NYTimes.com: Why Presidential Candidates Can't Have Privacy

Micaela Marshall

Mm392413@ohio.edu

Maybe there is a reason politicians aren't always forthcoming on their health issues.

Fear. 

That four letter word that in and of itself elicits an emotion we all dread. 

Could it just be a matter of this fear that motivates our political candidates to be reluctant when giving out information about their health, their taxes, or any other personal issue they wish to remain private about?

After all, they know that the media, the political pundits, and the average American will be judging them, and in some cases misjudging them.


Presidents and presidential candidates having illnesses or hiding health problems is nothing new. In fact, William Henry Harrison died from pneumonia and JFK suffered from Addison’s disease and chronic back pain. FDR was partially paralyzed and went to great lengths to conceal that fact from the American public. Theodore Roosevelt was so worried about looking weak that he actually delivered a speech immediately after being shot! Luckily the 50-page speech in his coat pocket helped lessen the bullet’s impact. In any case, all these examples demonstrate the extremes a political figure will go to in order to appear strong and fit.

Is it possible that the fear of appearing weak and vulnerable are the main motivations for the lack of transparency in the current presidential candidates?

Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have a staff of consultants working round the clock to craft and portray a certain image of their candidate to the public. Controlling this image is of upmost importance. It appears that at times the staff, most likely with the consent and /or insistence of the candidate themselves, will try to conceal any information that might adjust the positive spotlight on the candidate to a negative one. Which brings us to the issue currently dominating the headlines: what exactly is going on with Hillary Clinton’s health? 

Perhaps we would not even be asking this question if last Friday, after her physician diagnosed Clinton with pneumonia, she would have told the public she was sick. If we had known she had pneumonia, the media might not have been quite as suspicious when she left the 9/11 tribute early and then collapsed while getting into her car.

Would we have been concerned? Yes. Suspicious? Probably not. But for many, this was just one more example of Clinton’s seeming inability to be straightforward and honest. 

Maybe the onslaught of news articles questioning Clinton’s health and honesty finally hit home. Now Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are both releasing more detailed information about their current state of health. One can't help but get the feeling that the candidates are not exactly thrilled to be forced into divulging this information to the public. 

But don't we have a right to know if the presidential candidates are healthy enough to withstand the rigors of holding the highest office in the nation? How do we as voters make this assessment without enough accurate information? I think these are questions we have a right to ask-without fear.