A vote for Hillary is a vote for president Kaine.
1
"(Next up: Judge Judy hears the Trump University lawsuit.)"
Hey, let's be fair here. Judge Judy doesn't tolerate double talk and wishy-washy answers. Although obviously she does certain things for entertainment value, she wouldn't allow Drumpf to get away with his usual shenanigans. I can just see it: he makes a claim, then walks it back two minutes later, then right on cue, Judge Judy says...
"Do you want to see the tape? We can replay the tape for you."
Then they replay the tape and he still denies it, but, well... there's no fixing that.
Hey, let's be fair here. Judge Judy doesn't tolerate double talk and wishy-washy answers. Although obviously she does certain things for entertainment value, she wouldn't allow Drumpf to get away with his usual shenanigans. I can just see it: he makes a claim, then walks it back two minutes later, then right on cue, Judge Judy says...
"Do you want to see the tape? We can replay the tape for you."
Then they replay the tape and he still denies it, but, well... there's no fixing that.
33
I laughed and laughed till tears rolled down my eyes reading Frank Bruni's article on Hillary Clinton's Sick Days. Absolutely superb writing, funny but so true.
Keep it up New York Times.
Keep it up New York Times.
20
Just imagine the din of manufactured GOP outrage if Hilliary had decided not to attend the 9-11 ceremonies and take care of herself instead.
67
Thank you, Frank Bruni, for inserting some sanity into the otherwise ridiculous coverage of Clinton's pneumonia diagnosis.
26
@ Richard Luettgen -
Did you really read Bruni's column before you got your hackles up? First of all, yeah Bruni is supporting Clinton. So? He's a columnist who states his opinion. Quelle surprise? Non, pas de tout.
And, show me one teeny tiny example of Trump so-called "break dancing". Did you miss the part about Trump jetting around in his plush plane and going home to sleep in his comfy bed? You call that break dancing? Ushered from limo to stage with an occasional stop off in a diner?
Furthermore, Trump doesn't hold a withered birthday candle to Clinton's intelligence and vast experience.
Did you really read Bruni's column before you got your hackles up? First of all, yeah Bruni is supporting Clinton. So? He's a columnist who states his opinion. Quelle surprise? Non, pas de tout.
And, show me one teeny tiny example of Trump so-called "break dancing". Did you miss the part about Trump jetting around in his plush plane and going home to sleep in his comfy bed? You call that break dancing? Ushered from limo to stage with an occasional stop off in a diner?
Furthermore, Trump doesn't hold a withered birthday candle to Clinton's intelligence and vast experience.
59
"His hissy fits are worse than her coughing fits"? That's your new campaign slogan for Hillary? How inspiring! Pathetic.
11
You just refuse to stop being tribal in your analysis.
6
Judge Judy would nail him!
27
Doesn't anyone else get sick of Frank Bruni's endless snipes at HRC, even when he's preferring her to her opponent?
Look at the issues that are important to you and your readers, Mr. Bruni, and put you support wholeheartedly behind this strong and inclusive candidate.
Look at the issues that are important to you and your readers, Mr. Bruni, and put you support wholeheartedly behind this strong and inclusive candidate.
14
Hillary's secrecy? What else do you want to know? You are just feeding the media created misogynyistic idea of mistrust. We know more of her than any other candidate as a result of Republican, tax funded witch hunts coupled with lack of journalistic professional judgement, media's laziness and slopiness.
This article lacks any substance to support your claim of desire for privacy. Do we know all we need to from you, Mr. Bruni? Are there things you keep to yourself, even from those closest to you?
Good grief! Enough already! I do NOT want to know of minor health issues of politicians, including those of Sec. Clinton.
This article lacks any substance to support your claim of desire for privacy. Do we know all we need to from you, Mr. Bruni? Are there things you keep to yourself, even from those closest to you?
Good grief! Enough already! I do NOT want to know of minor health issues of politicians, including those of Sec. Clinton.
35
How could she lose yet another opportunity to improve her rapport with Americans? What poor advice she is getting from the tribe that is so fiercely loyal to her! Imagine the positive impact if she could just say a few straightforward things such as: Have you ever been working so hard for something so important that you just ignored some signs of illness and pushed on? Haven't you at least once just hoped you could power through it and then found out you had to pay attention to your health?
She's missed an opportunity to have the impact of Sarah Palin's lipstick-hockey mom - pitbull remark.
She's missed an opportunity to have the impact of Sarah Palin's lipstick-hockey mom - pitbull remark.
4
Politics aside, how can any of you condone, or at least not condemn an elderly woman, collapsing on a street in a busy city, not being take to ER/Urgent Care or in fact, any type of medical facility?
What so many of the apologetic sheep WON'T see is that this is very, very strange and unusual behavior. Beyond unusual, bizarre.
If you are not honest enough with yourself to even admit this, the conversation is dead, but if you are honest with yourself, you must be willing to ask yourself why? Why avoid a medical facility?
The so called pneumonia is not the real issue, but the amazing recovery, without a trip to a medical facility is problematic for the senses of the discerning public!
What so many of the apologetic sheep WON'T see is that this is very, very strange and unusual behavior. Beyond unusual, bizarre.
If you are not honest enough with yourself to even admit this, the conversation is dead, but if you are honest with yourself, you must be willing to ask yourself why? Why avoid a medical facility?
The so called pneumonia is not the real issue, but the amazing recovery, without a trip to a medical facility is problematic for the senses of the discerning public!
16
"Running for president..........it's brutal". And actually BEING president isn't brutal? If she cannot take care of herself as her doctor ordered, will she be able to take care of her self as the doctor may order when she is president? Pneumonia can be fatal. One should never take a diagnosis of pneumonia as just a little something.
Furthermore, had she told the public she had pneumonia (the honest thing to do) and was taking a couple of days off, she would have been following her doctor's orders. She made things much worse for herself by not following her doctor's orders and then having the problems she had at the 911 events.
The woman NEVER seems to learn that honesty is the best policy. And that is why I question her judgments.
Furthermore, had she told the public she had pneumonia (the honest thing to do) and was taking a couple of days off, she would have been following her doctor's orders. She made things much worse for herself by not following her doctor's orders and then having the problems she had at the 911 events.
The woman NEVER seems to learn that honesty is the best policy. And that is why I question her judgments.
10
Doesn't seem to affect Trump.......
And neither does the negative propaganda press. And.......apparently Bruni is not a golfer.
And neither does the negative propaganda press. And.......apparently Bruni is not a golfer.
3
We need a break from all the Clinton-Trump-media nonsense, which is anything but attention to the real issues needing to be addressed in this country. This country really is becoming unglued--divided we fall.
So here is a bit of human comedy from North Carolina, where Trump protesters confronted Trump supporters after a Trump rally.
According to the Washington Post, Trump protestors shouted insults at T. supporters such as “Grow a brain, b----!” Another protestor yelled at T. supporters: “Racist a------s!” And a third held a sign: “Make racists afraid again.” The protesters then chanted together: “Love trumps hate! Love trumps hate! Love trumps hate!”
A Trump supporter who was interviewed said she was disgusted by the behavior of the Trump protesters. She complained, “They have these vulgar signs, yet they’re screaming about love…. And we’re the ones that are intolerant? We’re deplorable and intolerant? Well, we just found out that we’re deplorable. We thought that we were just intolerant.”
So here is a bit of human comedy from North Carolina, where Trump protesters confronted Trump supporters after a Trump rally.
According to the Washington Post, Trump protestors shouted insults at T. supporters such as “Grow a brain, b----!” Another protestor yelled at T. supporters: “Racist a------s!” And a third held a sign: “Make racists afraid again.” The protesters then chanted together: “Love trumps hate! Love trumps hate! Love trumps hate!”
A Trump supporter who was interviewed said she was disgusted by the behavior of the Trump protesters. She complained, “They have these vulgar signs, yet they’re screaming about love…. And we’re the ones that are intolerant? We’re deplorable and intolerant? Well, we just found out that we’re deplorable. We thought that we were just intolerant.”
9
I would like to remind Mr. Bruni that in today's world 68 or 70 is not "senior," it's middle-aged. Also, do we need another column on how much he hates Trump and how secretive Hillary is? We could use a column on the issues and some of the proposals Hillary has proposed. I'm sure Mr. Bruni could write a fine column on issues and, I hope he'll move on and give it a shot.
11
We may have our first Narcissist-in-Chief.
4
I believe I read it in the NY Times that Trump uses his private jet to go home every night and sleep in his own bed. Sounds weak to me, as well as the million other negatives.
24
Wow, if it were Trump who collapsed my sense is this column would read completely different. Panic has officially set in at the NY Times.
18
You are either uneducated or a liar. Ignoring all the evidence which proves that Clinton has either Parkinson's disease or a similar neurological disease makes you not credible and worse, a hypocrit.
