Why Is Bernie Sanders Hiding His Medical Records?

Donald Trump claims to be in "perfect" health - something his age and level of significant obesity make suspect at best.  Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders had a heart attack in October and has yet to fully release his medical records to disclose the true state of his health (originally, Sanders said he would release his medical records.  He has now backtracked on doing so). In both instances, Trump and Sanders are potentially misleading voters who have a right to know the state of their health since it impacts their ability to perform the duties of the presidency and may also  impact their decision making ability.  A column in the Washington Post by a cardiologist argues that there need to be mandatory standards of disclosure for both sitting presidents and presidential candidates.  Without such standards, voters are left without critical information and it can only be assumed that individuals who do not release comprehensive medical information have something to hide.  When candidates refuse to release full information on their health, it is appropriate for voters to ask "what are they hiding/".Here are column highlights:

Coming off victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is increasingly described as the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Inevitably, questions will arise about the health of the 78-year-old senator as well as that of the 73-year-old incumbent, President Trump.

But the public reports on the two men’s recent health-related episodes, written by their primary-care military physicians, do not serve voters well. The fault, however, is not with the physicians but with the absence of explicit standards for disclosing health records of presidents and presidential candidates — an eminently rectifiable situation.

Both medical reports omit critically pertinent prognostic data that the physicians certainly know. Sanders had a heart attack in October, but his report is silent about the extent of disease in his coronary arteries, which is the most important factor in determining his risk for another heart attack. The report on Trump’s abrupt, unscheduled visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in November listed several key cardiovascular symptoms the president did not have, but failed to say whether he was free from the sensations of chest squeezing and left arm discomfort that patients classically experience during heart attack and its precursors.

Voters need and deserve health information from candidates because a vote is fundamentally a bet on the future, reflecting the voter’s estimate of the candidate’s ability to lead the nation toward the voter’s desired endpoint. . . . illness physically impedes exercise of the office.

Medical conditions that might significantly impair these functions over the next four years should be disclosed to voters. All others are no business of the public.

The rub is defining “significantly.” Fortunately, military medicine has long experience doing exactly this, by defining medical standards for specific jobs — pilot, parachutist, cook, etc. Among these, in my experience, the mental and physical demands on air traffic controllers most closely track the four essential “presidential” functions. The Air Force lists hundreds of medical conditions that disqualify air traffic controllers by threatening the four functions, including heart attack, psychosis and non-trivial cancers. Subtract from this list the musculoskeletal requirements of general military service (the campaign trail’s rigors can substitute as a stamina test), and the remaining conditions well describe the medical threats to the exercise of the presidency. Military physicians work with such lists daily.

Thus, as a first cut, I would propose a policy (better, a law) requiring presidential and vice presidential candidates to publicly disclose complete information on every non-musculoskeletal medical condition they have that would disqualify them from being an air traffic controller in the Air Force.

The report on Sanders was incomplete by Air Force standards because appeals for reinstatement after a heart attack must include a full description of coronary artery anatomy.

With explicit standards the country would know exactly what the physician means by “fit for duty,” thereby avoiding adversarial speculations such as those surrounding Trump’s visit to Walter Reed.

It is important to emphasize that any medical standard for the presidency would only be a standard for disclosure. In no case would the standard bar someone from holding office because of a medical condition. That would be up to the voters, as it has been every four years since 1788.

Trump Refuses to Release Tax Returns Before Election

I was raised being taught that if you had nothing to hide, then you did not act as if you were hiding something.  The corollary was that if you did have something to hide, then that explained why you were indeed hiding things.  Thus, I have to agree with Mitt Romney that the only reason that Donald Trump is refusing to release his tax returns prior to the November elections is because there is obviously something in them that he believes would be damaging.   We have already learned that Trump's talk about his charitable giving is a lie.  Therefore, one can only wonder what else he is hiding by refusing to release his returns.  Yes, he has the excuse of the supposed ongoing audit, but all of his returns cannot possibly be under audit.  Is Trump afraid that his returns might show that he pays an outrageously low tax rate, that his income is far less than what he boasts, or that he has suffered huge business losses. His intransigence certainly suggest some bombshell is waiting in the returns that he does not want his grievance filled, angry white supporters to see.  Politico looks at Romney's condemnation of Trump for seemingly trying to dupe American voters.  Here are highlights:

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney tore into Donald Trump on Wednesday after it was reported that the party's presumptive nominee would not release his tax returns before the election in November.

"It is disqualifying for a modern-day presidential nominee to refuse to release tax returns to the voters, especially one who has not been subject to public scrutiny in either military or public service. Tax returns provide the public with its sole confirmation of the veracity of a candidate's representations regarding charities, priorities, wealth, tax conformance, and conflicts of interest," Romney wrote in a Facebook post.

Trump told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that he would not release his tax returns, despite telling radio host Hugh Hewitt in February 2015 that he would do so if he ran for the White House.

While acknowledging that it is not likely, Romney suggested "the potential for hidden inappropriate associations with foreign entities, criminal organizations, or other unsavory groups" as a risk "simply too great ... to ignore for someone who is seeking to become commander-in-chief."

Romney blasted Trump's assertion that he could not release taxes while they are being audited, writing that there is "nothing that prevents releasing tax returns that are being audited."

"Further, he could release returns for the years immediately prior to the years under audit. There is only one logical explanation for Mr. Trump's refusal to release his returns: There is a bombshell in them," Romney said, repeating a line he used in February. "Given Mr. Trump's equanimity with other flaws in his history, we can only assume it's a bombshell of unusual size."

I hate to admit that I agree with Romney on anything, but in this case, I suspect he is right.