“Proof”

Paul Campos doesn’t understand my demands for medical records:

Sullivan wants to play the role of the straight journalist, while still asking X-file type questions of the powers that be, and then expecting that those questions will actually be answered by those same powers. On many levels, that does not compute.

First off, it’s a straight-acting journalist. Second, transparency means transparency. You don’t have to run for public office. If you do, your life, as Sarah Palin has said, is an "open book." I haven’t just been after her. I’m told that Joe Biden refuses to release his medical records until after election day – but before the inauguration. Huh? Doesn’t that miss the entire point of the exercise? Providing voters with information when it might actually make a difference.

The man has had an aneurysm. I’d like to know his chances of another one. Wouldn’t you? Palin refuses to offer any basic transparency or even a press conference, let alone any medical records. It is not an X-File question to ask for some minimal record of Palin’s last pregnancy, or formal confirmation from her doctor. Was it an X-File question for Sarah Palin to ask her opponent in Wasilla to produce his own marriage license in a campaign? It was in doubt, Palin claimed, because his wife kept her maiden name. Was it X-Files to demand Obama’s birth certificate? Nah. It is never X-Files to ask for documents that could be provided in a matter of minutes.

I have the same standards for all the candidates: transparency and accountability. Both Biden and Palin have failed in some very basic respects. Deference is not a democratic virtue. These people are public servants. They should do what we ask of them within reason.