7
I think we have some conflation going on. Yes, the run for president is a huge endurance test -- but just because you can make the appearances doesn't mean you don't have some serious medical issues. And by the way -- if Trump manages his campaign so that he doesn't wear himself out -- isn't that a good thing? Show's some judgment.
I have no idea whether HRC has any significant health issues. Although she has had several falls -- as Bill Clinton has said. She's broken an elbow and had a concussion. When interviewed by the FBI re her e-mail server, she responded she could not remember various briefings and events. Who knows if that was a "mob" type evasion or if she really couldn't remember?
NOW -- so what. Well, the so what is -- if she is elected and can't finish her term due to health -- then we are stuck with a VP who has never run for president and would not likely be nominated by the Dems. In fact, if HRC had to withdraw now, who thinks Tim Kaine would be the Dems emergency candidate? He appears to be the weakest VP candidate since Dan Quayle. Of course, it's not like the Dems are overloaded with qualified VP candidates but Kaine is the best they can do?
It is like Bruni -- and most of the Times editorial writers --- to take a clear error by HRC, say it is no big deal, then attack Trump. Wrong in so many ways. The issue isn't Trump here, it is HRC's health and her secretiveness.
I have no idea whether HRC has any significant health issues. Although she has had several falls -- as Bill Clinton has said. She's broken an elbow and had a concussion. When interviewed by the FBI re her e-mail server, she responded she could not remember various briefings and events. Who knows if that was a "mob" type evasion or if she really couldn't remember?
NOW -- so what. Well, the so what is -- if she is elected and can't finish her term due to health -- then we are stuck with a VP who has never run for president and would not likely be nominated by the Dems. In fact, if HRC had to withdraw now, who thinks Tim Kaine would be the Dems emergency candidate? He appears to be the weakest VP candidate since Dan Quayle. Of course, it's not like the Dems are overloaded with qualified VP candidates but Kaine is the best they can do?
It is like Bruni -- and most of the Times editorial writers --- to take a clear error by HRC, say it is no big deal, then attack Trump. Wrong in so many ways. The issue isn't Trump here, it is HRC's health and her secretiveness.
16
A reality show candidate talking health issues with a reality show doctor.This is unreal!
51
I've always followed my grandmother's advice when sick, sometimes to my detriment - "offer it up for the poor souls in purgatory". When Hillary does the same she is put IN purgatory. Time to move on.
30
Borderline pathological? Excuse me, but I cannot think of anything I need to know about Secretary Clinton that I do not already know. The "penchent for secrecy" meme seems to me to be little more than a press complaint that she does not kowtow to them and, frankly, I am fed up with it. Women tend not to call attention to their illnesses. It is a simple fact of life. I have no worry that Secretary Clinton did not issue a press release with respect to having pneumonia, given the hew and cry that would have followed. The press latched on to lies about her "stamina" and now want to make it a "serious" campaign issue. It isn't. I am ten years younger and I only wish I had her stamina. She is tough and fighting for us. Frank Bruni's backhanded compliments notwithstanding, he does make a good point about Trump's largely ignored -- or even celebrated -- hissy fits. I just wish he had not gone the way of every other Times piece and couched it language that is so offputting and terribly inaccurate with respect to Secretary Clinton. #ITrustHer. #I'mWithHer.
73
No. I think the problem with Hillary Clinton is her refusal to be interesting and entertaining. She rambles on and on and its bo-ring and forgetable. No matter how bad lying, Trump is, we remember his attacks.
How can Hillary be so bo-ring, when Bill is so interesting? Surely she can learn from Bill and others how to be charming with more humor, stories, clowning, gestures, or what have you.
"Our style betrays us." (Robert Burton, circa 1620)
Hillary, entertain and enlighten the voters,
-----------------------------------------------------
(even if you forget some facts and make mistakes)
How can Hillary be so bo-ring, when Bill is so interesting? Surely she can learn from Bill and others how to be charming with more humor, stories, clowning, gestures, or what have you.
"Our style betrays us." (Robert Burton, circa 1620)
Hillary, entertain and enlighten the voters,
-----------------------------------------------------
(even if you forget some facts and make mistakes)
10
Give Mr. Bruni points for loyalty. But MAN is this guy in the tank for Hill. He says "we don’t have any more proof of her physical unfitness for the presidency than we did a week ago." I'll say no more.
16
What better test of her stamina than remaining coherent through an 11 hour interrogation that many people still find nauseating.
How can anybody even stomach Trump.
How can anybody even stomach Trump.
81
Great one Frank. All the truth that is the truth. Cough, cough.
6
Mr. Brung's attribution of' "perverse" self-desructive secrecy to Hillary Clinton sadly dramatized the reach of her Fox-et-al media vilification.
Has Bruni forgotten, or never noticed, Fox and the GOPs intense fanciful resurrection of the "dishonest Hillary" narrative following the unfortunate Benghazi events?
Did he not notice the the email broohaha emerged from the Benghazi " inquiries" or that the Comey deflationary her July numbers arise not from Comey's laudable restraint as law enforcers but from his reprehensible use his Post as a partisan Bully pulpit?
Does he think busy people commonly pick Lucie walking pneumoniae before they manifest themselves as incapacitating?
At what point, and for what reason, did he succumb to the Fox narrative? Perhaps,like lots impression me youths, during the Bernie"Windex" Sanders campaign. Perhaps, way back when the most honest and heroic couple ever to emerge from the clientelistic thicket of
of Arkasas politics were saving the Democratic Party.
Has Bruni forgotten, or never noticed, Fox and the GOPs intense fanciful resurrection of the "dishonest Hillary" narrative following the unfortunate Benghazi events?
Did he not notice the the email broohaha emerged from the Benghazi " inquiries" or that the Comey deflationary her July numbers arise not from Comey's laudable restraint as law enforcers but from his reprehensible use his Post as a partisan Bully pulpit?
Does he think busy people commonly pick Lucie walking pneumoniae before they manifest themselves as incapacitating?
At what point, and for what reason, did he succumb to the Fox narrative? Perhaps,like lots impression me youths, during the Bernie"Windex" Sanders campaign. Perhaps, way back when the most honest and heroic couple ever to emerge from the clientelistic thicket of
of Arkasas politics were saving the Democratic Party.
31
And who can blame Trump for wanting to tweet in his own bed?
8
"Her self-protection is a perverse form of self-destruction." Whoa!!! I am so disappointed in this column. You are a gay man; how in the world can you be so dismissive of the existential need for self-protection from our straight-white-male- dominated society which does not want to relinquish any its power and will use its power to keep its power? She is doing what she absolutely HAS to do, and my belief is, it is because she wants to be able to fight to improve the lives of women, children, minorities, the powerless and our society as a whole. But she won't accomplish any of that if she takes off her protective armor. I can't believe you don't get that.
53
Mr. Bruni writes of Mr. Trump, “All of this makes him a singularly ineffective critic of Clinton’s health.”
Yes, indeed! Because even before Ms. Clinton has fully recovered from her pneumonia, we have learned from Maggie Haberman’s front-page story in the NY Times this morning that “Trump Scraps Plan to Discuss Medical Exam With Dr. Oz.”
Is it possible that Trump’s medical results aren’t as great as he expected them to be? So Dr. Harold Bornstein can you still state unequivocally that Trump “will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency?”
Karma is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?
Yes, indeed! Because even before Ms. Clinton has fully recovered from her pneumonia, we have learned from Maggie Haberman’s front-page story in the NY Times this morning that “Trump Scraps Plan to Discuss Medical Exam With Dr. Oz.”
Is it possible that Trump’s medical results aren’t as great as he expected them to be? So Dr. Harold Bornstein can you still state unequivocally that Trump “will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency?”
Karma is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?
14
Seems everyone lies, just like your employer. In their headline they said "she lost her balance", way down in the article they said " her feet were dragging".
9
Sociopath trumps pnuemonia every time. Never Trump.
24
There you go again ... and I must say I am afraid to say I am surprised to hear it coming from you, Frank. Can't say anything nice about Hillary without couching it in criticism. I am sick and tired of Times' columnists damning with faint praise and its reporters' false equivalencies. A person - even a presidential candidate - has a right to a certain amount of privacy without it being called a"perverse form of self-destruction." The fourth estate - yourselves included - have lost all perspective on this campaign, and are doing a perhaps fatal disservice to the Republic. Shame on you all.
32
Whom would you rather have holding the nuclear codes - someone who is temporarily physically sick or permanently mentally sick?
38
The other day a commenter wrote that 70 year old Trump was a Pence delivery system. So think about that. Pence, the guy that didn't want to call a KKK leader a name. Pence, that almost wrecked Indiana's economy over wedding cakes. John Kasich had standards, he wouldn't buy into the Trump kid's offer to run the country while Donald jetted around having his ego stroked. Next thing, the media is going to want a day to day update on Clinton's temperature. Give it a rest.
23
She has parkinson or worse, and the mainstream media is corrupt to the core.
