What Do We Need to Know About Candidates’ Health?
For months, all the public knew about Donald Trump’s health was a four-paragraph note from a doctor who said Trump would “be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.” On Thursday, Trump released a bit more information. Hillary Clinton revealed a more elaborate health history, and released more information after her apparent collapse on Monday, which her campaign attributed to pneumonia. Neither candidate, among the oldest to seek the presidency, has released full medical records. Is it vital for the public to know presidential candidates’ full medical history and how should they find out?
* elect = (선거로) 선출하다/ presidency = 대통령 직[임기]/ release = (대중들에게) 공개[발표]하다/ reveal = 드러내다[밝히다/폭로하다]/ elaborate = 정교한/ collapse = (갑자기 몸이 아파) 쓰러짐; 쇠약(한 상태)/ attribute to ~ = ~의 탓[책임]이라고 보다/ pneumonia = 폐렴/ vital = 필수적인
대통령 후보의 모든 병력에 대해서 일반 국민이 아는 것은 필수적인가요? 그리고 어떻게 알아야 하죠?
1. Let Nonpartisan Doctors Examine Candidates and Records
In presidential politics, nothing should be off limits. Nominees don't have the same right to privacy that others enjoy.
2. The Public Doesn’t Need to See Candidates’ Health Records
A private evaluation is fine, but communicating the results to the public can send the wrong message to people and
is unlikely to change voters' minds.
3. Releasing Health Records Is Campaign Spin and Distortion
Questions about Clinton’s health are really questions about how well a woman fits into a masculine image of
the presidency, and less about Clinton’s physical stamina.
4. A Candidate’s Health Can No Longer Be a Secret
In the 21st century it’s nearly impossible for presidents to conceal an illness, serious or not.
And if they try to, their deception will undermine the public's confidence.
Sample Essay
Releasing Candidates’ Health Records Is Campaign Spin and Distortion
When Hillary Clinton stepped away from campaigning this week to recover from pneumonia, the public learned about her seasonal allergies and ear infections. It’s not unusual for presidential candidates to say something about their health on the campaign trail. But the amount of attention paid to the health history of Clinton, and to a somewhat lesser extent Trump, is a new level of scrutiny this election cycle. Of course, Clinton and Trump’s doctors declared them each physically fit and mentally sharp. So why all the attention?
The Trump campaign has been making the case for weeks that “Hillary Clinton doesn’t have that strength and stamina” to be president. This critique taps into a broader question about whether women are fit to be president. Questions about Clinton’s health are really questions about how well a woman fits into a masculine image of the presidency, and less about Clinton’s physical stamina. A letter from Clinton's doctor is not going to determine whether she can fit this masculine image.
The question of what the public actually needs to know about a presidential candidate’s health prompts another one: How likely is it that the public will learn useful information about a candidates’ health from their medical records? The answer is not likely.
Candidates control their health information. The only way for the public to access this information is to make a candidate’s health a campaign issue. This approach, however, may not be fruitful. Once a candidate’s health becomes a campaign issue, it becomes subject to spin and distortion. After all, a doctor’s declaration that Trump, if elected, will “be the fittest individual ever elected to the presidency” is not exactly objective information.
In the end, the public probably doesn’t need to know much about a presidential candidate’s health. After all, many previous presidents weren’t exactly paragons of perfect health. Consider Franklin D. Roosevelt. He won four presidential elections and led the U.S. during an economic crisis and a war — but also, hid his use of a wheelchair from the public.
Ultimately, the only useful information the public may learn from a candidate’s health records is that presidential candidates get sick just like everyone else.
