September 6, 2016

WaPo's Chris Cillizza says Hillary's health is a "totally ridiculous" issue "and one that if Trump or his Republican surrogates continue to focus on is a surefire loser in the fall."

Why so hysterical, Mr. Cillizza? Maybe he needs a doctor to check that out. Look at that botched syntax:
This is a totally ridiculous issue — for lots of reasons — and one that if Trump or his Republican surrogates continue to focus on is a surefire loser in the fall.
What's he trying to hide? Why is he so sure this is a bad issue? Hypothesis: He's not. He's afraid it's a good issue. What are those "lots of reasons" that make the issue patently ridiculous?
Let's start here: Clinton has released a detailed letter from her personal physician attesting to her overall good health — and making specific reference to her 2012 fall...

So, to believe that something is seriously wrong with Clinton, you have to a) assume her doctor lied and b) that her coughing, which often happens when someone catches a cold or spends a lot of time speaking publicly, is a symptom of her deeper, hidden illness....

The simple fact is that there is zero evidence that anything is seriously wrong with Clinton....

Every second he or his surrogates spend talking about Clinton's health is a lost moment for his campaign. And with 63 days left until the election, he simply can't afford that.
1. The doctor's letter is from July 2015. There could be a new problem.

2. Last week, the media was probing into the credibility of Donald Trump's doctors. Do we think doctors never lie? And quite aside from lying, they can stretch the truth and frame the facts to favor the interests of their client.

3. Cillizza switches to what it would take "to believe that something is seriously wrong with Clinton," but the issue isn't whether it is correct now to believe the something is seriously wrong with her. The issue is only whether something is seriously wrong with her. Is it appropriate or "totally ridiculous" to want to investigate?

4. The coughing is so prolonged and chronic that it is worrisome. If that were your mother coughing like that, you'd take her to the doctor. We're not diagnosing her as having something wrong, just observing a symptom and wanting to know: Is something wrong? It's like Cillizza is playing dumb.

5. "Zero evidence"? Evidence is anything that makes a fact in issue more or less likely to be true. Of course, prolonged, chronic coughing is some evidence of a serious health problem. If I found myself coughing like that, I'd worry enough to go to the doctor. I might want to say oh, that's nothing, but if I kept it up, my husband and sons would all say, no, you don't know it's nothing. You have to go to the doctor. This is how normal life works, and I'm sure Cillizza knows that, so why is he dancing about so insistent on demanding that we see things in an abnormal way? It makes me more suspicious.

6. Cillizza purports to be giving good advice to Trump, but who can read the article and think he's interested in helping Trump? He doesn't want Trump to lose a moment that could be used hitting Hillary with other issues? Yes, he does. If he had a rathole that would suck up Trump campaign time and money, he'd point to it eagerly. Come on, check out this rathole! Ugh! You can see how badly the media have squandered their credibility in this election go-round. I can't believe anything.

141 comments:

Darrell said...

Yeah. Hillary's reaction to the balloons falling down at the DNC was completely normal.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

That's funny. Cilizza thought John McCain's health was very, very important.

Unknown said...

clinton having poor health might be a selling point for some people, myself included.

RonF said...

The media squandered it's credibility long before this campaign even started.

eric said...

Via Instapundit on Chris Cilizza and John McCain.

McCain’s health has long been a topic of discussion in the campaign due to his advanced age — he will be 72 by the time of the November election — and his past medical problems.

McCain himself regularly pokes fun at both his age and his wounds; “I’m older than dirt and I have more scars than Frankenstein,” he jokes with audiences.

But, the Arizona senator’s campaign is well aware that concerns about whether he is well enough and up to the job are potentially perilous for a candidate seeking to win the age versus experience battle with youthful Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) in the fall.

To that end, the McCain campaign knew this day would inevitably come. What was out of their control was what the records would say. Picking how the release of the records would be played in the media, however, was under their control and they sought to control it.


They think we are stupid.

Meade said...

Meanwhile, her opponent just said he's going to release his full medical records. Hope that doesn't cause her to have another coughing spell.

Unknown said...

if hilary clinton really is terminally ill then tim kaine might become "the lesser of two evils" for a lot of people.

buwaya said...

Nobody should ever believe anything coming from these sources.
WaPo is part of the machine, and everything in it is done as part of a coordinated tactical plan.
And everyone published in it is purely a hireling.

Even the news-news is filtered, so you get what they want you to know and you don't get what they don't.

buwaya said...

"They think we are stupid."

Yes.

gerry said...

If Hillary blows a bleb during one of these fits, that would likely take her out of the race. I don't think thoracic pumps are portable yet.

Sebastian said...

The only time the MSM can bring themselves to sound halfway positive about Trump, or any other GOPer, is when they are concern-trolling.

Matt Sablan said...

"if hilary clinton really is terminally ill then tim kaine might become "the lesser of two evils" for a lot of people."

-- Nope. Top of the ticket is what people vote on. VP's are just sort of there unless they can become a campaign issue, like happened with Palin.

Anonymous said...

Some people say she has had a stroke and she attributes it to an allergy to Trump. I suppose that is a voting block among aging progressives.

traditionalguy said...

The side effects of prolonged Levodopa usage include: 1) clumsiness or unsteadiness 2) Confusion 3) difficulty swallowing 4) hand tremor 5) unusual fatigue and 6) uncontrolled movements of the head and upper body.

These side effect in a Parkinson's sufferer are irreversible.

Tim Kaine had better get ready.

Darrell said...

The Democrats were saying Bush I would make it through a second term.

Anonymous said...

The coach needs Sanders warming up in the bullpen.

Rocketeer said...

Sean Davis, you magnificent bastard!

TRISTRAM said...

They think we are stupid.

In the aggregate, 'they' are right.

Anonymous said...

But a health problem like this is unfortunate for her. We all encounter it eventually. Time to slow down and see what is really important. Money is not that important when your health is bad. She can skip Obamacare and buy the best doctors in Switzerland.

Rockport Conservative said...

I know from first hand experience that a cough like that can be caused by some blood pressure medications. I've had one and so has my daughter. Fixing the dosage fixed the cough. Add blood pressure problems to her list of strange symptoms and there is definitely a health issue. Blood pressure probably isn't the most important one.

Hagar said...

And if you looked in the mirror and saw a face as tired as Hillary!'s in that press session on the plane, you would go home, unplug the telephone, and tell Meade not to disturb you on pain of death for at least 48 hours, which you planned on spending in bed.

jacksonjay said...

Did this esteemed MSM rock star really believe that a thirteen month old letter from a physician would prove her wellness? Does he really think the general public is that stupid? I know, dumb question! Lo Info Mofos don't read the WaPo!

Rick said...

Do we think doctors never lie?

This is settled science.

I went down to the demonstration, to get today's share of abuse, and I've got lots of new photos and video from today's demonstration/counter-demonstration, including video of the Tea Party group, audio of Andrew Breitbart speaking, my encounter with the Dane County police who strictly narrowed the entrance to the Tea Party section, and a group of doctors who offering to write doctor's notes for people who'd missed work.

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But I'm sure they only lie for political reasons.

Mike Sylwester said...

Doesn't Chris Cillizza know that his old articles about McCain's health in 2008 are on the Internet?