10
What bothers me is the no release of tax records. I have no idea to whom he us beholden. I do know he is cheap. Melania was the sole bidder on that $20,000 six foot portrait. Okay, he's rich and can afford it. Oops, he didn't pay for it, his charitable foundation did. Now I don't know what he is worth but one search said 4.5 billion. Simple math shows you $20,000 that is 0.0004444% of his net worth. Now my son has no savings and a modest income if $32,000. That is equivalent to him paying 14 cents. I think my son could pay 14 cents. One can conclude if Trump let his charitable foundation pay for this portrait besides being dishonest about charity, he is either cheap or is so far into debt that he is, if he is lucky, worth a few MILLION not BILLION. Release those tax records.
29
And Donald's mental health status will be revealed on Dr. Phil!
9
Wow, one would never guess that Frank was a Clinton Fan, so glad we cleared that up. Being of the same age as the Clinton and Trump I wonder if I am the only person out here who wonders if either of them share a gene pool with Richard Nixon, sure looks like they are his kids. Perhaps we could get one of the NY Times excellent reporters to hack into the gene pool and report on this.
Semper Fi
Semper Fi
4
Another day, another member of the liberal media rising to the defense of Clinton with yet another round of Trump trashing.
And Trump closes in the polls.
Who knew hysteria could be so entertaining.
And Trump closes in the polls.
Who knew hysteria could be so entertaining.
9
When it takes conspiracy theorists and bloggers to break legitimate stories that the press does not want to cover, we know that journalism is dead.
15
In a heartbeat, I'd take the Franklin Roosevelt of 1945, dying and long unable to walk, over Donald Trump at his most virile -- although somehow young Donald wasn't fit enough for Vietnam.
30
You put your finger smack dab on the double standard that is applied to Clinton vs Trump. Everyone except the most self-serving seems to recognize it by now, but that hasn't changed how the media treats anything Clinton. I am painfully tired of hearing how she isn't forthcoming from folks who gleefully accept Trump's refusal to disclose his tax returns or business interests, or how she is arrogant about Americans when they love & applaud (and repeat) his tirades against "liberals" or anyone left leaning. (Check out the twitter nonsense & videos of these "Americans" constantly calling those who support Obama or Clinton disparaging & disgusting names!)
I doubt we'll ever even know Trump's cholesterol levels and I really don't care. I've seen enough of him to know he is seriously ill and unfit for the Presidency, of anything, let alone of the US.
I doubt we'll ever even know Trump's cholesterol levels and I really don't care. I've seen enough of him to know he is seriously ill and unfit for the Presidency, of anything, let alone of the US.
30
Bruni can point to Trump all he wants, but it wasn't Trump who collapsed on Sunday or refused to go to Baton Rouge in the Louisiana heat.
Clinton is a tubby old lady, and Trump is a fat old man. The press hasn't pushed for an extensive review of their health records like they did with an elderly John McCain in 2008 because there is no young, vigorous favorite in the race like Obama. No matter where we turn, the only alternative is gassed out baby boomers. So why look too closely at anyone's health?
Clinton is a tubby old lady, and Trump is a fat old man. The press hasn't pushed for an extensive review of their health records like they did with an elderly John McCain in 2008 because there is no young, vigorous favorite in the race like Obama. No matter where we turn, the only alternative is gassed out baby boomers. So why look too closely at anyone's health?
9
A fine piece, but I wonder at the absence of mention of that other sickness out there on the national stage, the epidemic of the press having completely lost all perspective.
What's with that? Apparently there are a few among you aware of the problem. Are you going to get it taken care of or are you going to try to sweep it under the rug and keep on doing what's killing you in plain sight?
What's with that? Apparently there are a few among you aware of the problem. Are you going to get it taken care of or are you going to try to sweep it under the rug and keep on doing what's killing you in plain sight?
10
Frank, your hissy fits that masquerade as journalism are as inexcusable as those you accuse others of throwing. Aside from that, did you feel better after bashing Dr. Oz and Judge Judy? Gratuitous snide is not becoming of any respectable journalis. In the good old days, it would have appeared in the other NYC tabloids, not in the Times. But, as we are continually reminded, the good old days are long gone.
6
I'm looking forward to the day Trump goes on display in the Mutter Museum so we can see what's under the hair. (Yes, I know the "u" should have an umlaut.)
4
Actually, perhaps Judge Judy *should* hear the Trump University lawsuit. There you'd see no-nonsense confront nothing but nonsense. The sense would likely win.
I am taken by images of the presidential candidates' aircraft logos. Hillary Clinton's "Stronger Together" with The Donald's "Trump." This says it all.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
I am taken by images of the presidential candidates' aircraft logos. Hillary Clinton's "Stronger Together" with The Donald's "Trump." This says it all.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
16
You perfectly described Dr. Oz, what a snake oil salesman he has become. I care more about Trump's taxes than his health and hopefully the media will start harassing him on it daily like Hillary's emails seem to be highlighted. What is it that he is hiding?
12
I am in favor of putting Bernie in to replace Hillary while we still have a chance.
11
Bruni lost all expectation of credibility when he completely whitewashed GWBush in 2000. He was snowed, suckered, and bromanced. It still shows.
8
What if Hillary has something more serious than a bout of pneumonia, say lung cancer. This is a legit question. Her private email server served her pretty well: can you imagine her donors going through the State Department server?
5
Forget Trump and his toxic noise machine.
The democratic candidate for POTUS tried to walk from the curb to her limo-van and collapsed in the street, had to be physically scooped up by a phalanx of guards, lost a shoe and attributes this to pneumonia. Yet, an hour or so later the candidate with such serious pneumonia walks to her limo-van apparently unaffected. For me it doesn't line up.
If this close to the election HRC is seriously ill and tries to fake wellness it will be a disaster. I hope she is well so that I can vote for her - as little as I look forward to that prospect.
The democratic candidate for POTUS tried to walk from the curb to her limo-van and collapsed in the street, had to be physically scooped up by a phalanx of guards, lost a shoe and attributes this to pneumonia. Yet, an hour or so later the candidate with such serious pneumonia walks to her limo-van apparently unaffected. For me it doesn't line up.
If this close to the election HRC is seriously ill and tries to fake wellness it will be a disaster. I hope she is well so that I can vote for her - as little as I look forward to that prospect.
5
@Richard Luettgen: Witty and spritual: "Clinton wobbly on her feet while Trump does a break dance!"
1
Of the two vice presidential candidates which one would be a better leader for the country should something happen to their running mates?
2
This whole obsession with Hillary's health constitutes just one more infuriating example of the misogynistic double standard that has consistently bedeviled this entire campaign. Remember when, a couple of months ago, the NYT press pool scornfully pointed out the candidate's longstanding policy of never eating in front of the press -- and then gleefully pounced on her for "scarfing down" a hot fudge sundae at a coffee shop campaign venue? Gee, I wonder why she's so secretive about these things. As the saying goes, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you.
32
I'm totally done with Republican Dr. Oz for giving Donald Trump a platform to tell more of his lies. I'm angry at Dr. Oz for building several of his shows around people who say they died and went to heaven, but came back to life. This is from a medical doctor? Ludicrous and shameful! Oprah promoted the same kind of silly junk on her program.
13
Trump's main health problem is testosterone poisoning.
8
Every move a Democratic candidate or President makes is some kind of "conspiracy" to the American right-wing. From haircuts to suicides, it's always some "nefarious plot" in their fantasies. Even Sigmund Freud said "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar".
Yeah, pneumonia's rough. Heck, even a good (or bad) case of the flu can hit anyone as hard as pneumonia hit Sec Clinton, even if they are fit an in their 20's or 30's.
But stamina? Let's not forget The Donald complaining about a 2 hour debate being "too long" not long after Hillary endured 11 hours in front of the (mostly) hostile Benghazi Committee being chaired by arch-Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, oops, Cong. Gowdy.
Yeah, pneumonia's rough. Heck, even a good (or bad) case of the flu can hit anyone as hard as pneumonia hit Sec Clinton, even if they are fit an in their 20's or 30's.
But stamina? Let's not forget The Donald complaining about a 2 hour debate being "too long" not long after Hillary endured 11 hours in front of the (mostly) hostile Benghazi Committee being chaired by arch-Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, oops, Cong. Gowdy.
26
Swoon? The author should be better informed instead of covering for Hillary as most in the MSM do. She did not swoon she collapsed legs buckling and its not pneumonia in my opinion. Instead of going to the ER she fled to her daughter's apartment lest the ER medical personnel find out the REAL truth and then there is a leak. Clinton's lies and secrecy continue even with her very serious health condition that has been going on for quite some time but its always lies that are fed to the public and don't believe the medical reports because those are also probably false. The eyes don't deceive she is a very sick woman who has no business running for POTUS she can't even campaign without having a health issue along with her lies. Its pathetic.
5
A pretend swipe at Clinton- not a word about her pathological lying- and a hay maker for Trump.
Well, there is a glimmer of honesty in the Clinton comments.
Well, there is a glimmer of honesty in the Clinton comments.
