The "viewing" of John McCain's medical records is an absurd farce. A dozen or so reporters hand-chosen by the McCain campaign are getting a few hours of access to 400 pages of doctor scribbles and medication names. They will have no idea what any of it means. The organization that brought an MD to the medical record viewing in2000 hasn't been allowed back in. If the media was a bit more interested in the public good and a bit less interested in out-competing itself, it would protest the whole exercise, and simply say, as a profession, that the job is to inform the public, and that means bringing in some actual experts who can evaluate these documents, and if they can't do that, then sorry, they can't report that McCain opened up his medical records. But instead, the chosen few outlets, acting like they got Wonka's golden ticket, are burying themselves in McCain's health history even as we speak. As it is, I think health history is a basically illegitimate issue in campaigns. If it were up to me, the chief doctor of the White House Medical Unit would sit down and evaluate each the medical records of both nominees and give them a physical. If there was anything related to the job that should be disclosed, it would be disclosed. If not, not. But insofar as we are going to have medical records be part of the campaign process, they shouldn't be open for a limited viewing by certain reporters on the Friday before Memorial Day. Do it right, or don't do it.