Doesn't Cillizza care about his professional reputation as a journalist?

Laslo Spatula said...

Hillary's Vaginal Dryness has reached her Throat.

I am Laslo.

Darrell said...

Progressives assume Hillary's health problems are real. They just deny it 'til their death in public.

Hagar said...

But did not Hillary! just have 2 or 3 days like that when she was out of sight and sound and the press were all wondering why she was not campaigning?

Unknown said...


Blogger Matthew Sablan said...
"if hilary clinton really is terminally ill then tim kaine might become "the lesser of two evils" for a lot of people."

-- Nope. Top of the ticket is what people vote on. VP's are just sort of there unless they can become a campaign issue, like happened with Palin.

9/6/16, 2:01 PM


thank you for the clarification. my point is just that people may have to look at the running mates if the top ticket candidate is an inch away from death. in this election, some people might even be happier with that choice. i think a similar line of thinking might have in some ways led to mccain's defeat in 08.

Darrell said...

Hillary went to get her meds adjusted when she took 4 days off. She can't have an incident on camera.

Unknown said...

Well, consider that Hillary's excuse for the email scandal and her shocking incompetence is that she is mentally not there. She didn't testify for a month on Benghazi due to a "fall and concussion" as reported by her.

She's not well, and that's going only off of what she herself has admitted.

Couple that with the obvious health issues she has in public, like her strange balloon issue, the guy with the syringe always at the ready; and her strange need to be helped up stairs and she's always relying on others to hold her up....

The woman is clearly medically unfit for the presidency. At this point, she might as well just go into the wheelchair and try to ape FDR; make her handicap a virtue kind of thing.

--Vance

JRoberts said...

Does Hillary ever NOT wear long sleeves?

Are those long sleeves hiding a shunt or indications of frequent IVs?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

In best tweet ever I said

"If Hillary was a baseball player, with that hacking cough, she would be sent home. No use getting the rest of the team sick."

Rob said...

To believe that Hillary Clinton might be hiding a serious medical or cognitive issue, you'd have to believe she's devious, opportunistic, driven with a near-obsessive intensity to win her place in history as the first female president. And all those things seem so unlike her.

Christopher B said...

Hagar - I don't know if the press is actually mirroring any concern about Hillary's lack of campaign appearances but I've seen references to a few pieces spinning what's happening as a deliberate strategy of 'running out the clock' and 'playing to her strength' of appearing before small audiences (aka avoiding set pieces speeches because she doesn't come off well).

AllenS said...

Lem, post that vid of the Crook coughing something up into the glass of water.

holdfast said...

"Zero evidence"? Evidence is anything that makes a fact in issue more or less likely to be true.

Thank you for writing this - I get so annoyed when some Dem mouthpiece goes on TV and says "There is zero evidence that . . . ". Actually, there's tons of evidence. They could argue that the evidence at hand does not amount to proof, that some of it is exculpatory, etc. - but it's still all evidence.

Brando said...

It might not be the best line of attack in this election--a lot of voters might take comfort in the idea that whoever wins this election will have to resign and hand power over to their VP--but the health question is legitimate. We're about to put an old, overweight person into a high stress job that made Obama look like he aged forty years in only eight. Maybe Trump or Hillary shouldn't be bringing it up about each other, but the media should do its job here.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I believe I will. thanks.

eric said...

People on twitter have pulled all kinds of old quotes of him talking about McCains health. His response? To retweet people calling him gay.

Drago said...

Mike Sylwester: "Doesn't Chris Cillizza know that his old articles about McCain's health in 2008 are on the Internet?"

Yes he does and he doesn't care. For the left, history begins anew each day, making it easier to rewrite it as they go.

Mike Sylvester: "Doesn't Cillizza care about his professional reputation as a journalist?"

Yes he does and he knows that his professional reputation in this day and age will be judged by how he supports his team (as they make up the vast bulk of the media/popular culture).

In the same way that Candy Crowley knew she had to step in to protect obambi despite what you might have thought should be a career ending bit of interference. Au contraire.

Ken B said...

He's consistent: he tells us not to worry about dead voters either.

damikesc said...

HILLARY has claimed that her concussion led to her forget trainings she has taken, more than once, several years prior. She made her health a defense for her criminal actions.

if hilary clinton really is terminally ill then tim kaine might become "the lesser of two evils" for a lot of people.

Tim Kaine is a moronic, bigoted sleazeball.

Gk1 said...

We are beginning to fall into "Bagdad Bob" phase now with the liberals circling the wagons for Hillary. Who are we going to believe? Them or our lying eyes? Look we can make it easy for her and have her try to open a ketchup packet during a photo op at a hot dog stand. If she can do that without stroking out or fainting maybe we can put this morbid speculation behind us!

Ken B said...

Mike Sylwester said:
"Doesn't Chris Cillizza know that his old articles about McCain's health in 2008 are on the Internet?

Doesn't Cillizza care about his professional reputation as a journalist?"

No journalist suffers for showing contempt for readers.

Bob Ellison said...

We need a drone President, with a crack squad of Marines to control it/him/her. That way we won't have to worry about the health issue. Just boot a new drone!

tim in vermont said...

"There is zero evidence that . . . ". Actually, there's tons of evidence.

Maybe if they said "There is literally zero evidence..." It would be more evident that they are speaking figuratively.

tim in vermont said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Curious George said...

"Mike Sylwester said...
Doesn't Chris Cillizza know that his old articles about McCain's health in 2008 are on the Internet?

Doesn't Cillizza care about his professional reputation as a journalist?"

The answers are yes and no. Cilliza cares about keeping his job at the Wapost, and qualifying for future work. His reputation as a professional journalist means carrying the water, not keeping facts straight.

Henry said...

There's a non-zero chance she will have a coughing spell during a debate. That has got to have her handlers worried.

khesanh0802 said...

Ann;
Wonderful response to Cillizza's piece. Your best line "You can see how badly the media have squandered their credibility in this election go-round. I can't believe anything." Here's Taranto's take from Friday: the boys who cried "wolf!"

readering said...

I think hysteria is a word best associated with Drudge's page on Clinton's coughing.

rehajm said...

You can see how badly the media have squandered their credibility in this election go-round. I can't believe anything.

This has been persistent for several of the last presidential cycles. It has just taken some of us longer to recognize it.

tim in vermont said...

I think hysteria is a word best associated with Drudge's page on Clinton's coughing - readering

So what's it like supporting a candidate who as Secretary of State advocated for US involvement in two wars that have turned out disastrously, and who demanded money for meetings?

What is it like to support the American Talleyrand?

An American diplomatic commission was sent to France in July 1797 to negotiate problems that were threatening to break out into war. The diplomats, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry, were approached through informal channels by agents of the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand, who demanded bribes and a loan before formal negotiations could begin.

buwaya said...

"At this point, she might as well just go into the wheelchair and try to ape FDR; make her handicap a virtue kind of thing.

His staff hid FDR's condition by suppressing coverage. Very effectively, if not perfectly.

buwaya said...

"French Foreign Minister Talleyrand'

As per Napoleon, "shit in a silk stocking".
Which was a bit rich coming from Napoleon.

Rosalyn C. said...