4
I will take the unendingly scrutinized Hillary over the astoundingly unscrupulous Donald any day of the week.
30
I think this is another thing that the press is pushing to increase viewership - why not ask Donald if he is secretive as his tax returns are not open to the public. This is as much a fiasco as the email which the GOP hopes will help elect Donald and label Hillary as a liar, sick etc. They keep pushing hearings, hire talking heads who keep talking about this. CNN is the worst as it seems no other issues to air.
9
I don't know if others have thought about the millions of American women who feel they must work when they are sick, because they don't have paid sick days and whose families depend on their income for food and shelter. I have.
17
Exactly right, a vulgar bully and a pathological liar, with a glass ceiling of his own, and throwing stones at Hillary. What a coward. What a hypocrite. And so full of himself, so puffed- up that a frog couldn't compete with; look at his face carefully and you'll see it. He definitely is a sick dude, which he demonstrates each time he opens his big mouth, spewing wickedness as he leaves a trail of hate. But then again, he can't give what he doesn't have, assertiveness and compassion, and a sense of fairness for his fellow men.
10
"Their stamina isn't at issue, just their sanity". Agreed, then Hillary wins hands down.
Good God, Hillary could lapse into a coma and still have more sense than Trump, not only the most despicable deplorable candidate in modern history but also the dumbest. Yeah sure, he's smart, in a street smart, carnival barker way, a two-bit con man working the crowd, promising to show us amazing sights and perform seemingly impossible tricks. And you know what old P.T. Barnum said many moons ago, there is "one" born every minute. And deplorable as that may be, a good percentage of them have gravitated to the huckster Trump.
We here who know Trump best are fully aware of the scams, lies, and fraud committed by him and his organizations. He is an unscrupulous, uncouth bully who tells those he's cheated: if you don't like it, go ahead and sue.
Those who know this and continue to support him for the presidency of the United States of America do so for some masochistic reason. It rests on their shoulders, and them alone, and if that isn't deplorable I don't know what is.
DD
Manhattan
DD
Manhattan
Good God, Hillary could lapse into a coma and still have more sense than Trump, not only the most despicable deplorable candidate in modern history but also the dumbest. Yeah sure, he's smart, in a street smart, carnival barker way, a two-bit con man working the crowd, promising to show us amazing sights and perform seemingly impossible tricks. And you know what old P.T. Barnum said many moons ago, there is "one" born every minute. And deplorable as that may be, a good percentage of them have gravitated to the huckster Trump.
We here who know Trump best are fully aware of the scams, lies, and fraud committed by him and his organizations. He is an unscrupulous, uncouth bully who tells those he's cheated: if you don't like it, go ahead and sue.
Those who know this and continue to support him for the presidency of the United States of America do so for some masochistic reason. It rests on their shoulders, and them alone, and if that isn't deplorable I don't know what is.
DD
Manhattan
DD
Manhattan
11
As you note Frank, she's been lying and covering up for 25 years. So we should just go along, cause y'know, that's just the Clinton way.
Not in a million years. Her secrecy is perverse, pathological, and unnecessary. Like the pathological liar, who lies even when there is nothing to be gained, Clinton suffers from a pathology. A pathology is something that leads to dying.
She's sick all right. She's been sick since her first day in the public eye.
Not in a million years. Her secrecy is perverse, pathological, and unnecessary. Like the pathological liar, who lies even when there is nothing to be gained, Clinton suffers from a pathology. A pathology is something that leads to dying.
She's sick all right. She's been sick since her first day in the public eye.
3
For what must be the zillionth time, let's start off with the notion that Hillary Clinton's penchant for her self-protection "is a perverse form of self-destruction."
Well, Mr. Bruni. If you had been held to such constant and intense scrutiny under the glare of the media and public spotlight, while having to perfrom in one Republican-led witch-hunt after another, chances are you too, would feel the need for some form of secrecy, if only to protect what sanity you had left.
Luckily for Donald Trump, he doesn't have to worry about having any sanity at all.
Another thing. Want to talk about transparency?? -- then yes! Let's continue to dwell on his taxes, his so-called Trump Organization, and Trump University. and any other fly-by-night dealings that allow him to go unscathed in the Press.
Oh. And something more substantial about his health than a few Kool-Aid induced sentences from some quack on his payroll.
It's time for the media to get real about all of this. Get to the bottom of these stories and spare us your conjectures.
The general public has enouhg of those already.
Well, Mr. Bruni. If you had been held to such constant and intense scrutiny under the glare of the media and public spotlight, while having to perfrom in one Republican-led witch-hunt after another, chances are you too, would feel the need for some form of secrecy, if only to protect what sanity you had left.
Luckily for Donald Trump, he doesn't have to worry about having any sanity at all.
Another thing. Want to talk about transparency?? -- then yes! Let's continue to dwell on his taxes, his so-called Trump Organization, and Trump University. and any other fly-by-night dealings that allow him to go unscathed in the Press.
Oh. And something more substantial about his health than a few Kool-Aid induced sentences from some quack on his payroll.
It's time for the media to get real about all of this. Get to the bottom of these stories and spare us your conjectures.
The general public has enouhg of those already.
18
Bruni acknowledges the main issue of Hillary's illness (the obfuscating, the changing stories, the spin after the truth is revealed) but also minimizes the actual event by writing how "brutal" it is to run for President. Hey, anybody can get sick. This has been a theme in most articles. Many NYT commenters go one step further, pronouncing that this just proves how tough she is.
I'm calling out this twisted logic.
On what planet is collapsing (fainting?) and being poured in to your car a sign of strength and stamina? Bruni says it's an "oddity that all of the candidates don't drop like flies." No, it's not. The oddity is that a candidate for POTUS needs help walking up stairs, and collapses on a quite pleasant day. Her schedule has been the opposite of grueling: no press conferences, no rallies, only a series of high-end private fundraisers.
But even with this advantage, she is demonstrably breaking down physically. Fact: you are at higher risk for pneumonia when you have a chronic disease or a weakened immune system.
Smirking through a Benghazi hearing in an air-conditioned seat, fully armed with talking points, both true and false, is not some incredible physical feat.
As for comparing her to Trump: He has kept up a visibly active campaign, doesn't need handlers like Hillary, and hasn't collapsed anywhere. BTW - A golfer walks about six miles in a round with no cart, and 2-4 with a cart, depending on course rules. That's not backgammon. What's Hillary's exercise regimen?
I'm calling out this twisted logic.
On what planet is collapsing (fainting?) and being poured in to your car a sign of strength and stamina? Bruni says it's an "oddity that all of the candidates don't drop like flies." No, it's not. The oddity is that a candidate for POTUS needs help walking up stairs, and collapses on a quite pleasant day. Her schedule has been the opposite of grueling: no press conferences, no rallies, only a series of high-end private fundraisers.
But even with this advantage, she is demonstrably breaking down physically. Fact: you are at higher risk for pneumonia when you have a chronic disease or a weakened immune system.
Smirking through a Benghazi hearing in an air-conditioned seat, fully armed with talking points, both true and false, is not some incredible physical feat.
As for comparing her to Trump: He has kept up a visibly active campaign, doesn't need handlers like Hillary, and hasn't collapsed anywhere. BTW - A golfer walks about six miles in a round with no cart, and 2-4 with a cart, depending on course rules. That's not backgammon. What's Hillary's exercise regimen?
7
Health is a paramount issue to be president. She is not capable to maintain the pace of Trump. She has significantly more money than Trump and could mirror his pace but she can't keep up.
Hilary is a liar, thief and will destroy what Obama has not done to Constitutional rights. She trades money for political favors. Please explain how do goes from Broke, leaving the White house to $100/200 million. All these politicians R & Ds are corrupt. Time to level the playing field, just a little
Hilary is a liar, thief and will destroy what Obama has not done to Constitutional rights. She trades money for political favors. Please explain how do goes from Broke, leaving the White house to $100/200 million. All these politicians R & Ds are corrupt. Time to level the playing field, just a little
5
This is what women do. We don't announce we're sick and then take time off to rest; we take our medicine and proceed with our scheduled activities. Who ever remembers their mom taking to her bed because she was sick. More likely we didn't even know she was sick because she just kept going. Sometimes it catches up with us, but Hillary, like most busy women, probably felt she "didn't have time to be sick" and just soldiered on until it caught up with her. Plus, once again, we have conservative men sticking their noses in a woman's health where it doesn't belong.
21
Thank god Hillary is old enough the media isn't demanding she reveal her menstrual cycle as part of their lack of "transparency" accusations. The double standard she's being held to is just that ignorant and foolish. Where are Trump's tax returns?
