If he wants to be better than Trump, Bernie Sanders needs to release his medical records — and so do his competitors

The Democratic field is crowded with the over-70s, and if we want to improve on what the current president gave us, we have to accept that they should all be honest about their health

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign rally (AP)

Yesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders announced that he would not be releasing his medical records in the wake of a heart attack he suffered some months ago. On Meet the Press, the candidate insisted that he has “cardiologists who are confirming that I am in good health.” That comment was meant to lay to rest any concerns potential voters might have about the Senator’s health. But, at 78 years old, Senator Sanders is the oldest candidate running for president. Should he be elected, he will be just shy of 80 at the time of his inauguration. Asking questions about his health is not petty politicking; it’s fundamental.

Actually, the majority of the competitive candidate pool is old, on both sides of the aisle. President Trump, Mayor Bloomberg, Senator Warren, and Vice President Biden are all in their 70s, and although Mayor Buttigieg is the first candidate to run for president who is younger than I am, that says more about my increasing age than it does about the candidacy.

The presidency has always been an older office. Thirty-five is the youngest you can possibly be to run, and Americans have always put a premium on what we describe as “experience” — some magical combination of age, wisdom, and political acuity.

With experience — the way we define it, anyway — comes risk. The average lifespan of an American woman is 81.4 years — but the average lifespan of an American man is only 76.3. That puts Trump (73), Biden (77), Bloomberg (77), and Sanders (78) at the projected ends of their lives. It means that it is more likely for these candidates (and Warren, to be honest, gender lifespan average notwithstanding) to suffer everything from cardiac issues to dementia. With a candidate like Senator Sanders, who has very recently shown himself to be susceptible to such vagaries of age, the office of the presidency becomes a question mark. What would happen if a president were to suffer a heart attack in office? How can we trust our leaders if they are not transparent with us from the very beginning?

President Trump did not release his medical records, of course — and he was wrong to intentionally evade the American people. But this benchmark of bad behavior and opacity should not be something that the Democrats aim to replicate. After all, we are seeking a more perfect nation in our hopes and dreams of Life After Trump, not a nation that behaves as it did before. The aspirational among us believe that things can get better, and the pragmatists among us believe that things won’t get better if we reuse the same blueprint for dishonesty used by our current president.

A heart attack isn’t the worst of it, either. The office of the presidency carries with it the burden of thought, the burden of decision-making, the burden of nuclear annihilation. While vanity may compel candidates to keep the dramas of their health lives personal, for Americans, whose lives are subject to the whims of executive decisions, a candidate’s medical record can be a matter of life or death. Is diminished mental capacity disqualifying for high office? Many Americans, who fear the power inherent of the presidency, with its nuclear codes and ability to initiate international conflict at the drop of a dime, certainly believe that it is.

A president’s health is a high-stakes game, because the presidency itself is a high-stakes game. This is why every single candidate, irrespective of his or her health, should release his or her medical records to the public. Not just Senator Sanders. Not just President Trump (though he won’t). Every. Single. Candidate. We cannot expect voters to make decisions that will affect the trajectory of the country based on incomplete information.

The choice before us matters. It is important. The person we choose to lead us out of darkness will be responsible for some of the great decisions of our lifetimes. The American people deserve to know if the person they elect to the presidency is physically and mentally fit for the rigors of office. And that means that the candidates should have the good sense to disclose their medical records, so that we can truly make the best choice moving forward — the good sense to do the right thing and put courage and honesty first.

Anything less than this brand of transparency is a lie.