Thanks for the info Chris. I googled "transverse sinus venous thrombosis" and found out that this is a rare congenital condition. Only about 4 in 1,000,000 people have it. Basically it is a structural deformity in the vessels which drain blood from the brain. Very rarely diagnosed because it is so rare. Symptoms are headaches and dizziness, sometimes seizures, causes stroke and coma. Lucky for Hillary she had that concussion because that's when the blood clot and her condition were discovered. That's why she's still on anticoagulants and why there's that strange man, not a secret service agent, who is following her with some sort of seizure medication.

Other than that, no big deal. This is one of those odd circumstances where your enemies are actually your friends and your friends are not doing you any big favors, they are enablers.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

How's John McCain doing these days, I wonder?
Remember when his health was an issue--an issue Media moutpieces like the WashPo weren't shy about discussing?

Absolutely hypocritical trash--fuck the Media.

Brando said...

One reform the parties should really implement is to require certain disclosures be made and ratified by party officials before letting anyone on the primary ballot--disclosure of recent physician's report, tax filings, criminal background check, credit report--to make sure all these things are vetted so voters can be aware of any weaknesses before they locked into a nominee. Think how Dems would feel if it came out in October that Hillary was suffering a debilitating illness that could force her to resign (though as noted above, this could help her get elected--voters would be voting for Kaine, not Hillary).

Of course, they knew about her scandals and nominated her anyway, so it probably wouldn't have made a difference.

dbp said...

I think vicari valdez has a solid point: I am not sure how many voters think this deeply, but the thought of a Hillary presidency is less horrifying if there was a solid expectation that her term would be shortened by incapacity.

Martin said...

Actually, it's pretty easy...

1. Whatever the media says about Hillary that is good, don't believe it.
2. Whatever they say about Trump that is bad, don't believe it.
3. Whatever they say about Hillary that is bad, believe it and assume that reality is 10X worse and they can't figure how to block it entirely so they put the best possible spin on it.
4. Whatever they say about Trump that is good, believe it and assume the truth is 10X as good, they are giving you the least they can get away with.

Simple.

Unknown said...

Lem, post that vid of the Crook coughing something up into the glass of water.

It looks like she hacked up the cough drop into the water.

Bilwick said...

Normally the Hillary-health issue wouldn't interest me much (statism being a much more deadly disease as far as society is concerned); but the fact that so many "liberal" spear-carriers and Hillary toadies are giving us the "nothing to see here--keep moving" routine certainly makes me suspicious.

Roy Lofquist said...

"Ugh! You can see how badly the media have squandered their credibility in this election go-round. I can't believe anything."

Hell, they're just catching up with BATFE, IRS, FBI, EPA, FDA, DOJ,... 'Tis the season.

StephenFearby said...

Rockport Conservative said...
"I know from first hand experience that a cough like that can be caused by some blood pressure medications....Add blood pressure problems to her list of strange symptoms and there is definitely a health issue."

Almost all blood pressure medications are prescribed to lower high blood pressure. H's physician last reported that it was 100/65. Trump's blood pressure was reported as 110/65.

"The World Health Organisation (WHO) has defined a blood pressure of below 100 / 60 mmHg in women and less than 110 / 70 mmHg in men as low blood pressure (arterial hypotension).

So, according to WHO standards, both are borderline hypotensives. Strange since both are significantly overweight...which in turn is usually associated with high blood pressure. What gives?

A reasonable hypothesis is higher than normal levels of inflammatory cytokines from poorly modulated immune systems. Think lipid dysregulation and the arachidonic cascade. Several of which are associated with lowering blood pressure.

Overweight people produce a lot more inflammatory cytokines than people with normal weight:

"...General obesity was associated with significantly elevated levels of IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IFN-γ and TNF-α, central obesity with significantly elevated IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13 and IFN-γ-levels. In participants with general obesity, levels of IL-4, IL-10 and IL-13 were significantly elevated in participants with low physical activity, even when controlled ...for BMI which was negatively associated with physical activity. Cytokines significantly correlated with adipometrics, particularly in obese participants."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363366/

Hypotension (according to the WHO standard) is also associated with deficits in executive function:

Clin Auton Res. 2007 Apr; 17(2): 69–76.
Reduced brain perfusion and cognitive performance due to constitutional hypotension

"This review article includes a systematic evaluation of the empirical data concerning deficits in mental ability, brain perfusion, and cerebral functioning due to chronically low blood pressure. A number of studies have provided strong evidence for reduced cognitive performance in hypotension, particularly in the domains of attention and memory. EEG studies have demonstrated that the hypotension-related poorer mental ability is also reflected in diminished cortical activity. Contrary to convention, more recent research has suggested a deficient regulation of cerebral blood flow in persons with low blood pressure."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1858602/

So there you have it. Both presidential candidates are fodder for the composting bin.

Gahrie said...

This is the same hack that tried to make the case that McCain's health was disqualifying.

FullMoon said...

She has fallen several times in recent years. When is the last time any of the geezers commenting here has fallen? Not exactly Gazelle graceful, and literally cannot remember the last time I have fallen down, drunk, or sober.

Wince said...

Cillizza

With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound
He selectively pulls the AP wires down

Helpless people reading on a subway train
Scream bug-eyed as he looks down on them

He picks up the Democrat memes and throw them back down
As he wades through the "evidence" with his liberal blinkers on

Oh no, they say he's got to go WaPo Cillizza
Oh no, there goes WaPo Cillizza

History shows again and again
How nature points up the folly of men

Mountain Maven said...

I pray that Clinton is not seriously ill, and that she loses the election. I could live with Kaine as POTUS, an off the rack Dem, but a Catholic as well.

YoungHegelian said...

This election will be a true four candidate race in which many of the defections will be from the liberal side (since both Stein & Johnson are liberal/left). For the "people who matter", there's waaaaaaaaaay too good of a chance that we might be looking at a President Trump. For the Left, a Trump administration is the secular equivalent of the post-rapture "Left Behind" days for our more literalist Protestant brethren.

If the polls between now & election day turn out to be anything other than an absolute blow-out for Clinton, expect the talking heads to sink to any & all levels of lying chicanery to as they seek to prevent the Trumpian apocalypse.

Like Karen Carpenter used to say: "We've only just begun....".

Dust Bunny Queen said...

When is the last time any of the geezers commenting here has fallen?

About 45 years ago in San Francisco when I was 21 drunk and fell off of my platform shoes. You do the math.

I kind of almost fell a couple of weekends ago when I was riding my bike on a rough trail. Fortunately I caught myself with my left leg before crashing. Does that count? Otherwise, I don't have any difficulty going up stairs by myself and even when carrying my suitcase and overnight case. I may have to huff and puff once past the 3rd story and take a small break.

Then again, I'm not running for the highest office in the land in a country that (used to be) dominates the world. People's lives don't depend on me. My cats might be a bit miffed if they lost their meal ticket for a few days but other than that....meh.

The upside to the Dem's ignoring Hillary's medical conditions is that if she croaks right after election, at least we will be rid of her. Ding Dong the Witch is Dead!

Quaestor said...

if hilary clinton really is terminally ill then tim kaine might become "the lesser of two evils" for a lot of people.

...a lot of stupid people. FIFY

jacksonjay said...

