Presidential Candidates Have Not Released Medical Records

(These caricatures of Sanders, Warren, Bloomberg, and Biden are by DonkeyHotey.)

The job of the President of the United States is probably the most difficult job in the world. It is a job with enormous pressure, with the fate of this country (and the world) hanging on their decisions.

And it is a seven-day-a-week job. Even when the president takes a vacation, he/she is expected to stay current on what is happening in the world -- and be ready to react to a crisis.

It should then be obvious that the public has a right to know whether the person they elect has the health and stamina required to do the job right.

In the recent past, most candidates for president have released their complete medical records. Donald Trump (who is 73) changed that. He did not release his complete medical records, opting instead for a one-page summary that declared him in "astonishlingly excellent" health.

Four of the leading Democratic candidates are 70 or over -- and all of them have followed Trump's lead by not releasing their full medical records. The two younger candidates, Buttigieg and Klobuchar, have also not released their medical records. This is troubling. Doesn't the voting public deserve to know fully about their health -- especially the septugenerians?

Matt Viser and Lenny Bernstein of The Washington Post tell us what little the Democratic candidates have released:

Four of the six major Democratic candidates are 70 or older, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the polling leader, suffered a heart attack about five months ago — an episode he at first failed to disclose. But the candidates, for the most part, have declined to release full dossiers on their health, relying instead on the Trumpian physician testimonial.

Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, for example, has released a single page from his doctor declaring the 78-year-old in “great physical shape” and noting that he “plays golf avidly” and has a pilot’s license.

Former vice president Joe Biden has released a three-page letter describing him as a “healthy, vigorous 77-year-old male.”

Sanders, 78, has released letters from three doctors, including a cardiologist who expressed confidence that the senator from Vermont “has the mental and physical stamina to fully undertake the rigors of the presidency.” Despite the heart attack, Sanders has refused to provide additional information, and a campaign spokeswoman has branded questions about his health a “smear” similar to false claims that Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

The fourth septuagenarian, 70-year-old Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, has released five pages of documents revealing her blood pressure (115/57) and thyroid condition, along with a doctor’s letter declaring her in “excellent health.” 

But neither Sen. Amy Klobuchar, 59, of Minnesota nor former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38, has released any medical records — though Buttigieg argued during last week’s debate that the candidates should undergo physical exams and disclose the results.