The most remarkable media coverup in American history surrounded Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who served at a time we lived in blissful ignorance and didn't complain about it.

The social policies of FDR are getting a more critical look from conservatives these days, but he is routinely placed among the top five Presidents in American history. After Abe Lincoln and George Washington, no one is more legendary than the only chief executive to serve more than two terms - a man who brought us through and out of the Great Depression and died with America at the brink of victory in World War II.

He did this from a wheelchair, something most Americans didn't know or think much about until 1960, when Ralph Bellamy starred as FDR in "Sunrise at Campobello,'' a quality movie about Roosevelt's early political years.

The movie took quite a few liberties with the truth, but the general theme is pretty solid. Roosevelt was limited in ways others were not, and he put a premium on maintaining a robust (though false) public image, but was able to function in high-level, active capacities despite his paralysis.

But that was then. Today we demand that Hillary Clinton (and for that matter, Donald Trump) hand over their medical charts to the American voters at once.

When Clinton left a memorial service, the fashionable adjective used was "woozy,'' and within hours, a debate was launched over whether she will leave the Presidential race and whether she should.

In today's overheated climate, we would have never elected Roosevelt once, let alone four times. Were he to have somehow fooled the public into thinking they'd hired a physically able person, as Clinton's rivals say she is trying to do, and then been exposed, cries for resignation and even impeachment would fill the air.

While those who despise Clinton's political beliefs cry foul over her admittedly disingenuous handling of her medical situation, her fans either hope she shows up tomorrow with the look of a marathoner, or that the subject gets dropped altogether.

It might not hurt for America to take a closer look at Tim Kaine, her choice for Vice-President. That would be a good idea with even a perfectly healthy candidate, not just one who is nearly 69 and wobbling through the campaign.

Yet it's interesting that analysts toss around Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders as the on-deck hitters in case Clinton has to quit, but nobody seems serious about Kaine. Considering he'd be in line for succession from the moment Clinton took office, doesn't that seem odd?

In 1921, Roosevelt contracted polio at age 39. More recently, some have attributed his paralysis to a muscle weakness known as Guillan-Barre syndrome, but whatever he had, it left him chair-bound nearly all the time.

It's untrue that Roosevelt's condition was totally unknown to the American public during his time in public life, including the Presidency from 1933 to 1945. Photos of a limited FDR were taken on rare occasions, almost always by photographers working for newspapers that opposed him.

The Secret Secret was known to use force when cameramen tried to capture the President in fragile situations, such as when he exited a car. For the most part, though, a "gentleman's agreement" between FDR and the press made such photos or reel clips a rarity, and few questioned whether the public's right to know was being abused under the guise of the public good.

More amazing is that what few photos emerged caused no public outcry for information. It says that America in the 1930s was either much more open-minded about the abilities of disabled people than we think (and for that matter, far more open-minded than we are now) or that they were willing to be left in the dark as long the important business of state was being handled during crisis times.

That would never happen in the age of 24/7 media, social media, nasty media and media by every citizen with a cell phone. Roosevelt's "secret" would last until the first time he stepped outside, if it lasted that long, and would be followed by immediate demands that he A) disclose every medical detail and B) resign so the country could be run by a healthier person.

Our ignorance of Presidential health did not begin and end with Roosevelt. After Woodrow Wilson had a stroke in 1919, his wife probably ran the nation until he left office in 1921.

Dwight Eisenhower's 1955 heart attack not only didn't cause a national crisis, it didn't stop him from winning re-election in 1956. The modern world is obsessed with John F. Kennedy's sex secrets, but JFK's physical problems would cause today's armchair medics to demand he leave office at once.

The age of total transparency (literally in terms of X-rays and such) probably began with Ronald Reagan's recovery from a 1981 assassination attempt. In the 21st Century, we demand every health detail be disclosed and we cry "conspiracy" when we think it isn't.

With that attitude, we never would have elected Kennedy. We would have demanded Wilson's resignation and we would have told Ike to forget about 1956.

All four show up on lists of America's best Presidents, even the tragically short-termed JFK in some cases - and yes, Ike, whose image has been rising. We certainly would not have given 30 seconds of consideration to wheelchair-bound Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served more than 12 years.

Even if Clinton wound up in a wheelchair, she wouldn't be the first and those who want her out are saying so based entirely on her politics, not her fitness. If we intend to debate the issue of candidates' health, we can start by being honest about that.