Our MSM betters, are desperate, once agian to be a part of History! They certainly hate Trump and all Republicans, but being a part of a broken glass ceiling is far more important. Book contracts, cable TV panels, bragging rights of all kinds, career advancement, cool kid status, etc. are so important to them that they will never risk screwing it up! So, Cilliza and the like don't care about what they said in the past! That was then, this is NOW!

Hagar said...

I can see Mike Pence as president.
Tim Kaine would be an improvement over Joe Biden, I suppose, but not by much.

Johanna Lapp said...

Lawyers call their customers CLIENTS.
Doctors call their customers PATIENTS.

Xmas said...

I hate to say it, but I'm finding the Parkinson's Disease hypothesis convincing. She seems to be showing progressively worse PD symptoms and some side effects of levodopa.

Thorley Winston said...

One reform the parties should really implement is to require certain disclosures be made and ratified by party officials before letting anyone on the primary ballot

The parties don’t really control who does and does not get to appear on their respective primary ballots. That’s determined by a combination of federal and state election laws. So any “reforms” (like requiring vetting of certain reports) would probably just end up empowering the very same Secretaries of State that George Soros has spent so much coin getting elected.

Tacitus said...

The thing about neurologic disease - strokes primarily but other insults as well - is that subtle symptoms will worsen, or "unmask" under conditons of fatigue or illness. So the real issue is not can H.Clinton do well enough to be proclaimed Super Best Evah winner of a few debates. No, it really is the question of how she will do at 3am when the Red Phone rings. This sort of executive function declines with age anyway....

Hey, remember why we have a 25th amendment? Woodrow Wilson got "fatigued" in November of 1919. His wife, physician, a few aides and a helpful journalist covered it all up. By February of 1920 they had to admit that he had suffered a stroke. So, who was running the country for three months?

I can almost stomach Hillary Clinton. Not like her, not be comfortable, but meh, she has some qualifications. But what gives me the jitters here is who would be running the country if her condition is in fact just a bit worse, and "unmasks" under the considerable stress of the job. Bill? Huma? Chris Cillizza?

We won't know.

Tacitus

Thorley Winston said...

When is the last time any of the geezers commenting here has fallen?

I’m hardly a “geezer” but I’m old enough to remember – back in the days when SNL was considered “funny” – Chevy Chase playing a bumbling parody of Jerry Ford who was seen as constantly falling in every skit that he appeared. It was based on a single incident where Ford (who was actually known for being athletic) once slipped while coming out of Air Force One.

The contrast in the treatment of Democratic nominee for president is striking but not unexpected to anyone who has paid attention.


dreams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ann Althouse said...

"Lawyers call their customers CLIENTS.
Doctors call their customers PATIENTS."

I know. But the patients are clients, and doctors dealing with politicians may act a lot like lawyers in serving their interests. In short, I meant to do that.

dreams said...

"When is the last time any of the geezers commenting here has fallen?"

Yeah, I fell within the last month inside my house after hitting my knee against my recliner while walking by it. I was scared while falling because I have a tile floor but fortunately I landed my elbow and forearm on a ribbed throw rug and wasn't really hurt. That was the first time since I tripped about twenty years ago starting up the stairs of my apartment. I'm not a clumsy person but falling is just something else to worry about as I get older.

Ann Althouse said...

I fell earlier in the summer going off a berm the wrong way on my mountain bike.

I fell about 5 times last winter in the course of ice skating and at least once cross-country skiing.

buwaya said...

Dancing with my daughter six years ago, blew my knee, needed meniscus surgery.

Comanche Voter said...

Well Full Moon, I'm a geezer, and the last time I fell down was in October 2002. I was in a hurry to load the car, and tripped over the dog's leash--and shattered my elbow on the concrete garage floor. So I remember. I was sober at the time, but was multitasking reading my Blackberry and loading the car. So some of us geezers have fallen down (I wasn't quite to full geezerdom then being 59 at the time).

But as for chronic coughs: I have one. It's caused by esophageal reflux--"heart burn" is another name for it. A malfunctioning valve allows stomach acids into the esophagus and you cough. You might cough for a couple of minutes--certainly not twenty minutes. And Mrs. Comanche Voter made danged sure I went to the doctor about it when it started to happen. Medication reduces the frequency of the coughing, but doesn't eliminate it. And since one of my old law partners died from esophageal cancer a year or two ago, one of the questions put to my internist was whether esophageal reflux is a possible cause of esophageal cancer. I liked the answer I got "not likely" but time will tell.

Of the two candidates aka the vulgarian and the crook on offer this November, the vulgarian looks to be in better health. Just as Obama selected Joe Biden as his "insurance policy", Tim Kaine looks like an insurance policy for Hillary. Who would possible want either Biden or Kaine as President?

Yancey Ward said...

Concern trolling is one of Cilliza's specialties at WaPo.

Rob said...

Hillary's Make-a-Wish is to be elected the first woman president.

Michael The Magnificent said...

They think we are stupid.

Half the country has an IQ below 100.

FullMoon said...

Ann Althouse said... [hush]​[hide comment]

I fell earlier in the summer going off a berm the wrong way on my mountain bike.

I fell about 5 times last winter in the course of ice skating and at least once cross-country skiing.


Jogged my memory, 1985-86, drunk riding motorcycle into my shop.

Athletic activities don't count when comparing to Clinton.
Has Trump fallen while walking in this century?

Tom said...

If Hillary has a coughing attack in the debates, she's toast.

MacMacConnell said...

Evil grifter is sick and her health isn't good. She did look relatively good in her ninety second first "press conference" of 2016 till she had her coughing fit. Her new plane is state of the art technology which is why she looked so good on camera. It has a paint booth.

SteveR said...

How many public figures repeatably have coughing spells? Something's wrong, and not easily solved. She's not transparent and people wonder...

The possibility of a simple and truthful explanation, does not exist in her world.

Birches said...

The only person I've known to have coughing fits like Hillary's was a lady in her 50's with COPD. I don't think Hillary has COPD, but 4 minutes worth of coughing is not normal and anyone who watches the video understands that immediately.

I love the campaign as an excuse for the coughing fits. How come no other Presidential candidate has sounded like that? Weak sauce.

Unknown said...

@ Michael the M, that reminds me of a George Carlin joke which goes something like "You wanna know how stupid people are? Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of everybody is stupider than that!"

madAsHell said...

Perhaps, Hillary has whooping cough.

My neighbor claims she was diagnosed with whooping cough. Here's the data from the CDC, and it shows that it has made a resurgence since 2003.

DrSquid said...

"Abnormal thinking: holding false beliefs that cannot be changed by fact"

I just checked the adverse side effects of levodopa (treatment for Parkinson's Disease) and this is the first item listed.

Q.E.D.

William said...

Wilson, FDR, and JFK told some huge whoppers about their health. Are we to believe that Hillary is less guileful than these three great names in the Democratic pantheon. Please. Hillary is quite capable of not only continuing in this tradition but of getting away with it....I'm saddened that so many here don't believe that Hillary can get away with it. FDR was visibly dying when he won his last term. Hillary can survive (politically if not biologically) a coughing fit..

Sprezzatura said...