22
As to be expected, the Frank Bruni apologist tour for the corrupt one, Hillary Clinton. With evidence clearly pointing in the opposite direction, Bruni buys the Clinton camp spin that her health isn't a problem. Oh really? If Donald Trump had collapsed as often as Hillary has the past few years Bruni would be calling for him to step aside. Instead of focusing on Hillary's troubling, serious health issues we get silly remarks about Trump's hair and ego as if Hillary Clinton is flawless in personal characteristics. But this is what NY Times' journalism has come to: throw out personal attacks at Trump and ignore the real issues at hand such as Hillary Clinton's continual serious health-issues. Sad to say, par for the course.
9
It's more "Stupid Days" rather than "Sick Days" with Hillary.
Trump is not scrutinized like she is because he has demonstrated time and time again that he is a big liar, a bigot and a buffoon and he doesn't seem to be a very serious candidate.
Hillary on the other hand, as our presumptive next president, and one who has a great deal of experience around Washington, is and should be held to a higher standard.
The percentage of people who trust her keeps falling and amazingly it is less than the percentage who trust Trump (recent CNN poll).
It is her election to lose, and she needs to try harder to not have any more Stupid Days of not telling the truth or hiding things if she wants to win.
Trump is not scrutinized like she is because he has demonstrated time and time again that he is a big liar, a bigot and a buffoon and he doesn't seem to be a very serious candidate.
Hillary on the other hand, as our presumptive next president, and one who has a great deal of experience around Washington, is and should be held to a higher standard.
The percentage of people who trust her keeps falling and amazingly it is less than the percentage who trust Trump (recent CNN poll).
It is her election to lose, and she needs to try harder to not have any more Stupid Days of not telling the truth or hiding things if she wants to win.
5
How gentle you are with Hillary and yourself, Mr. Bruni. her "self-protection is a perverse form of self-destruction" covers the latest incident - being private about an illness - but most of her reflexive obfuscation over the years is much better described as lying than as "self-protection." Defending her husband after he, as the most powerful man in the world, had sex with a 24-year-old intern (clearly that would constitute rape on any campus in America or anywhere else), setting up a personal server just as Karl Rove did to protect messages that should have been publicly available by law, and the rest of her legacy of deceit and distortion are not "self protection" - they're lies. And to write a column about her illness and not at least note that just weeks ago you ridiculed anyone talking about her health as being part of "Clinton Conspiracy Industry" ("Hillary Health Shoker!" 8/23/16) is in itself, well, "self protection."
I will assert (but the "Support Hillary or you're a misogamist [whether or not you supported Sarah]" crowd will automatically refute that with no evidence) that I am a Democrat who would never vote for Trump - but I have to say that the New York Times is rendering itself to little more than the Left's version of Fox News - biased but in the other direction, self satisfied and snarky, name calling and, in the end, more involved with counter-arguing than with facts or open dialogue.
Mr. Bruni should at least mention his two-week old column today
I will assert (but the "Support Hillary or you're a misogamist [whether or not you supported Sarah]" crowd will automatically refute that with no evidence) that I am a Democrat who would never vote for Trump - but I have to say that the New York Times is rendering itself to little more than the Left's version of Fox News - biased but in the other direction, self satisfied and snarky, name calling and, in the end, more involved with counter-arguing than with facts or open dialogue.
Mr. Bruni should at least mention his two-week old column today
6
So article is titled Hillary's Sick Days, but devotes most ink to attacking Trump. I get that the NYT is rabidly pro Hillary, but covering up what is so clearly a well documented and clearly progressive serious neurologic process is really a disservice to readers. A "Pneumonia" diagnosis is vague and evasive, like HIllary. It can mean any number of pathologic processes, some benign and others very serious. America deserves to know whether they are electing a sick and fragile old lady (oh, I know she will be elected regardless) or a tough old warhorse.
7
The punditry has stepped over the line, again. How is it wrong for Sec'y Clinton to try to maintain some privacy in her life? She's been under a microscope for over 30 years and yet the media maintains the drumbeat that she still isn't telling everything about everything. Give it a break and send her a get well card.
15
I find it amazing that everyone goes on and on about Clinton's "penchant for secrecy" when Republicans (and the so-called liberal media) lie in wait to attack her every time her face emerges around a corner. How could she fail to have a knee-jerk response to every new allegation whether specious or real? We not only demand that her physical strength be super-human but also that her self-restraint be god-like. All the while Trump's appalling lack of restraint is met mostly with knowing smirks and the media's attempts to fall over backwards trying to allow, in the spirit of democracy, this pure villain to have a voice.
15
"But we don’t have any more proof of her physical unfitness for the presidency than we did a week ago. There’s no clear link between the blood clot of 2013 and Sunday’s swoon."
And we wouldn't even know about "Sunday's swoon" if we relied on the utterly incompetent news media.
As far as "more proof of her physical unfitness", that seems to be beyond the capabilities of the professional, paid "journalists" covering the campaign.
Sounds like a job for Zdenek Gazda, the guy with the smartphone who provided the world with the video of the "roadside crumbling" as you so crudely put it, with his Pulitzer-worthy Investigative Journalism piece.
The one he dropped on Twitter.
At the same time, this newspaper was reporting that she was "unwell", and "overheated", but was "feeling much better" and whatever else the Clinton campaign ordered them to report while they were quarantined back at the 9/11 ceremony.
And we wouldn't even know about "Sunday's swoon" if we relied on the utterly incompetent news media.
As far as "more proof of her physical unfitness", that seems to be beyond the capabilities of the professional, paid "journalists" covering the campaign.
Sounds like a job for Zdenek Gazda, the guy with the smartphone who provided the world with the video of the "roadside crumbling" as you so crudely put it, with his Pulitzer-worthy Investigative Journalism piece.
The one he dropped on Twitter.
At the same time, this newspaper was reporting that she was "unwell", and "overheated", but was "feeling much better" and whatever else the Clinton campaign ordered them to report while they were quarantined back at the 9/11 ceremony.
7
What do Trump's so-called hissy fits have to do with the Hillary-created fiasco on Sunday? Isn't this a false equivalency?
Hillary and her campaign should have been candid about the pneumonia diagnosis earlier. Prior coughing fits , overheating on a 79 degree day and ultimately fainting while waiting for the van all make sense if someone has pneumonia. Everyone understands that campaigning is brutal and can temporarily affect a candidate's health, so why not be honest? Why all the secrecy? All of the brouhaha could have been avoided by simply admitting the candidate has pneumonia, a treatable condition.
Hillary and her campaign should have been candid about the pneumonia diagnosis earlier. Prior coughing fits , overheating on a 79 degree day and ultimately fainting while waiting for the van all make sense if someone has pneumonia. Everyone understands that campaigning is brutal and can temporarily affect a candidate's health, so why not be honest? Why all the secrecy? All of the brouhaha could have been avoided by simply admitting the candidate has pneumonia, a treatable condition.
4
What Hillary needed to do when she emerged from her daughter's apartment on Sunday was simply state her condition, and do her best to charm the reporters present with candor and perhaps a self-directed joke or two. Instead she ofered a phony smile and an "I feel great." Mr. Bruni is correct. Her instincts in regard to candor are borderline pathological. Now how many adults in the US will believe her anytime she says anything about any issues? She has the easiest opponent any Democrat could hope for. If her opponent were Mitt Romney or John McCain this race would be effectively over. Truly pathetic instincts by Clinton and her loyal, but not very smart staff.
4
Hillary has a problem. She cannot come out with the truth. She is her own worst enemy in that respect and feeding all kinks of theories. She may be sick, she is getting a long history built up and should come clean and soon. Trump is giving out his results of his physical tomorrow and Hillary should do the same quickly or the Democrats will be looking elsewhere for a replacement.
5
Ronald Reagan had colon cancer, for goodness sakes, when he was president, and arguably Alzheimer's!
Yet to this day, Republicans think he was a god.
Another completely backward double standard.
Yet to this day, Republicans think he was a god.
Another completely backward double standard.
10
Since the episode at the 9/11 event Trump has pretty much taken the high ground. There hasn't been the usual "Trump bellicosity" that we have come to expect. Either he's keeping his powder dry or he has some skeleton in his own file he'd like to keep the cover closed on for as long as possible. I doubt he's the a 70 year old running around in a 25 year old body. For him, a sedentary life style where the most strenuous thing he does is yell into the phone, is interrupted only by the occasional game of golf where his heart rate, during the most challenging of rounds, never exceeds 75 BPM. He probably decided to let the video do the talking...and let people takeaway from it what they will.
I'm no Trump suppoerter, but I don't like it when pundits ridicule a person's appearance. It's childish to poke fun of Trump's hair. Hillary's hair seems pretty blond too, but had anyone poked fun at Hillary's hair or appearance, they'd be cast out of polite society. It's hard to take any pundit's arguments seriously when they stoop to such levels.
