Pirate's Cove

At the Washington Times, Wesley Pruden asks a fundamental question: why can’t we The People, the voters, demand candidates answer questions?

When questions were raised about Barack Obama’s birth, and whether he was actually eligible to be president of the United States, he brushed the questions aside as if answering them was beneath the dignity of a prince of the crown. He let the questions fester for years before putting them to rest.

It’s still not clear why he did that. He preferred to accuse inquiring minds that wanted to know of racism and bigotry, as if the peasants had no right to ask questions about the crown prince. The presidency is the most precious honor Americans can bestow on one of their own, but Mr. Obama treated the gift as nothing more than a trinket he was entitled to, and who were these uppity people to question him?

Only racists, bigots, mean-spirited zealots, right-wing fanatics and white Christians who couldn’t appreciate the heavenly music of the call to evening prayer at the mosque would do that. Even the mildest criticism, of the sort that every president before him had to endure, was dismissed as disrespect, even racism.

Let’s not forget that Birtherism was started by Camp Hillary, and she never attempted to shut this down. As I noted time and again, Obama was most likely born in Hawaii exactly as stated, but, when there’s a nasty rumor, a candidate for public office should be open to answering the question of whether they are eligible and/or fit for office.

Hillary Clinton is trying a similar tactic, portraying criticism of her vulgarity, her greed and her intolerance as hatred of women, and envy of a woman finally breaking through a crystal ceiling. It’s not working, in part because men have a reputation built over the centuries for mortgaging their lives to provide for their women, and in part because nobody knows better than women themselves that the accusation is silly. Is there a woman anywhere who wants a reputation for ethics, character and feminine grace like Hillary‘s?

She, like candidates before her, may not like the questions, but voters have the right to ask candidates, and particularly candidates for president, any question they please. It’s what democracy and democratic elections are about. “If you can’t stand the heat,” as Harry S. Truman reminded everyone, “stay out of the kitchen.”

The questions the Hillary campaign are trying to put off limits now are the legitimate questions about Hillary’s health. She has a well-documented record of coughing fits, fainting, stumbling up and down stairs, and uncontrolled giggling and snorting at inappropriate times. There may be good and sufficient reasons for all that, but it’s not against anybody’s rules to ask what they are.

The questions about Obama’s birth certificate were fun for a bit of traffic and discussion, which is the way most handled it. Some, let’s admit, were entirely over the top in their focus and conspiracies. Some still are. There were lots and lots of questions on Obama’s background, schooling, and life that were never answered, especially since the media was almost entirely behind him, and refused to ask the questions that they would have asked of a Republican candidate.

With Hillary’s health, though, this is something that is on display, and citizens have the right to know whether she is in good health.

Her doctor says Hillary’s in good health, and if so that’s good news. We should all send her the traditional Chinese wish (slightly amended) for long life and many (grand)children. But in return the American voter is entitled to a detailed report of a thorough and independent physical examination of both candidates. If such a requirement is good enough for a truck driver, it’s good enough for a candidate for president of the United States. There’s no apology for asking for it.

Likewise, we should have access to Trump’s health and tax records. Voters should have access to knowing all they can about the people running for essentially the most powerful position in the world. We do not work for them: they work for us. Failure to release his taxes has certainly hurt Trump a bit. With Hillary, the longer the questions on her health fester the more voters will wonder what she’s hiding and make their judgements.