Althouse needs to find a new angle. Just boilerplate regurgitated Drudge stuff isn't going to make her stand out.

She needs come up with something that will be the equivalent of her previous HRC conspiracy homerun. What will be Althouse's "nig" written in pajamas angle this time?

tim in vermont said...

So is it a conspiracy theory that she accepted millions of dollars in donations from Putin's cronies and approved a deal that gave him a near monopoly on uranium, or is it a proven fact?

Is it a conspiracy that she accepted millions of dollars from the Saudis, then did them a huuuge favor by shutting down Keystone, or is it a fact?

Is it a theory that she has taken millions personally from banks like Goldman Sachs, then, according to reports of those in attendance, she won't release the transcripts, told them not to believe the stuff they heard in the media, and that she would be better for them than the Republicans?

Is it a theory that she bragged about the assassination of Qaddafi?

Is it a theory that she cheerleaded exacerbating the civil war in Syria by arming a faction, or a fact?

Have the refugees from those conflicts swamped Europe or not?

Did she call Juanita Broaddrick a liar when Juanita has all of the evidence, and on Bill's side there is only a simple denial? Is that a conspiracty theory or a fact?\

You don't actually have to read this blog if you don't want, you know. You could write your own cheerleading for Hillary for the next two months!

HT said...

How long has she had the cough?

tim in vermont said...

The only good thing for America the bloodthirsty wench ever did was to stiffen Obama's spine and make sure that bin Laden was killed. Though it might have been nice to capture him, but then he would surely have had to go to Gitmo, so the obvious choice was to kill him and take no prisoners.

Sprezzatura said...

TinV

You shouldn't start your list with a statement that is so detached from reality in precisely naming who did what for precisely whom's benefit to precisely what extent. Presumably, I'm not the only one who sees certifiable BS and decides to move on. Any con who's even half trying could write your first statement so it was complete BS.

I'm not sure if you know that the bones that underlie your first statement are different than the fiction you extrapolated from them, and you like to lie for effect. Or, maybe you believe that statement is true blue.

Anywho, you can try to rewrite your first statement so it's not false. Otherwise, as you noted, I can choose what I want to read. I always scan comment threads for the BSers who are not interesting and the uninteresting folks who may be truthful, those are passed up. Interesting liars and interesting truth tellers are worth a look.

P.S., if you didn't know it, your BS first statement was not interesting.

tim in vermont said...

The headline on the website Pravda trumpeted President Vladimir V. Putin’s latest coup, its nationalistic fervor recalling an era when its precursor served as the official mouthpiece of the Kremlin: “Russian Nuclear Energy Conquers the World.”

The article, in January 2013, detailed how the Russian atomic energy agency, Rosatom, had taken over a Canadian company with uranium-mining stakes stretching from Central Asia to the American West. The deal made Rosatom one of the world’s largest uranium producers and brought Mr. Putin closer to his goal of controlling much of the global uranium supply chain.

But the untold story behind that story is one that involves not just the Russian president, but also a former American president and a woman who would like to be the next one.
- New York Times

You can read the rest in the New York Times. Maybe you can be specific about what was false in my statement then.

Birkel said...

PBandJ:

In your estimation, why did foreigners with interests that were affected by State Department actions give money to the Clinton Foundation while Hillary Clinton was the Secretary of State?

tim in vermont said...

As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One’s chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well. - New York Times

dreams said...

Check this out.

"Wow! Hillary’s Mysterious Handler Pops Up on Plane During Coughing Fit"

"The man is dressed like a secret service agent but his actions prove otherwise.
In a recent campaign stop in a Union Hall in front of a sparse crowd, at about the time when some liberal protesters began to protest, Hillary Clinton suddenly froze. She looked dazed and lost. Seeing this, a group of men rushed to assist the candidate on the stage. One man however gently pats the candidate’s back and then says, “Keep Talking.”"

"An expert on Secret Service tactics told TGP Secret Service agents would not touch a candidate in the manner that this individual did and especially Hillary Clinton. It has been widely reported on Hillary’s disdain for the agents who work to protect her. The man who touches Hillary may be a member of Hillary’s close staff – but he is NOT a Secret Service agent.

Mike Cernovich pointed out earlier that Hillary’s handler carries what looks like a Diazepam pen."

"What is diazepam?
Diazepam is a benzodiazepine (ben-zoe-dye-AZE-eh-peens). It affects chemicals in the brain that may be unbalanced in people with anxiety.

Diazepam is used to treat anxiety disorders, alcohol withdrawal symptoms, or muscle spasms. Diazepam is sometimes used with other medications to treat seizures."

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/09/wow-hillarys-mysterious-handler-pops-plane-coughing-fit/

Crimso said...

Diazepam is Valium, for those more familiar with that name.

tim in vermont said...

The Clinton Foundation is a place where Clinton loyalists are parked on a payroll.

In January 2015, Braverman announced his resignation. Politico attributed the move to being "partly from a power struggle inside the foundation between and among the coterie of Clinton loyalists who have surrounded the former president for decades and who helped start and run the foundation." - Wikipedia

Charitable grants are not a major focus of the Clinton Foundation, which instead keeps most of its money in house and hires staff to carry out its own humanitarian programs.[8] Because of this unusual structure for a foundation, Charity Navigator, a charity watchdog, has said it does not have a methodology to rate the Clinton Foundation.[8] Consequently, they added the foundation to their charity "watch list" in April 2015; it was removed from the "watch list" in December 2015 after the charity posted amended tax returns and a public memo on its website.[9] A different charity monitor, CharityWatch, says that 88% of the foundation's money goes toward its charitable mission and gave the foundation an A rating for 2016. In 2015, based on revenue of $223 million and an expense ratio of 12% the foundation spent in excess of $26 million to complete its mission.

So they hire people, loyalists, political operatives, and supporters, and put them on the payroll to do charity work, ostensibly, but the main purpose is to keep their network of political supporters on a payroll. That's what they mean by "says that 88% of the foundation's money goes toward its charitable mission" That Clinton loyalists are being paid to do "charitable work."

It is a huge money laundering operation.

Basically Hillary is an American Talleyrand

An American diplomatic commission was sent to France in July 1797 to negotiate problems that were threatening to break out into war. The diplomats, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry, were approached through informal channels by agents of the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand, who demanded bribes and a loan before formal negotiations could begin. Wikipedia on the XYZ affair. Hopelessly provincial Americans were shocked that the Foreign Minister (Secretary of State) demanded personal money before beginning official negotiations. Losers!

Sprezzatura said...

Birkel,

Rich folks give money to charity. WJC et al hit up rich folks to give money to their charity. The great prize of a meeting at State w/ someone who was spending big dough on charities focused on issues that the US State Department also cares about and who was already getting a meeting through normal channels is a nothing burger. Also, someone who has a track record serving suffering folks then having their name passed around because they'd like to do public service w/ State, is a yawn. And, Huma turning down some request from some loser has no juice.

Also, Charity Watch didn't give the Foundation an "A" because the Clintons are pocketing 90-ish% of the dough. For that matter, the Clintons don't even have salaries from the Foundation.

tim in vermont said...

No, they are not pocketing the dough, they are using it for political purposes.