7
HRC is held to an entirely different standard by the media, the GOP, Trump and his supporters, etc. It's a fact. So the past few days have been all about pneumonia and secrecy. Big deal. You're right, Frank, a political campaign is brutal and it's surprising this type of thing (faltering from a bug) doesn't happen more often. And who among us has not "soldiered on" and ignored the advice from doctors? I've done it all my life. And usually when I'm in a demanding work cycle while feeling really crummy the last thing I do is announce my illness. Foolish? Probably. But we've all done it for better or worse. Perhaps we should stop asking HRC about illness and secrecy and turn our attention towards Trump's shady business dealing, refusal to reveal his taxes (and now health records) and the pay for play goings on. Hillary had a sick day or two. Trump has a lifetime record of nefarious business dealings and a months long (if not years long) record of racisms, discrimination, xenophobia, hate-bating, etc to answer for. Got on with it! HRC has had everything thrown at her for thirty years. Time to dig deep with Trump. NOW!
10
With Hillary Clinton's already sketchy reputation for telling the truth, it's doubtful she helped herself by hiding her illness from both her staff and the American public. Close aides have a way of sensing what's going on, anyway. Then, she collapses in full view of onlookers, totlally blowing her charade. But, unable to tell the truth, she has the audacity to say she feels great on that beautiful day in New York, the heat of which just knocked the legs out from under her. What gives with this woman, anyway? Why is honesty so elusive? Wouldn't it have been wiser to simply say "I feel lousy and I'm going to the doctor to get some help"? Instead, she ends-up looking dishonest once again, not to mention lacking in judgement and heading for her daughter's apartment, rather than her physician's office, where she could receive proper care. The Lord helps those who help themselves. When will she heed His word?
4
A few decades ago 'no one' [read men] believed anita hill when she recounted sexual harassment at the workplace. Is it possible that there are experiences and reactions to experiences that are actually highly sane but appear "pathological," as bruni insists Clinton's "penchant for secrecy" is? Lest anyone forget: Hillary Clinton is a woman running for the U.S. Presidency. Any sign of weakness (like a cough, or pneumonia) will be proof to many that women are 'too weak' for the job. It is not 'pathological' for Clinton to want to keep pneumonia secret. It is, in fact, sane and logical, in light of how women are so pathologically viewed. For the last 30 years, Clinton has been attacked for many things that men are praised for.
9
Well so she decided to attend an important event while ill. Presidents have done that before. At least she did not vomit on some prime ministers shoes.
12
Trump is creating the same dynamic with Hillary that he did with the 16 Republicans he ran against, and Hillary and her supporters are responding the same futile way as the Republican losers. Namely, express rage, call Trump unqualified, spew impotent hate against 'media' for supposedly not taking Trump to task while daily trash-Trump articles are splashed across pages of the MSM and on alphabet networks. Face it. Trump is an Alpha, a leader, while Hillary and the Republican establishment are Betas. Trump is now moving in for the kill while Hillary literally can't even stand on her own two feet. He wins, she loses, Americans win.
7
A Presidential candidate cannot faint in public and expect health to be a shrugged off topic. Both candidates should be more forthcoming about their health - more like McCain. Neither candidate is a Spring chicken and the Presidency is a grueling job- it's not unreasonable that voters want to know their chosen candidate will be up to the job.
Both candidates should also be forthcoming about their taxes and their foundations. Clinton has been. Trump is so under-qualified for the Presidency in terms of experience and knowledge that HIS lack of transparency on basically everything should be that much more alarming. That should be something we keep talking about even as the Clinton collapse fades from the news cycle.
Both candidates should also be forthcoming about their taxes and their foundations. Clinton has been. Trump is so under-qualified for the Presidency in terms of experience and knowledge that HIS lack of transparency on basically everything should be that much more alarming. That should be something we keep talking about even as the Clinton collapse fades from the news cycle.
8
A popular cold remedy advertises with the line "Mom's can't take sick days."
If it would be unconscionable for a woman to let a four year old entertain herself for an afternoon without Mommy playing princess along with her, how on earth would society allow a woman candidate or woman president to take a sick day?
If it would be unconscionable for a woman to let a four year old entertain herself for an afternoon without Mommy playing princess along with her, how on earth would society allow a woman candidate or woman president to take a sick day?
8
For all the yammering in the press about Hillary not having revealed her diagnosis and their talking about her "self-inflected wounds" and asking, "why does she always do this?", I've yet to hear one of these journalists geniuses mention that, for weeks before her diagnosis, all people had been talking about was that she had some horrible disease, a Trump spokesperson saying she had Dysphasia, Mayor Giuliani advising people Google 'Hillary sick", just on and on deliberate creation of a dreadful illness that was going to kill her the second she raised her hand to take her oath of office.
Maybe that is why she didn't go hollering about her diagnosis, because she knew it would be quickly turned into a diagnosis of imminent death and calls for her to step down, which is exactly what happened.
The problem is not with HRC not revealing every bump in her health; the problem is that the right wing makes it so impossible for her to be as public about such things because they exploit and turn everything into a dire, critical situation for political reasons, and she knows this. These are the people who impeached her husband and nearly undid a legal election over his very personal life, after all. Why on earth would she trust such people with personal info.?
I wouldn't.
Maybe that is why she didn't go hollering about her diagnosis, because she knew it would be quickly turned into a diagnosis of imminent death and calls for her to step down, which is exactly what happened.
The problem is not with HRC not revealing every bump in her health; the problem is that the right wing makes it so impossible for her to be as public about such things because they exploit and turn everything into a dire, critical situation for political reasons, and she knows this. These are the people who impeached her husband and nearly undid a legal election over his very personal life, after all. Why on earth would she trust such people with personal info.?
I wouldn't.
4
The mainstream media is refusing to ask questions about the real cause of Clinton's recent collapse, her continuous breaks, her continuously disappearing from the public eye. Does Hillary Clinton has an on-going illness that has her periodically lose consciousness and require rest? This pneumonia explanation is ridiculous! Why isn't the media interviewing her physician? Why isn't the media demanding test results? This is the biggest media assisted cover up of recent history.
7
Oh dear, there we go again with Hillary's supposed lack of transparency, schmensparency!
If Mr. Bruni had been exposed to all the dreck that was thrown at her decades, he would also have a penchant for secrecy, but most certainly would not consider his self-protection 'borderline pathological.
Putting Mrs. Clinton into the same mental basket as Il Trumpolini is indeed 'deplorable'.
If Mr. Bruni had been exposed to all the dreck that was thrown at her decades, he would also have a penchant for secrecy, but most certainly would not consider his self-protection 'borderline pathological.
Putting Mrs. Clinton into the same mental basket as Il Trumpolini is indeed 'deplorable'.
4
For sure, chasing today's "bright shiny object" of so-called news bulletins has become the addictive drug of choice for 24/7 coverage of the 2016 campaign. That Hillary Clinton is human and got sick is certainly newsworthy, but not "breaking news" on par with a national emergency, especially ironic since it overshadowed the somber 9/11 commemoration. She needs to emerge from this hiatus with a renewed energy to open up and tell her life story, and why her 40 years of public life contrasts with Trump's decades of self-aggrandizing empire building.
Bruni conveniently sidesteps the real issue in his dispensation of Hillary: her first instinct is to lie. Her admitted "illness" can be very dangerous for any 68 year-old person. Trying to cover it up highlights all the bad things the Clintons are known for. To compound the problem, she doesn't seem to be worried about transmitting the disease to others.
In the future, Bruni could reduce his already slim work load by simply writing columns that repeat the phrase "Hillary good. Trump bad" over and over. That's essentially what he gives us on a bi-weekly basis.
In the future, Bruni could reduce his already slim work load by simply writing columns that repeat the phrase "Hillary good. Trump bad" over and over. That's essentially what he gives us on a bi-weekly basis.
6
Let's demand mental health exams or an accounting of which candidate has lied more. But that can wait until after Trump releases his tax returns.
Frank, we mustn't forget Donald Trump's penchant for fast foods. It's hard to believe that a diet of McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and KFC fare would not have given his doctor pause before writing "that Trump would be the healthiest president to ever serve."
3
"We haven’t learned anything new about Hillary Clinton’s penchant for secrecy. We’ve had it confirmed — for the millionth time. Her self-protection is a perverse form of self-destruction. It’s borderline pathological."
What is pathological, not borderline but fully pathological, is the vast right-wing attack machine. And the irony is that the Clintons are radical only in the eyes of knuckle-dragging Neanderthal and grubby, grasping billionaires.
I might agree with Frank that HRC's secrecy is counterproductive, but, unlike Frank, I can understand it. It called empathy, Frank. Why not try that instead of aping Maureen Dowd.
What is pathological, not borderline but fully pathological, is the vast right-wing attack machine. And the irony is that the Clintons are radical only in the eyes of knuckle-dragging Neanderthal and grubby, grasping billionaires.
I might agree with Frank that HRC's secrecy is counterproductive, but, unlike Frank, I can understand it. It called empathy, Frank. Why not try that instead of aping Maureen Dowd.
5
She's pretty comfortable being totally opaque. Her minions in the press are eager, both to excuse it and advance it. No wonder everybody in town is sick of them both.
6
"There’s no clear link between the blood clot of 2013 and Sunday’s swoon."
