"In contrast to Senator McCain’s voluminous records, Senator Obama issued an undated, single-page letter from his personal doctor asserting that he is in 'excellent health' and that there are no known medical problems that would affect his ability to serve as president. The Obama campaign has refused to make the doctor available for interviews."  

What are they afraid of? Voters deserve a full disclosure.

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Questions About Their Health
New York Times Editorial, October 21, 2008

At a time when the presidential candidates are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to flood the airwaves with information about themselves and their positions, it is disturbing that they have provided only limited information about their health.

The presidency is a physically demanding, hugely stressful job. There is no excuse for both candidates’ failure to fully disclose medical records that clearly bear on their ability to do that job.

The big gaps in what the nominees have been willing to make public were described in The Times on Monday by Lawrence K. Altman, a medical reporter who is also a physician. Senator John McCain has put out far more information than his rival, but under such restricted conditions that it is impossible to nail down the truth about his past melanomas, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Senator Barack Obama has put out such meager information that voters have to take it largely on his campaign’s say-so that he is in good health.

Senator McCain allowed a small pool of reporters to review 1,200 pages of medical records during a three-hour period and then allowed a few of his doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona to answer questions by telephone for 45 minutes. The reporters were not allowed to photocopy any documents, making it harder for them to ask other experts what the medical findings might imply.

The most critical questions raised by the McCain documents concern his four melanomas. The records show that Army pathologists would have classified one of his melanomas as more severe than his own doctors did. Mr. McCain has survived for eight years since that melanoma was removed, but some cancer experts won’t breathe easily until 10 years have passed.

In contrast to Senator McCain’s voluminous records, Senator Obama issued an undated, single-page letter from his personal doctor asserting that he is in “excellent health” and that there are no known medical problems that would affect his ability to serve as president. The Obama campaign has refused to make the doctor available for interviews.

Late last week, the campaign released the results of standard laboratory tests and electrocardiograms from checkups — the most recent in January 2007. The findings were normal. That is a paltry amount of information, especially for a candidate who started smoking at least two decades ago and has had difficulty quitting, leaving him susceptible to lung cancer and other smoking-related ailments.

In the vice-presidential matchup, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska has refused to provide any health records or to be interviewed on the subject. Senator Joseph Biden, who two decades ago was operated on for potentially life-threatening aneurysms in the brain, has released 49 pages of records and a letter from the Capitol physician saying that the senator has recovered fully. It is not known whether he has been evaluated by a neurologist recently. A doctor who relayed the Capitol physician’s thoughts said no tests were needed now because Mr. Biden had done well for 20 years.

None of the candidates have been forthcoming enough to ensure that no medical problems have been hidden or downplayed. For future elections, Congress should require the nominees to disclose all of their relevant health records. It should also require an independent evaluation of these records by doctors whose allegiance is to the public, not to the candidates.