For example, from Politico, "Clinton Foundation paid Blumenthal $10K per month while he advised on Libya"

Politico

What kind of advice was Hillary getting from Syd Vicious?

“First, brava! This is a historic moment and you will be credited for realizing it,” he wrote in the August 22, 2011 memo to Clinton. “When Qaddafi himself is finally removed, you should of course make a public statement before the cameras wherever you are, even in the driveway of your vacation house. You must go on camera. You must establish yourself in the historical record at this moment. The most important phrase is ‘successful strategy.’”

Sydney Blumenthal email to HRC

This is the Libya strategy that turned into the "shit show" (Obama's words) that has greatly contributed to the refugee crisis in Europe.

If you think this kind of thing is what charities do, then no wonder you support Clinton.

tim in vermont said...

In case you are going to claim that this was just advice from an old friend that she ignored, there is this:

you should of course make a public statement before the cameras wherever you are, even in the driveway of your vacation house. You must go on camera. You must establish yourself in the historical record at this moment.

So what did she say when she went before the cameras?

We Came! We saw! He died!

Watch it before you call me a liar, if you can stomach her chortling over such a tragic war.

tim in vermont said...

Hillary does not have the judgement to be president. She is not smart enough, she is far too careless with people's lives, she has given off the stink of corruption since her days in Arkansas bilking hillbillies out of their retirement savings with her Whitewater scheme and holding up companies that Bill was regulating as governor for personal bribes. The stink has only gotten worse because of enablers like yourself, PB&J.

We could have been talking about ideas in this election, but the fix was in for Hillary and the facts about her were ignored by the powers behind the DNC.

Birkel said...

PBandJ:

Your feigned credulity is a marvelous thing to behold.

Sprezzatura said...

TinV,

We can agree that Qaddafi was a bad dude (as Trump may say), i.e. a terrorist. Right?

Also, your timeline is off. The HRC clip occurred the moment she was overseas when an aid told her about Qaddafi's death. The Blumenthal email advice came after that was filmed.

Sprezzatura said...

Maybe you knew the real timeline, and you decided to go w/ a BS timeline anyway. Maybe you didn't know.

Which one was it?

tim in vermont said...

The Blumenthal email advice came after that was filmed.

“When Qaddafi himself is finally removed, you should of course make a public statement

"We came! We saw! He died!" - HRC

Using only simple logic, I bet even you can see through your partisan blinders and see which came first.

tim in vermont said...

Whether Qaddafi was a bad dude or not, I thought that America had settled the issue on whether we should be forcibly removing dictators by starting wars in foreign countries. Do you agree that Saddam was a bad dude? Should we have gone into Iraq for that reason? Hillary voted for it, "with conviction!" Her words.

Qaddafi had given up his nuclear program and was keeping a lid on the terrorism coming from his country. Of course a lot of it is now controlled by ISIS, thank you Hillary!

tim in vermont said...

You should ask your boss for better talking points, not the truth, of course, that would be out of the question, but at least defensible talking points that hold together and account for the known facts.

narciso said...

chris cilizza is a journolist, also one of the dimmer ones,

tim in vermont said...


An Italian coast guard vessel is seen with an helicopter during the search and rescue operation underway after a boat carrying migrants capsized overnight, with up to 700 feared dead, in this still image taken from video April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Guardia Costiera/Handout via Reuters TV


Heck of a job, Hillary!

That's just one! She's the farce that launched a thousand ships!

Sprezzatura said...

TinV,

So you didn't know that the date of the Blumenthal email was after the date of the HRC clip that you posted.

Got it.

"Qaddafi had given up his nuclear program and was keeping a lid on the terrorism coming from his country."

The cool thing about this is that at least one con in these threads (in the past) claimed that he stopped stop pursuing nukes when W went into Iraq because he was afraid of W. As w/ TinV, these cons have the timeline backwards. Qaddafi was caught importing nuke stuff to speed up his development AFTER the Iraq invasion.

tim in vermont said...

So you didn't know that the date of the Blumenthal email was after the date of the HRC clip that you posted.

So you are claiming that Blumenthal wrote that when Qaddafi was already dead? Let's check the timeline.

The memo: "” he wrote in the August 22, 2011 memo"

Qaddafi's day of death: 20 October 2011, same day as the quote

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/clinton-on-qaddafi-we-came-we-saw-he-died/

So what fucking timeline are you referring to?

And are you justifying the clusterfuck in Libya based on WMD? Is that what I am hearing? Didn't you neocons learn your lesson in Iraq?

tim in vermont said...

Blumenthal was working for the Clinton Foundation when he wrote that memo, BTW, at 10K a month.

Blumenthal was added to the payroll of the Clintons’ global philanthropy in 2009 — not long after advising Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign — at the behest of former president Bill Clinton, for whom he had worked in the White House, say the sources.

While Blumenthal’s foundation job focused on highlighting the legacy of Clinton’s presidency, some officials at the charity questioned his value and grumbled that his hiring was a favor from the Clintons, according to people familiar with the foundation. They say that, during a 2013 reform push, Blumenthal was moved to a consulting contract that came with a similar pay rate but without benefits — an arrangement that endured until March.[2015]


So the charitable work was advocating for a disastrous war in North Africa.

tim in vermont said...

Funny how this stuff ties together so neatly if you just assume Hillary is a somewhat dim, completely self-interested liar who shouldn't be allowed near a cap gun, much less the nuclear football.

tim in vermont said...

The cool thing about this is that at least one con in these threads (in the past) claimed that he stopped stop pursuing nukes when W went into Iraq because he was afraid of W. As w/ TinV, these cons have the timeline backwards. Qaddafi was caught importing nuke stuff to speed up his development AFTER the Iraq invasion.


On 19 December 2003, Gaddafi announced that Libya would voluntarily eliminate all materials, equipment and programs that could lead to internationally proscribed weapons, including weapons of mass destruction and long-range ballistic missiles.

Iraq Invasion, March of 2003.

Your statement makes no sense whatsoever. I suppose that if we found evidence of a nuclear program in Libya after demolishing the Libyan state that would have been protecting it, your statement would make some kind of sense, but no nukes have shown up in Libya.

What Hillary taught the world in Libya is "Whatever you do, don't give up your nukes!"

Sprezzatura said...

TinV,

I misremembered the emails date. And, I was too lazy to look for the quote myself. Obviously this is my error, but it wouldn't kill you to have links to the quotes you pull in. Right?

Doing the search myself, I see that, as you noted, Blumenthal advised HRC two months ahead of the death that the most important phrase is "successful strategy." This reminds me of W's photo-op setup folks thinking it's okay to stand in front of a sign that says "mission accomplished" before the bigger picture mission is accomplished. Also, looking at that email, you cons must have liked Blumenthal criticizing the "leading from behind" thing. Anywho, I think we can all agree that BHO was wise to keep Blumenthal outside the government. I'm a consensus builder.

Even so, now that I'm up to date w/ the timeline, what precisely is the smoking gun here? What evil does this email that was sent two months before the death prove?

Sprezzatura said...

TinV,

Sanctions go off Libya in Sept of 03, w/ US abstaining so the sanctions are lifted.

Then, in Oct of 03 the ship w/ nuke parts is caught.

https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/LibyaChronology

gnossos said...

