Clinton and Trump should reveal more about their health

There’s no reason to believe that Hillary Clinton’s pneumonia is any more than a passing bout of illness from which she will recuperate. It’s a situation that’s not surprising for people who run as long and as hard as those seeking the presidency of the United States.

Clinton will be 69 in October and has been a person of extreme vigor for virtually the entire time, now more than 30 years, that she has been in the public eye.

She previously has had a concussion and a blood clot, from which she recuperated. Her doctor pronounces her health to be good. But Clinton’s current crisis should not be dismissed by her allies as no big deal, any more than Donald Trump, 70, should casually pronounce himself in perfect health and have a similar conclusion from his personal physician.

The American people, who once were intentionally kept in ignorance by presidential aides and doctors in a time of a presidential health crisis, now expect to know the details of the medical conditions of those who would occupy the White House, and they have a right to those details. To his credit, President Ronald Reagan was pretty forthcoming about his health after the attempt on his life shortly after he took office.

Clinton and Trump are two of the older people to seek the presidency, and while it’s true they’ve both seemed to be in good health and with good “histories,” they have an obligation to disclose more about their health than average citizens would be willing to do.

This story was originally published September 12, 2016 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Clinton and Trump should reveal more about their health."