Time for Full Disclosure on Candidates Health
Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 10:05AM New York Times Editorial Board
As President Obama’s graying hair suggests, the American presidency is perhaps the most grueling and stressful political job there is. This year, both major party candidates for that job are past the nation’s customary retirement age. And while submitting health records is not a requirement for the job, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would be doing American voters a great service by furnishing a much clearer picture of their physical health than the abbreviated and sunny reports provided so far.
What brings the health issue to mind, of course, is the video of a stumbling Mrs. Clinton being hustled away from the 9/11 memorial service in New York on Sunday. She reappeared some two hours later to say she felt great. Hours later, her doctor issued a statement saying Mrs. Clinton had been suffering from pneumonia — a diagnosis Mrs. Clinton had received two days earlier and which came as a surprise even to some members of her campaign team.
Mrs. Clinton had coughed her way through multiple appearances last week, insisting it was nothing more than “allergies,” while her campaign pushed back on reporters who noted her coughing, telling one to “get a life.”
Mrs. Clinton has released more information about her health than Mr. Trump has about his. Mr. Trump’s evaluation consists largely of a terse and bizarre report written by Dr. Harold Bornstein, his gastroenterologist, who, after a brief examination, said that if elected Mr. Trump, a self-professed fast-food addict, “will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.” Mrs. Clinton’srecord, consisting mainly of a letter written by her personal physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, on July 28, 2015, is more than a year old and, while acknowledging her problem with blood clots, could use some updating.
In recent years, presidents and presidential candidates have been more forthcoming about their health than their predecessors. Franklin D. Roosevelt, a polio survivor, was seldom photographed in his wheelchair, and in his last re-election campaign concealed the cardiovascular disease that would kill him within a year. John F. Kennedy struggled with a debilitating back injury and denied he had Addison’s disease, a serious adrenal gland disorder.
By contrast, in 1985 Ronald Reagan openly discussed the colon cancer that required doctors to remove two feet of intestine. In 2008, John McCain gave reporters access to hundreds of pages of records that ended questions about health issues, including melanoma, linked to his Vietnam-era captivity. In 2014, President Obama volunteered that he’d had a persistent sore throat checked out, and the diagnosis was acid reflux. The issue was addressed before anyone asked about it.
Now Americans are deciding between Mr. Trump, who is 70, and Mrs. Clinton, who is 68. Whoever prevails will have to deal with round-the-clock demands, so it seems entirely relevant to inquire about their medical histories and current health.
On Monday, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton said she would release additional health information in coming days. For his part, Mr. Trump said he would make public “very, very specific” records, a remarkable promise coming from someone who has resolutely stonewalled on his tax returns. Should both candidates honor these pledges, and provide plenty of detail, the winners will be the voters.
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