Jeez, PB&J

I've cut you some slack. Figurin' a fellow fan of Gram couldn't be all bad.

But give it up dude.

While you still have maybe just a tinge of decency left...

Achilles said...

"She has fallen several times in recent years. When is the last time any of the geezers commenting here has fallen?"

16 years ago I was doing back flips in tumbling class off of 4 feet of stacked up crash pads down onto the wrestling mat floor. I over rotated and hit my head hard enough to cause seizures, 18 hours of unconsciousness, and a subdural hematoma. The Hospital in Pullman missed the subdural hematoma and sent me home. 5 days after the accident I started having crushing headaches. Days 8 and 9 are what I use to set 10 on my 1-10 pain scale as I spent them curled up in the fetal position. Day 9 the pain all went away in a moment of clarity. When I stood up I feel over because the right side of my body collapsed. On the way to the hospital I gradually lost verbal capabilities except expletives. I obviously had to have the hematoma drained and spent about 9 months recovering.

I hope I don't eventually get parkinsons like Hillary did.

Achilles said...

"Julian Assange: We Have Thousands of Cables Hillary Signed with “C” for Confidential- She Told FBI She Didn’t Know What It Meant"

How brazen will the democrats be this time around?

MacMacConnell said...

The Clinton Foundation is nothing more than a graft and money laundering operation to get around campaign finance laws. It does little to help the people of the world, other than it's donors, employees and sustain the Clinton political machine while the Clintons were out of White House. It was and is nothing more than a graft scam and holding pen for Clinton political operatives for Hillary's future campaigns.

Bruce Hayden said...

The funny thing about the Clinton foundation is that the only things that it really seems to do is provide first class airfare and five star accommodations for the Clintons and their cronies, and to hire those cronies when they need money. At a minimum, we know that it hired Blumenthal after Obama refused to let Crooked Hillary do so as a State Sept employee, and hired Huma Abedin when she was already pulling down a maximum federal salary after her husband lost his job setting as Carlos Danger. Both also had consulting gigs on the side too. This is the foundation that apparently only spends maybe 5% of income on charitable causes, and the rest on salaries and overhead.

Mentioning Blumenthal - a friend reminded us yesterday of the compartmentalized intelligence found in Crooked Hillary's emails mere hours after it was released in highly classified channels by the national security community (don't remember if it came from the CIA or NSA). Blumenthal didn't have a security clearance at the time, and parts of the email were verbatim from the highly classified document. But he was a Clinton foundation employee at the time. The obvious question is why he was never seriously investigated for this.

Something this guy also said, which is that he had personally briefed Crooked Hillary on classified matters, and when they briefed people at her level, they always prefaced their briefings with the security level of the information that they are going to discuss. Always. Is she, the woman who was one of four original classifiers in the federal govt, really as dumb as she pretended with the FBI? I doubt it. I believe it far more likely that she is using her fall (and maybe stroke) as a cover for intentionally not remembering what was a day-to-day occurance with her as Secretary of State. She can't have it both ways - she can't run on her experience in these govt posts, and then contend that she doesn't remember key parts of what she did every day in those posts.

Bruce Hayden said...

I find it interesting that the Crooked Hillary campaign tried to hide the existence of the big black dude who seems to be her personal nurse (or Doctor, but I think more likely a nurse). The guy who usually tends to be dressed like Secret Service, and blends into them, unless and until he is needed. I would have thought that they would have replaced him, after he had become so well known, and esp after being seen with that injector in his hand. But, apparently not. Be interesting during the debates, if they start going poorly for her, if he has to come up and n stage behind her to pat her on the back, or something. We can only hope.

MayBee said...

The ABC news clip at gateway pundit is weird. She looks like she has a moment of confusion and panic in the middle of her speech.

Anyway.....remember when everyone was crazy to think John and Elizabeth Edwards were anything but a loving couple? Why do people in the press think they can just tell us not to think politicians will do almost literally anything to become POTUS?

MayBee said...

Maybe Donald Trump could just release a 3-page note from his accountant stating the health of his taxes.

That would clear up all questions, right?

tim in vermont said...

Even so, now that I'm up to date w/ the timeline, what precisely is the smoking gun here? What evil does this email that was sent two months before the death prove?

A, you called me a liar twice on that. Just like you called me a liar on Putin and the uranium deal, where you also got beat up. I will be happy to beat you up on any of the other points if you want to call me a liar on any of them. Please be specific this time.

B, I guess if you are a neocon who doesn't learn from touching a hot stove, and if you think that the Iraq invasion in 2003 was a great idea, and should be repeated over and over, you might think that Hillary's actions were reasonable.

C, Blumenthal was collecting 10K a month from the Clinton Foundation when he was sending advice to Hillary advocating the Libyan war, and taking sides in the Syrian civil war. That counted as money spent for charitable purposes.


Is she, the woman who was one of four original classifiers in the federal govt, really as dumb as she pretended with the FBI? I doubt it.

That is the simplest explanation.

Daniel Jackson said...

The FDR case here is more than apt. Roosevelt was very guarded about not just his visible disability; but, with other more severe issues. One might even say, the wheelchair was a wonderful decoy:

"References to FDR’s paralyzed legs did not end with his election. Faced with a manifestly energetic president in a time of national crisis, however, the press had more important things to cover. After the public rendered its verdict in 1932, his health was never a significant political issue again until the 1944 campaign, when he was visibly deteriorating. Then, the White House was indeed less than informative, but at issue were heart disease and exhaustion rather than polio. (One alarming sign, however, as Time noted, was that for a while he “virtually abandoned the uncomfortable braces which make walking possible for him and hold him up while standing.” A week later his chief physician reassured the press that the president was swimming again, adding that “the buoyancy of the water enables him to walk and he gets exercise that he can’t get any other way.”) In the countless attacks on a controversy-riddled administration, FDR’s polio was rarely a target—not because it was taboo, but because it had ceased to be relevant. “It’s not a story,” Early would answer when asked about the president’s handicap, and he was largely right."

[Christopher Clausen, FDR's Hidden Handicap, Wilson Quarterly, 2005, http://archive.wilsonquarterly.com/essays/fdrs-hidden-handicap]

However, "he" was not largely right. FDR did not last but months after his fourth term began.

FDR did not like to be photographed in his chair nor seen needing assistance. His grandson, Curtis Roosevelt, wrote in the NYTimes, 1998 [http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/05/opinion/05iht-edcurl.t.html, the press tacitly cooperated with FDR in not covering his health or his disability.

"The press tacitly agreed to not take pictures of FDR in his wheelchair. When he was settled in his chair there would be lots of photos, but not before. Journalists, with whom he met regularly, never talked to FDR about the fact that he could not walk. It would have been rude to raise the topic with the president — or even to seem to be aware of his useless legs. In those days people had a different view of privacy, even when it came to public figures."

But, Hillary, and Bill for that matter, is no FDR. Well, perhaps from the same social class mixed with a bit of "trailer trash" (not the people who live therein; the refuse). The comparison of secrecy and putting on a Happy Face is directly applicable.

If a person wants to obtain a license to command a ship or vessel from the US Coast Guard, there is the Code of Federal Regulations require a medical examination first demonstrating physical competence. There are several maladies that are considered to be grounds of incompetence. Seizures, diabetes, heart disease are among the many on that list. The same is true for other modes of employment to defend and uphold the US Constitution.

