Doctors: McCain’s health “an issue of profound importance”

Nearly 600 medical doctors have signed a statement calling for Republican presidential nominee John McCain to issue a full and public disclosure of all of his medical records. McCain is a 72-year-old four-time cancer survivor who has lived most of his life with physical disabilities as a result of torture endured as a prisoner of war.

In May the McCain campaign made more than 1,000 pages of medical records from the last eight years available only to select journalists for a three-hour period under a stringent set of rules. The statement argues that such a disclosure is insufficient and call McCain’s health “an issue of profound importance.”

If elected, the Republican nominee would become the oldest person ever inaugurated as president of the United States, a fact that is often mentioned in the context of his relatively inexperienced running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

McCain, who has been declared cancer-free and in good cardiovascular condition by his physicians, would be 76 years old at the end of his first term in office, if elected.