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American Morning

Michael Kinsley Reveals in "Time" Magazine He Was Diagnosed Eight Years Ago with Parkinson's Disease

Aired December 12, 2001 - 08:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Sad to say, sometimes it's take famous victims to dram attention to a serious disease. Lou Gehrig and ALS. Christopher Reeve and spinal cord injury. Woody Guthrie and Huntington's Korea (ph). And now the former host of CNN's "CROSSFIRE" reveals in "Time" magazine that he was diagnosed eight years ago with Parkinson's Disease, and somehow managed to keep it a secret until now.

Here's what he writes in "Time" magazine: "I was officially, publicly healthy. Now with almost no objective medical change, I am officially, publicly sick."

Michael Kinsley, editor of slate.com magazine is in his home base of Seattle. We've delighted to have you with us this morning. Sorry you had to set your alarm so early to join us, but we really wanted to hear your story this morning.

How are you feeling this morning, Michael?

MICHAEL KINSLEY, EDITOR, SLATE.COM: I'm feeling fine, Paula. How are you?

ZAHN: I'm doing great.

So tell me what led to your public disclosure, that you have Parkinson's, because you've been fighting it for eight years now?

KINSLEY: Well, it's hard to keep a secret, especially among journalists, who are most of my friends and my circle, and I think pretty lucky to keep secret for eight years. You know, you tell a couple of people and they tell a couple of people, and everyone swears everyone else to secrecy. And you know, the symptoms are not extreme, but they're visible, if you're looking for them. And I feel fortunate that I kept a secret for eight years, but it was getting to be more trouble than it was worth.

ZAHN: And what are some of the symptoms you deal with today?

KINSLEY: Well, as I say, I am very lucky. Many people have it more severely. It is progressive, but it tends to move at a steady pace. I don't have much of the trembling, which is the main symptom. My facial expressions are a bit -- you lose your facial expressions. That's the main thing. And my voice gets a little hoarse as you can hear, but that's not too burdensome.

ZAHN: So has there been any sense of relief in making this public announcement?

KINSLEY: Sure, sure, because as I say, keeping it secret was a bit of a burden. I had to shut my door in my office when it was time to talk my pills and that sort of thing. So I don't have to do that anymore. There's also a certain discomfort in going public that you know everyone you know, knows, and it makes me a little bit uncomfortable. But I will probably get used to that too.

ZAHN: It was interesting, when Janet Reno first announced that she had Parkinson's, obviously there was a great deal of empathy for her, and I think she once expressed in an interview that she really felt that as a nation that we were much grown up in our acceptance of people, you know, of people exhibiting such strong physical symptoms, do you agree?

KINSLEY: I think Janet Reno personally has made a great contribution to that, by being such a strong attorney general, whether you agreed with her policies or not, and I basically did. I think even the people who disagreed with her would have to concede that she was certainly strong and certainly effective in pursuing those policies.

ZAHN: Well, She certainly didn't let her diagnosis slow her down, that's for sure.

KINSLEY: No, no, and she's now running for governor, of course.

ZAHN: Let's share with our audience a little bit more of what you wrote in "Time". You said Parkinson's is the disease most likely to be cured by stem cell research, which is enmeshed in controversy. "As I wrote in 'Time' a few months ago, you can't really criticize people who's reason for opposing research that used embryos and that they truly believe embryos are fully human beings, but you can criticize politicians who try to escape this yes or no dilemma with calls for compromise or delay, or prestigious panels to study the situation or report back in a few months. Can't they hear the sounds of clocks ticking?"

Do you plan to join in, in this fight, politically?

KINSLEY: Well, I'm -- first of all, I'm not Michael J. Fox or someone of that level of celebrity. And second of all, I am a journalist, so I can't really become a full-time or even part-time partisan for a cause. But I intend in a smaller way to do my bit, sure.

ZAHN: And how much hope do you think stem cell research holds for you?

KINSLEY: I think it holds tremendous hope for me and for others, not just with Parkinson's, but with diabetes and a whole -- Alzheimer's, and the whole variety of other diseases. Paralysis of various sorts, and it -- you know, everyone kids themselves to some extent about miracles coming along. But as near as I can tell, this is I'm not kidding myself.

ZAHN: Quick final thought on what you say to people who are very opposed to this kind of research. They say you're destroying human life.

KINSLEY: The life involved is an embryo of less than 100 cells, the size of a pinhead. It doesn't know itself. It can't feel anything. It isn't aware. To me, my life and the life of hundreds of thousands of other people are more valuable than the life of that. If you believe otherwise, it's a matter of faith, and I respect that. But you're not going to persuade me, and I don't think you're going to persuade a majority of Americans of that.

ZAHN: We're going to have to leave there this morning. Michael Kingsley, glad to see you. We wish you the best of luck.

KINSLEY: Thanks, Paula.

ZAHN: We know you will continue to with highly productive, and we're delighted to hear how your progressing, and hopefully, you will continue to gain strength.

KINSLEY: Thank you.

ZAHN: Take care, Michael.

KINSLEY: You too, Paula.

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