Like Lawyers, Doctors maintain confidentiality with their CLIENTS. In some cases, this relationship can be compromised (I leave to Madame Althouse to provide correction). It is not just the issue that people die when Hillary lies or does not lie. The issue is her physical competence, in spite of the other qualifications, to defend and uphold the office of the President.

Personally, I think the issue is secondary. The primary issue is whether or not she is competent experientially. Frankly, I prefer Tammy Wynette. https://youtu.be/DwBirf4BWew

Daniel Jackson said...

The FDR case here is more than apt. Roosevelt was very guarded about not just his visible disability; but, with other more severe issues. One might even say, the wheelchair was a wonderful decoy:

"References to FDR’s paralyzed legs did not end with his election. Faced with a manifestly energetic president in a time of national crisis, however, the press had more important things to cover. After the public rendered its verdict in 1932, his health was never a significant political issue again until the 1944 campaign, when he was visibly deteriorating. Then, the White House was indeed less than informative, but at issue were heart disease and exhaustion rather than polio. (One alarming sign, however, as Time noted, was that for a while he “virtually abandoned the uncomfortable braces which make walking possible for him and hold him up while standing.” A week later his chief physician reassured the press that the president was swimming again, adding that “the buoyancy of the water enables him to walk and he gets exercise that he can’t get any other way.”) In the countless attacks on a controversy-riddled administration, FDR’s polio was rarely a target—not because it was taboo, but because it had ceased to be relevant. “It’s not a story,” Early would answer when asked about the president’s handicap, and he was largely right."

[Christopher Clausen, FDR's Hidden Handicap, Wilson Quarterly, 2005, http://archive.wilsonquarterly.com/essays/fdrs-hidden-handicap]

However, "he" was not largely right. FDR did not last but months after his fourth term began.

FDR did not like to be photographed in his chair nor seen needing assistance. His grandson, Curtis Roosevelt, wrote in the NYTimes, 1998 [http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/05/opinion/05iht-edcurl.t.html, the press tacitly cooperated with FDR in not covering his health or his disability.

"The press tacitly agreed to not take pictures of FDR in his wheelchair. When he was settled in his chair there would be lots of photos, but not before. Journalists, with whom he met regularly, never talked to FDR about the fact that he could not walk. It would have been rude to raise the topic with the president — or even to seem to be aware of his useless legs. In those days people had a different view of privacy, even when it came to public figures."

But, Hillary, and Bill for that matter, is no FDR. Well, perhaps from the same social class mixed with a bit of "trailer trash" (not the people who live therein; the refuse). The comparison of secrecy and putting on a Happy Face is directly applicable.

If a person wants to obtain a license to command a ship or vessel from the US Coast Guard, there is the Code of Federal Regulations require a medical examination first demonstrating physical competence. There are several maladies that are considered to be grounds of incompetence. Seizures, diabetes, heart disease are among the many on that list. The same is true for other modes of employment to defend and uphold the US Constitution.

Like Lawyers, Doctors maintain confidentiality with their CLIENTS. In some cases, this relationship can be compromised (I leave to Madame Althouse to provide correction). It is not just the issue that people die when Hillary lies or does not lie. The issue is her physical competence, in spite of the other qualifications, to defend and uphold the office of the President.

Personally, I think the issue is secondary. The primary issue is whether or not she is competent experientially. Frankly, I prefer Tammy Wynette. https://youtu.be/DwBirf4BWew

damikesc said...

Think how Dems would feel if it came out in October that Hillary was suffering a debilitating illness that could force her to resign (though as noted above, this could help her get elected--voters would be voting for Kaine, not Hillary).

Hillary owned the DNC. That is going to be the issue. The Dem frontrunner tends to own the party most cycles. They hero worship like nothing else.

This is the first year where Republican hero worship for Trump approached Dem hero worship for whatever slug they run for office.

She has fallen several times in recent years. When is the last time any of the geezers commenting here has fallen?

Dole fell of a stage once in his campaign.

That was news.

Hillary? Apparently not so much.

The great prize of a meeting at State w/ someone who was spending big dough on charities focused on issues that the US State Department also cares about and who was already getting a meeting through normal channels is a nothing burger.

People get convicted of quid pro quo on less concrete evidence than we have here.

Do we need a President who is, literally, above the law? Because Hillary absolutely is that.

Also, someone who has a track record serving suffering folks then having their name passed around because they'd like to do public service w/ State, is a yawn.

What suffering people has Clinton helped? They robbed Haiti blind.

We can agree that Qaddafi was a bad dude (as Trump may say), i.e. a terrorist. Right?

Less bad than Saddam and under control at the time. So it was utterly pointless and has led to massive global problems. The rape attacks in Germany on New Year's were caused by her asinine policy.

Also, Blumenthal might be the most loathsome person to ever exist. And Hillary ADORES him. Your friends you chose to be around speaks volumes.

This reminds me of W's photo-op setup folks thinking it's okay to stand in front of a sign that says "mission accomplished" before the bigger picture mission is accomplished.

The ship he was landing on --- THEIR mission was accomplished.

Try better.

Hillary stole "charitable" money to pay a sleaze merchant to recommend she engage in an asinine policy to remove a no-longer-threatening dictator and destabilize the entire ME. After giving Russia --- who she claims is a huge threat to the US even though they haven't really changed at all --- our uranium and THEN having the audacity to claim that Trump is in Russia's back pocket.

If her goal was to cause mass havoc globally --- what, precisely, would she have done differently than what she did?

gerry said...

Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus, the reason Hillary's health is a valid issue.

grackle said...

Cillizza purports to be giving good advice to Trump, but who can read the article and think he's interested in helping Trump? He doesn't want Trump to lose a moment that could be used hitting Hillary with other issues? Yes, he does.

It has been amusing watching various anti-Trumpsters giving campaign advice to Trump.

Another thing that they believe Trump should stop: The rallies, because, because, well … they never actually get around to why they think the rallies should cease, usually, except for occasional oblique, indirect implications about racism.

It’s those huge crowds, as opposed to Hillary’s pathetic little gatherings, that bugs them. Those crowds shatter the narration that Trump is doomed, bound to lose and the wrong nominee that was mistakenly chosen by the stupid GOP primary voters.

Trump controls those crowds, rarely less than tens of thousands, and feeds on the energy they project to him. Their size seems limited only by the capacity of the venue. He talks to those crowds, converses directly with them in a way Hillary never could to hers. And they have to show this because they cannot operate without video and the video of any Trump rally is always the same: Trump basking in the loving glow of his thousands of rally attendees.

After the Mexico visit, in which Trump was supposed to fail miserably but didn’t, their day was somewhat brightened by the fact that on that same day Trump made a fiery immigration speech at a rally. That blunt speech was supposed to negate the Mexico visit triumph by turning off potential Trump supporters but surprise, surprise, it did not. Instead it only seemed to strengthen Trump in the polls afterwards because all of a sudden, after being declared dead by EVERY cable channel including FoxNews, Trump and Hillary are TIED. Horror of horrors – could this mean Trump has a chance come November!

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