Comments on: Genetic Testing for Presidential Health? http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/07/genetic-testing-for-presidential-health/ Progressive approaches to science policy Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:53:45 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Courtney http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/07/genetic-testing-for-presidential-health/comment-page-1/#comment-2488 Courtney Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:36:35 +0000 http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/07/genetic-testing-for-presidential-health/#comment-2488 When did we stop viewing presidential candidates as people? Honestly, isn't that what we love about our country? That we are all individuals, that we are HUMANS? I'm sure a strong case can be made for the testing for Huntingdon's, but where does it end? We'll never find the perfect presidential candidate. Look back in history. The mythos surrounding George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, JFK...is exactly that...MYTH! Our government was created to allow the common man to rule. If we demand physical perfection from our presidential candidates, then what else are we doing but placing the governmental leaders on a higher pedestal than ourselves? We need to look TO ourselves: do we demand absolute perfection over our own bodies? It's an impossibility, and it's unnatural for a nation of free people who choose not to live robotically. When did we stop viewing presidential candidates as people? Honestly, isn’t that what we love about our country? That we are all individuals, that we are HUMANS? I’m sure a strong case can be made for the testing for Huntingdon’s, but where does it end? We’ll never find the perfect presidential candidate. Look back in history. The mythos surrounding George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, JFK…is exactly that…MYTH! Our government was created to allow the common man to rule. If we demand physical perfection from our presidential candidates, then what else are we doing but placing the governmental leaders on a higher pedestal than ourselves? We need to look TO ourselves: do we demand absolute perfection over our own bodies? It’s an impossibility, and it’s unnatural for a nation of free people who choose not to live robotically.

]]> By: Liza http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/07/genetic-testing-for-presidential-health/comment-page-1/#comment-2418 Liza Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:30:15 +0000 http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/07/genetic-testing-for-presidential-health/#comment-2418 The reader's response is interesting; I didn't take Ms. Brown's article as advocating for one side or the other. My thoughts did wander though to Senators, especially with Kennedy's recent stroke. Their term of office is longer, and although their power is not as concentrated as that of the president, they maintain a high degree of influence. Although I do not know where I fall in this debate (after 8 years of enduring a president with what I believe to be impaired mental faculties, I'm more disposed than I was before to certain testing), I do wonder where to draw the line for screening if one were to be drawn. Cabinet members? Ambassadors? Small town district attorneys--each person has substantial power in his or her own sphere. The reader’s response is interesting; I didn’t take Ms. Brown’s article as advocating for one side or the other.

My thoughts did wander though to Senators, especially with Kennedy’s recent stroke. Their term of office is longer, and although their power is not as concentrated as that of the president, they maintain a high degree of influence. Although I do not know where I fall in this debate (after 8 years of enduring a president with what I believe to be impaired mental faculties, I’m more disposed than I was before to certain testing), I do wonder where to draw the line for screening if one were to be drawn. Cabinet members? Ambassadors? Small town district attorneys–each person has substantial power in his or her own sphere.

]]> By: IanKenny http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/07/genetic-testing-for-presidential-health/comment-page-1/#comment-2417 IanKenny Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:31:50 +0000 http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/07/genetic-testing-for-presidential-health/#comment-2417 Ms. Brown: thank you for writing back. Agree, invocation of the Holocaust is certainly extreme (maybe hyperbole), but you have to admit that requiring genetic testing of political leaders (for conditions they may or may not ever manifest) is a step toward using such tests to screen for those “unfit” to serve (there and elsewhere) – which is, “one small step” (my words, borrowed from Neil Armstrong) from efforts to use genetic testing for other purposes, including things we’d all condemn. While I’ll admit that you don’t explicitly “advocate” for genetic testing – your article and response fairly implies that. If what you really want to get at is requiring the release of more thorough medical records, I can agree with that – but “mandating more disclosure to make sure our president is physically and mentally fit…” is dangerous. I’ve got to lose a few pounds, and had an uncle die of cancer – am I unfit? If you really don’t support genetic testing, then all you are guilty of then is hyperbole. Ms. Brown: thank you for writing back. Agree, invocation of the Holocaust is certainly extreme (maybe hyperbole), but you have to admit that requiring genetic testing of political leaders (for conditions they may or may not ever manifest) is a step toward using such tests to screen for those “unfit” to serve (there and elsewhere) – which is, “one small step” (my words, borrowed from Neil Armstrong) from efforts to use genetic testing for other purposes, including things we’d all condemn. While I’ll admit that you don’t explicitly “advocate” for genetic testing – your article and response fairly implies that. If what you really want to get at is requiring the release of more thorough medical records, I can agree with that – but “mandating more disclosure to make sure our president is physically and mentally fit…” is dangerous. I’ve got to lose a few pounds, and had an uncle die of cancer – am I unfit? If you really don’t support genetic testing, then all you are guilty of then is hyperbole.