How do you know there is no clear link? Have you seen the results of an EEG?
Hillary's doctor has as much incentive to obfuscate facts as Trump's doctor. Hillary had more than just a blood clot. She had an actual brain injury, a concussion that caused prolonged double vision, confusion, and memory loss.
All of these assorted medical problems of Hillary are being passed of as ordinary benign occurrences that people experience, and recover from, every day.
How do you know there is no clear link? Have you seen the results of an EEG?
Hillary's doctor has as much incentive to obfuscate facts as Trump's doctor. Hillary had more than just a blood clot. She had an actual brain injury, a concussion that caused prolonged double vision, confusion, and memory loss.
All of these assorted medical problems of Hillary are being passed of as ordinary benign occurrences that people experience, and recover from, every day.
7
Of course Hillary Clinton kept her pneumonia close to the vest. Any hint of weakness on Hillary's part, brings down a barrage of attacks from the Trump campaign, exaggerating, diagnosing, extrapolating from thin air. Why would she expose herself to that?
So long as HRC has her impressive intellect in tact, we will be able to count on her to lead, to protect, to care.
So long as HRC has her impressive intellect in tact, we will be able to count on her to lead, to protect, to care.
4
Meanwhile, most Americans who are keen to vote for Trump aren't reading this column. And the real problem, as far as I can tell, is that the volume of the message that Trump is imbalanced or prone to hissy fits just isn't as loud and clear as it must be to win for Clinton to win.
2
If only poor Donny had the power to release his tax returns, but the dastardly IRS won't let him. That is a lie but no matter. Trump's Deplorables, who demand to know everything minute detail about Hillary so as she can be indicted convicted and sent to the gray-bar hotel, has no interest in what taxes Trump pays, or doesn't. Nope, they don't care. Donny's immune, he's a billionaire, or so we're told.
Trump has also promised sometime at some future date to reveal his health records, or as he so subtly put it, "show the numbers", numbers which he hopes will be "tremendous". His doctor has already said Trump would be one of the "healthiest" presidents in history. He later qualified that statement by saying "that included all presidents, most of whom are dead and the others not very healthy".
Well, there you have it, folks. If that doesn't point out in glaring bold-faced letters how dumb Trump's Deplorables then what else possibly could? Whatever Trump does or says is not to be questioned. Whenever Hillary coughs, sneezes, or fails to report her tax forms, send out the Marines, the FBI, the CIA, to Chappaqua and take her away in irons. Sounds completely fair treatment to me, oui?
DD
Manhattan
Trump has also promised sometime at some future date to reveal his health records, or as he so subtly put it, "show the numbers", numbers which he hopes will be "tremendous". His doctor has already said Trump would be one of the "healthiest" presidents in history. He later qualified that statement by saying "that included all presidents, most of whom are dead and the others not very healthy".
Well, there you have it, folks. If that doesn't point out in glaring bold-faced letters how dumb Trump's Deplorables then what else possibly could? Whatever Trump does or says is not to be questioned. Whenever Hillary coughs, sneezes, or fails to report her tax forms, send out the Marines, the FBI, the CIA, to Chappaqua and take her away in irons. Sounds completely fair treatment to me, oui?
DD
Manhattan
6
If we have a health concern about Hilary, let's start to give at least a little focus to Tim Kaine - who many of us see as by far the best of the 4 candidates running for President/Vice-President. If Hilary withdrew and Kaine replaced her, this would be a runaway election.
1
Regarding the brutal pace of campaigning - it would be a darn sight easier on all parties if the constant fund-raising events were eliminated.
2
I'll take Clinton's lack of transparency and fibs, and raise you five with Trump's lack of transparency, and total disregard for the truth. Where are those tax returns, Mr. Trump?
Talk about "sick"! So while the U.S. is literally burning through global warming and this overheated election between Trump and Clinton, the media is fiddling away about whatever Trump wants them to fiddle about—anything to keep the focus off the real issues needing to be solved, about which Trump knows and cares nothing.
This week it's all about Hillary's health and calling half of Trump's basket of supporters "deplorable." Okay, I guess this is the best the Trump camp can gin up for now. Stay tuned for next's week's Trumpist insults and personal attacks against Hillary, because that is all this election has been about, and pretty much all the media have focused on.
What is Trump's stand on climate change? What is "his" health plan to replace the ACA? How will he fund "his" wall, while cutting taxes down to 15% for the richest Americans (his tax plan is on his website)? What is Melania's immigrant status and where are the documents to document her status and how she entered this country?
Talk about "sick"! So while the U.S. is literally burning through global warming and this overheated election between Trump and Clinton, the media is fiddling away about whatever Trump wants them to fiddle about—anything to keep the focus off the real issues needing to be solved, about which Trump knows and cares nothing.
This week it's all about Hillary's health and calling half of Trump's basket of supporters "deplorable." Okay, I guess this is the best the Trump camp can gin up for now. Stay tuned for next's week's Trumpist insults and personal attacks against Hillary, because that is all this election has been about, and pretty much all the media have focused on.
What is Trump's stand on climate change? What is "his" health plan to replace the ACA? How will he fund "his" wall, while cutting taxes down to 15% for the richest Americans (his tax plan is on his website)? What is Melania's immigrant status and where are the documents to document her status and how she entered this country?
4
"Her lack of transparency" . I know more about Hillary Clinton than I know about most any other person on the planet.
I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton. I wish she were not the nominee, but I can think of no public figure so studied, so picked over and investigated, so reported on and rarely one so maligned, including Donald Trump's gentlemanly announcement to the world of her lengthy bathroom break.
If we knew as much about any others she may look quite imperfectly normal.
That said, if she cannot bear such great scrutiny she should step aside. It is not going to change.
I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton. I wish she were not the nominee, but I can think of no public figure so studied, so picked over and investigated, so reported on and rarely one so maligned, including Donald Trump's gentlemanly announcement to the world of her lengthy bathroom break.
If we knew as much about any others she may look quite imperfectly normal.
That said, if she cannot bear such great scrutiny she should step aside. It is not going to change.
2
His "hissy" fits are those of someone who recognizes and addresses the things that are angering and frightening a majority of the American public, with good reason. In that light, those fits don't matter.
Her illnesses are those of one who is a pathological liar and a shameless self-aggrandizer who hides everything that moves her and proposes as her plan for the future just more of what has led to this American anger and fear. In this light, she is no more fit to be president than Charles Manson.
Her illnesses are those of one who is a pathological liar and a shameless self-aggrandizer who hides everything that moves her and proposes as her plan for the future just more of what has led to this American anger and fear. In this light, she is no more fit to be president than Charles Manson.
3
What I, an eduacted, white female professional and lifelong liberal democrat, find disturbing about Hillary is the seemingly overriding need she has to fabricate/lie about anything.
She isn't engendering admiration for her female strength when she says she's just fine after a near collapse. She's trying to be one of the boys again. That does nothing to help break any glass ceiling, political or professional. It insults the rest of us females who have broken the ceiling by hard work, real accomplishments and honesty.
I'll still vote for her but primarily because the next president will fill Scalia's SCOTUS seat and I fear who Trump would give a lifetime appointment to.
She isn't engendering admiration for her female strength when she says she's just fine after a near collapse. She's trying to be one of the boys again. That does nothing to help break any glass ceiling, political or professional. It insults the rest of us females who have broken the ceiling by hard work, real accomplishments and honesty.
I'll still vote for her but primarily because the next president will fill Scalia's SCOTUS seat and I fear who Trump would give a lifetime appointment to.
1
I'm hoping, hoping, that Clinton finally learns from this and becomes more open. It's clear that she's capable of change; she started being more open with the press, holding press conferences etc. She listens to people's concerns and adapts. So it's just possible that this mess -- which is mostly her own fault -- will teach her something. Next time something comes up, just tell people about it. Making something minor a secret makes it more important.
2
Rather than frame this as an issue of Clinton's alleged tendency to secrecy, perhaps you should be asking why the public or the press feels entitled to know about any candidate's short-term illnesses ... unless it's to send flowers and get-well cards. Historically, even presidential candidates had obvious zones of privacy that were respected by both the press and the public. Is it any surprise that a grown woman, who grew up during that period, doesn't consider it any of your business and doesn't want to yield to the increasingly invasive standards that are mostly set for her and her alone?
Plus, this is pneumonia we're talking about, not cancer. And even if pneumonia continues to be deadly in some cases, it is by and large treatable and treated in the vast majority of cases. Any grownup should be familiar with soldiering on through bouts of illness without turning it into a big drama. This is a Clinton FEATURE, not a bug.
Plus, this is pneumonia we're talking about, not cancer. And even if pneumonia continues to be deadly in some cases, it is by and large treatable and treated in the vast majority of cases. Any grownup should be familiar with soldiering on through bouts of illness without turning it into a big drama. This is a Clinton FEATURE, not a bug.
