley, the senator said: "There is no place for that kind of dialogue in America. I repudiate such talk, and I reject his endorsement."
Mr McCain has faced a barrage of criticism over Mr Hagee, with some comparing the situation to the controversy Mr Obama faced over the views of his long-time and now former pastor, the Rev Jeremiah Wright. Mr Obama said: "John McCain has to deal with Hagee, who said something mind-boggling. I don't attribute those statements to John McCain. Nobody thinks McCain believes that stuff.
"And for McCain to then suggest that every single statement that was made by somebody is somehow attributable to me is just wrong. It is just not accurate," Mr Obama said.
Mr Hagee issued a statement saying he was weary of the controversy and was withdrawing his endorsement.
BACKGROUNDWHILE age has not been an explicit issue of the campaign to date, Barack Obama has campaigned on a call for change, while John McCain has highlighted his experience, especially on national security.
And Mr McCain yesterday put his military experience at the forefront of his campaign, attacking Mr Obama, the likely Democratic nominee, for never having served in uniform. The move was the latest sign that Mr McCain believes he will face Mr Obama at the polls.
Mr McCain hit out after Mr Obama accused him of posturing by opposing a bill giving university scholarships to those who have served in the military for just three years.
"I will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did," Mr McCain said.
The full article contains 683 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