]]> By: Teneille Brown http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/07/genetic-testing-for-presidential-health/comment-page-1/#comment-2406 Teneille Brown Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:34:20 +0000 http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/07/genetic-testing-for-presidential-health/#comment-2406 Thanks for your comment, Mr. Kenny. I appreciate where you were going with your post, but be careful before invoking the Holocaust! A careful reading will reveal that I do not advocate for the genetic testing of presidential candidates for Huntington's and certainly not for more complex non-Mendelian traits. But given the well documented history of presidential candidates covering up their health status, we might think about mandating more disclosure to make sure our president is physically and mentally fit. Members of the secret service and military are required to submit to health tests before they can be hired. Why require less of the Commander in Chief? Certainly the president's decision-making capacity is critical to our public welfare: do you want someone who is mentally ill making decisions about sending our troops to war? There are no doubt arguments as to why the president might be treated differently from airline pilots, railroad workers, or public high school athletes (all of whom, unlike candidates for public office, can be forced to submit to a suspicionless drug/health test). I merely suggest we reconsider these distinctions. Public officials are supposed to have fewer, not more, expectations of privacy. Thanks, T Thanks for your comment, Mr. Kenny. I appreciate where you were going with your post, but be careful before invoking the Holocaust! A careful reading will reveal that I do not advocate for the genetic testing of presidential candidates for Huntington’s and certainly not for more complex non-Mendelian traits. But given the well documented history of presidential candidates covering up their health status, we might think about mandating more disclosure to make sure our president is physically and mentally fit. Members of the secret service and military are required to submit to health tests before they can be hired. Why require less of the Commander in Chief? Certainly the president’s decision-making capacity is critical to our public welfare: do you want someone who is mentally ill making decisions about sending our troops to war? There are no doubt arguments as to why the president might be treated differently from airline pilots, railroad workers, or public high school athletes (all of whom, unlike candidates for public office, can be forced to submit to a suspicionless drug/health test). I merely suggest we reconsider these distinctions. Public officials are supposed to have fewer, not more, expectations of privacy. Thanks, T

]]> By: IanKenny http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/07/genetic-testing-for-presidential-health/comment-page-1/#comment-2404 IanKenny Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:24:52 +0000 http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/07/genetic-testing-for-presidential-health/#comment-2404 Ms. Brown's piece is one of the most disturbing I have seen in some time. Such views are very dangerous and one small step towards the eugenics movement that culminated in the horrors of the Holocaust. Where does she draw the line? Huntington’s? Alzheimer’s? Cancer? Arthritis? The Presidency? Pilots? Doctors? Journalism (impaired thoughts run amok there – see New Yorker cover)? Ms. Brown’s piece is one of the most disturbing I have seen in some time. Such views are very dangerous and one small step towards the eugenics movement that culminated in the horrors of the Holocaust. Where does she draw the line? Huntington’s? Alzheimer’s? Cancer? Arthritis? The Presidency? Pilots? Doctors? Journalism (impaired thoughts run amok there – see New Yorker cover)?

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