When it comes to his medical records, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders seems to have taken a cue from President Donald Trump's handling of his financial records. Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, is reneging on a vow to release his full health records after suffering a heart attack last year. Just as voters shouldn't have allowed Trump to get away with scuttling the tradition of full financial disclosure by presidential candidates, they shouldn't let Sanders set this troublesome new precedent of medical secrecy.
Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and other past presidents hid serious medical conditions from the public and generally got away with it, but times have changed. By Ronald Reagan's time, the signs of dementia he displayed in office were considered a valid topic of discussion, for obvious reasons: A president's health affects national security and can affect decision-making. If the health of the nation's leader is in question, the public has a right to know.
Sanders, 78, was hospitalized in October for chest pains during a campaign event. Doctors inserted two stents to unblock an artery, a common procedure. But the campaign waited three days to let the public in on that relevant piece of candidate information.
