How important are candidate medical records?

I don't think it's terribly important unless there's evidence of cancer or a serious heart condition. Cheney was a concern, but it seems he's lived through it.

A health statement, a detailed statement is important, but not the records themselves. We do not need to invade the privacy of even a presidential candidate just to know if he or she is in good health.

I am a combat wounded Viet Nam veteran who suffers from PTSD. I am on medication prescribed by the VA, go to group meetings, and have one on ones with my VA psychiatrist. On occasion I "flash' and do have anger issues among many other things.

I have the utmost respect for Senator McCain but I wonder how he deals with his PTSD? He suffered a lot more than many of us. There is no way that he doesn't suffer from it and it is not a curable condition. This has not been discussed in the news media or if it has, I have missed it.

If we're inquiring into the health of Joe Biden and allowing reporters to look into His medical records, the reporters looked into the medical records of John McCain then in all fairness Obama should have to show all of his medical records to the press as well. What is he hiding? Oh and while he's at it, how about a legitimate birth certificate?

I definitely think the presidential candidates should allow their medical conditions to be disclosed, but not necessarily the entire medical record unless they choose. We don't need to know everything they have had. Also, just because McCain is a veteran does not mean he has or had PTSD. Next time you see Obama on TV notice the color of his lips and gums when he smiles. This was brought up in small group discussion at my school (I'm in medical school) that it appears he has some cyanosis-could he be hiding a lung or heart disease?

Mary, give it up about the birth certificate. Guess what? Even if Obama weren't born in the US (just as John McCain wasn't born in the US), he'd still be qualified under the US Constitution to be president. His mother was indisputedly a US citizen, and as the child of a US citizen Obama was born a "natural born" US citizen which is all that the Constitution requires.

The difference between a potentially unhealthy McCain and a potentially unhealthy Biden is that McCain is at the top of the ticket. McCain's age alone puts him at much greater risk of dying while in office from any of the top killers: heart disease, stroke, or cancer. And then we would have a very different person in office. If Biden blows an aneurysm a week after the inauguration, Obama would find another VP he felt was qualified, but I don't think his views on policy would be at risk quite like they would if Palin were to take over.

So to answer the question more directly, yes, health status matters in our president, but the health status of our VP should probably not carry the same weight.