Gruelling job

AS PRESIDENT Obama’s greying hair suggests, the American presidency is perhaps the most gruelling and stressful political job there is.

This year, both major party candidates for that job are past the nation’s customary retirement age. And while submitting health records is not a requirement for the job, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would be doing American voters a great service by furnishing a much clearer picture of their physical health than the abbreviated and sunny reports provided so far.

What brings the health issue to mind, of course, is the video of a stumbling Clinton being hustled away from the 9/11 memorial service in New York on Sunday.

She reappeared about two hours later to say she felt great. Hours later, her doctor issued a statement saying Clinton had been suffering from pneumonia – a diagnosis she had received two days earlier and which came as a surprise even to some members of her campaign team.

Clinton has released more information about her health than Trump has about his.

Trump’s evaluation consists largely of a terse and bizarre report written by Dr Harold Bornstein, his gastroenterologist.

Bornstein, after a brief examination, said that if elected Trump, a self-professed fast-food addict, “will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency”.

Now Americans are deciding between Trump, who is 70, and Clinton, who is 68. Whoever prevails will have to deal with round-the-clock demands, so it seems entirely relevant to inquire about their medical histories and current health.