Hillary Clinton has been... less than forthcoming on her health. (Image Credit: Flickr / Gage Skidmore)
Last week, I wrote about the inanity of questioning Hillary Clinton’s health. She had a cough, she’d had a concussion several years ago, sure. But the woman stood and delivered coherent answers, on stage and on camera for hours at a time, eight debates solid. Then she criss-crossed this great land in campaign mode for the better part of twelve months.
The title of that article neatly summarized my argument: “Hillary Clinton Health Crisis: Not Much To See Here, Folks.” Except…
There is “much” to see. In fact, you can watch Clinton nearly hit pavement in this clip, rescued (mercifully) by several members of her entourage. (She left a 9/11 memorial service early, purportedly due to “overheating.” New York temps sat in the low 80s, according to weather reports).
Plenty of other topics deserve attention. I’d prefer to write about Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” label for Trump supporters, or Mike Pence’s subsequent refusal to pin that “deplorable” label on KKK leader, David Duke. We should probably chat further about Trump’s unabated love for Russian President, Vladimir Putin, because electing an American president who has that kind of salivating passion for a murdering, oppressive thug is definitely something we should not do.
But something else we should not do is carry water for politicians. And it is emphatically not my purpose here to cover for anyone.
If Clinton has serious medical concerns, let's hear them. Because we have a right to know that when we vote for someone, that someone has the stamina to do the job (of being President, yes, but in the here and now, the immediate job of defeating Donald Trump).
So let me put it bluntly: Clinton should have been up front about her health.
According to her press release, Clinton was diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday (Sep. 9).
Okay. Alright. It would have been nice to have known that on Friday, but I’ll play here.
Why, then, the original excuse of “overheating” two days later, Sep. 11? Why not just tell everyone… the truth? Like: “Secretary Clinton regrets that she had to leave the 9/11 memorial service early, but she has been recently diagnosed with pneumonia, and felt it a prudent choice to avoid over-exerting her energies.”
Or look, I’m not a style snob. How ‘bout just get to the point: “Hillary’s got pneumonia. She’ll be taking the week off. Peace.”
Instead, there is the familiar Clintonian secrecy: Problems get denied. Facts get obfuscated. Press gets shut out. Truth gets told only after it is there, on camera, uploaded, online, incontrovertible.
This is enormously problematic. Enormously. We teeter now on a frightful precipice: Trump becoming president is, really, a possibility.
If Clinton has serious medial concerns, let’s hear them. Because we have a right to know that when we vote for someone, that someone has the stamina to do the job. And not just the job of being president, either.
We need someone who can do the job of running an effective, relentless campaign. Had the Republicans nominated someone not named Donald Trump, this would be less of an issue. But it is imperative that the Democratic nominee defeat him, because he is a new, abnormal, imminent threat to what we recognize and take for granted in America’s political and governmental “normalcy.”
No more excuses. Let’s see those doctor’s notes.
