Biology and life science concepts overview

Biology of Elections: Evaluating the Candidate's Health

Although both presidential candidates have debated the issue of health care, and made affordable coverage a cornerstone of both of their advertising campaigns, the October 20, 2008 New York Times article by Dr. Lawrence Altman "Many holes in disclosure of nominees' health," tackles another issue, namely what Altman alleges is the lack of candid disclosure of all four candidate's health records. On the surface, the issue might seem like trivia at best (along the lines of whether George Washington had wooden teeth) or gossip at worst. However, it is important to remember that health has influenced presidents' governing policy. Ronald Reagan, the oldest president to date, used the fact he could not remember as a defense for his actions during the Iran-Contra affair, and his mental state later deteriorated into diagnosable Alzheimer's disease ("The health and medical history of President Ronald Reagan," Doctor Zebra, 2008). John F. Kennedy, although the picture of health on the surface, suffered from Addison's disease and had to take massive amounts of painkillers and steroids to combat a wide array of ailments, from back problems, to the lingering effects of malaria and childhood colitis. These drugs could conceivably have compromised his judgment at times while in office, although there is no record of them every doing so ("The health and medical history of John F. Kennedy." Doctor Zebra, 2008)

Thus the question of how much the public is entitled to know about the health of elected officials becomes complicated by questions of privacy and relevance, and highlights the larger issue of how, as Americans become screened for more and more illnesses, and live longer and longer, health records can become public fodder. The author, a doctor and a historian of presidential health, is uniquely curious and uniquely qualified to address the issues raised by the current presidential campaign regarding the disclosure of elected official's health. His view, that more openness is needed, seems laudable, although it raises questions if all candidates, regardless of office should be expected to be equally as candid about their health or even if the level of disclosure he calls for upon the part of presidential candidates is worthwhile.

John McCain, the oldest candidate, has been particularly scrutinized on the issue of his health. If McCain is sworn in, Altman notes, McCain will be the first cancer survivor as well as the oldest man ever to hold the office of the presidency. However, despite the fact that McCain has s released nearly 1,200 pages of medical information, far more than the three other nominees combined, Altman is less than impressed by the quality and depth of the information, particularly about McCain's battle with melanoma (Altman, 2008, p.2). The quantity seems expected, if we are to demand that presidential candidates release information, given that McCain is the oldest and has suffered the most extensive illnesses of all the candidates. As well as melanoma, Mr. McCain's difficulty raising his arms and his sometimes awkward gait are remnants of severe, untreated injuries he suffered in Vietnam (Altman, 2008, p.1). More intriguingly, and something that Altman only throws out as a passing mention, McCain, while still a war prisoner and resident of the 'Hotel Hanoi,' tried to commit suicide (Altman, 2008,p.2).

Of course, this occurred under the most trying circumstances imaginable for a human being to face. But the idea of how much a candidate should reveal about psychological health (which is interrelated to physical health) is also provoked by this comment. After all, the 1972 Vice-presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton was forced to withdraw his nomination for president after it was revealed he had subjected himself to electrotherapy for depression. In fact, releasing detailed medical records only become the norm for presidential and vice-presidential after the 'Eagleton affair' (Tasker & Chrissos, 2008, p.1)

In contrast to McCain, the young Barak Obama seems like the picture of health. Perhaps taking advantage of this comparison, Obama has revealed as little as possible about his medical history. In an interesting parallel with John F. Kennedy, the image of Obama in the press as a youthful, slender, athletic runner and basketball fan conflicts with some aspects of Obama medical health history -- for example, Obama was a smoker for many years, and worst of all, he is a smoker who has found it extremely difficult to quit. He still occasionally 'bums smokes' and chews nicotine gum to combat cravings (Altman, 2008, p 3). Obama's campaign released records suggesting that he is in excellent health -- only one page long. The only specific data they have revealed is his low cholesterol rating. The question arises -- if Obama is in such good health (and he does work out very frequently) why the reticence about the information (Altman, 2008, p.3).

The Obama campaign has implied that the mere appearance of good health on the part of the candidate should be enough, a statement that they would likely mock if it came from the older McCain. McCain has also cited the longevity of his mother as an example of why people should be unworried about his candidacy but again, this is hardly scientific proof of his fitness (Tasker & Chrissos, 2008, p.1). Of course, one of the reasons that questions about McCain's health seem so pressing is the relatively poor qualifications of his running mate Sarah Palin. However, Palin has been the most reticent of all of the candidates about her health records, except for the fact that she gave birth to a child recently, a condition she kept relatively secret from most of the electorate of Alaska until she delivered (Altman 2008, p.4). The Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Joe Biden, has had two aneurisms removed from his brain and has not subjected himself to any screenings for additional aneurisms, even though the likelihood of having one raises the chance of having another (Altman 2008, p.4-5).