6
... backward, and in heels. But at least Fred Astaire was also dancing. The grand ole hypocrite party is out pedaling more fear, gloom and doom about Hillary, while, as you point out, we know absolutely nothing about The Donald's health -- except that he seems to need to sleep in his own bed every night, a bit like a toddler, whose behavior he emulates. As to the connection between the blood clot and her pneumonia, reputable physicians, from top academic medical institutions, have observed that, were these symptoms neurological in nature (as Tom Brokaw was quick to diagnose), she could not have emerged 90 minutes later looking as well as she did.
It's time for you, Mr. Bruni, to enlist all your journalist colleagues to make the point, over and over, that Trump falls far short of anyone's standards for Hillary (even the reasonable standards), and unless he meets his own standards, he should stop criticizing or even commenting on her. You know, the way the Repugnant-cans do with their lies, except this would involve repeating the truth, not lies, to the masses who seem to want to hear that the sky is falling.
It's time for you, Mr. Bruni, to enlist all your journalist colleagues to make the point, over and over, that Trump falls far short of anyone's standards for Hillary (even the reasonable standards), and unless he meets his own standards, he should stop criticizing or even commenting on her. You know, the way the Repugnant-cans do with their lies, except this would involve repeating the truth, not lies, to the masses who seem to want to hear that the sky is falling.
4
Trump’s policy prescriptions of withdrawing from our responsibilities in the world and building a wall in Mexico are in actuality the acts of a coward pulling the sheets over his head to protect himself against evil spirits. The American people will not know this until Mrs. Clinton tells it to them.
4
there's an attempt now on the alt-trump-right to say clinton is using a body double. they've totally lost it. they've turned campaigning for president into the blair witch project.
4
The people calling the loudest for Trump's tax and medical records are the same people who say they will not vote for him in any circumstance. Why should he release that private information? It's not mandatory.
3
If citizens, and the press, hold Trump to the same standard, whatever the issue, they require from Hillary Clinton, there will be no competition. This crapolla distracts from the rot that is Donald Trump. He's "capitalized on her absence?" How? I don't see it. Even when you give him a head start, he's still a loser. Anyone who supports Trump wants something other than a strong, respected, democratic country, that still lives by its best original tenets.
5
"we don’t have any more proof of her physical unfitness for the presidency than we did a week ago."
I think here Bruni is wrong. The accidental video of her incapable of standing alone gave us a new view on her secrecy and new proof of her frailty. She should have announced her pneumonia when it was diagnosed and canceled all events but the 9/11 memorial. That would have been a sign of taking her job seriously, even if she had fainted afterwards. Now, we are left thinking about everything she didn't tell us and that not accidentally ended up on a public video.
I think here Bruni is wrong. The accidental video of her incapable of standing alone gave us a new view on her secrecy and new proof of her frailty. She should have announced her pneumonia when it was diagnosed and canceled all events but the 9/11 memorial. That would have been a sign of taking her job seriously, even if she had fainted afterwards. Now, we are left thinking about everything she didn't tell us and that not accidentally ended up on a public video.
4
If Hillary were standing naked in front of the world to see they would still say she is hiding something sinister from the public. I am so sick of the press/media drivel that has up until now been ignoring the enormous amount of relevant information we do not know about Trump. Try taxes, health, business ties to foreign countries, lies about donations, crass statements about Trump towers being the highest after 9/11, total lack of generosity in his own Foundation, to name just a few.
9
Regarding the brutal pace of campaigning - perhaps it would be better for all concerned if fund raising was taken out of the equation and candidates were free to focus on talking to voters.
2
Even if Hillary were on her death bed I would sooner vote for her than the lunatic, however healthy and robust he might be. At least her running mate isn't a far-right social conservative.
5
So how many candidates in history have called a press conference to say "I have a low grade bug that's invisible unless I really push myself." My guess is "zero."
Similarly, this has "zero" to do with transparency.
Similarly, this has "zero" to do with transparency.
2
Where do you draw the health line? What if she had a urinary tract or yeast infection, two seemingly simple infections that sometimes indicate a larger health problem? Allergies make people more susceptible for bigger conditions like pneumonia, bronchitis or a sinus infection to move in and take up residence due to irritation.
1
I have decided that Trump attacks Hillary Clinton on the topics on which he is most vulnerable as a preemptive attack. He calls her a liar when his lies are so blatant that the press ignores them; he claims she is crooked when it is well known that he has cheated contractors and those unfortunate enough to think that Trump University was a school; he attacks her because of Bill Clinton's infidelities when his marital missteps are well documented; he says she is psychologically unfit to be presidential when his behavior is demonstrably erratic. He even declares that she doesn't look presidential - as if an orange comb over was required for the job. Now that he is attacked her health, I feel certain that there are medical issues in his records that he is hiding. The New York Times and other media ought to do their job.
3
If everything you did or touched or talked about was examined by the 'so called arbiters of honesty (many of the Trump team now)' or for the past 30+ years prior by the opposing party, you'd probably want to cough / sneeze and everything else in a cone of silence lest it be turned into a terminal illness or an underhanded conspiracy to do something shady.
Hillary has endured more scrutiny than any other person in modern politics (imho). Who among us could stand such intrusion into our lives without feeling hyper protective of their privacy?
Hillary has endured more scrutiny than any other person in modern politics (imho). Who among us could stand such intrusion into our lives without feeling hyper protective of their privacy?
1
Words Words Words. Clinton is in the position she's in because she's a decades-long pathological liar. No one believes her. If Trump becomes President, which is looking more likely on a daily basis, it will be her fault more than anyone else. At least the Parkinson's conspiracy theorists have taken the focus off her selling the State Department to the highest bidder.
3
Until Donald Trump releases his tax returns (at least back to his bankruptcies and subsequent loans from the Bank of China, Russian oligarchs and Goldman Sachs), I will remain much more concerned about his financial conflicts of interest than about his health or Hillary's.
In the case of The Donald, we have a less dangerous spare should the heir fall ill.
In the case of The Donald, we have a less dangerous spare should the heir fall ill.
1
I asked a friend living in Manhattan about the nature of the event at which Hillary became ill. The event was at Ground Zero, the weather was hot, relatives read the names of the thousands who perished during the 9-11 attacks, and the honorary guests like Hillary stood during this hours long event. When I was young, I attended parades at a local military school that held Sunday parades. During the period when the cadets were standing at attention for a lengthy period, a dozen regularly fainted. If teens can't take long periods of standing in the sun, is it hard to believe a 68 year old non- athlete would also be affected?
1
A few simple things. A presidential campaign is very grueling. We are not voting for someone because they are good at marathons. Health records should be public. Clinton is ultra secretive. She relies too much on handlers. We all know these things. Release health records and be done with it and move on to important issues. If the health records of either candidate show big problems, the voters will deal with it.
When I think of the weight of the Presidency and the mental strain it places on an individual, all I have to do is look at Obama's grey hair. Perhaps the Trump attitude that this campaign is a lark where I can energize myself by reeving up crowds is the right way to approach it. No stress and a "What Me Worry" attitude is just what the doctor ordered. A President who is having fun and the rest of the country can stress out.
I wish Hillary a speedy recovery and robust health going forward.
That being said, I can state unequivocally that I'd prefer to see her occupying the Oval Office in a hospital bed, than seeing The Donald there as the "healthiest person ever elected to the presidency".
That being said, I can state unequivocally that I'd prefer to see her occupying the Oval Office in a hospital bed, than seeing The Donald there as the "healthiest person ever elected to the presidency".
5
Hillary's biggest mistake was not following her doctor's advice and taking a rest. She could have performed a public service by raising awareness of pneumonia, which seems more common these days, while exhibited her transparency. Instead, her circumspection raises the spectre of a president in her age group flouting the risk to her health in the coming four years. Don't these people kick important matters like this around before making decisions like this?
It's not Clinton's health that is a concern (people get sick); it's her lack of honesty about it that is disturbing. It is just another piece in her cryptic puzzle that clearly shows a pattern of opacity and a lack of truthfulness. It's going to be lonely there in the shadows where she dwells.
3
I'm thoroughly fed up with this no-transparency complaint.
Clinton knows that whatever she says and does will be used against her. The media, the opposition, and her own party have proven, over decades, that no tidbit of information is too small to twist into a dagger.
Given that, anyone with half a brain would minimize what information went out so as to minimize the damage -- and the pain --that follows. It's fair to say that much of Clinton's effort to protect herself can be blamed on those who distort what she says. (Like the two baskets of deplorables quote, in which only one basket was cherry-picked for target practice.)
Even if that were not true, I know dozens of people who've had pneumonia, and with few exceptions, they went on antibiotics and kept barreling along in their jobs - either because they, like Clinton, thought it wasn't a big deal, or sometimes because they, like Clinton, didn't want people to think they didn't care enough about their work.
So give the "no transparency" drum a rest, Mr. Bruni. Not making a big deal out of pneumonia is normal human behavior. If Clinton didn't disclose cancer, then by all means complain. But wouldn't you also try to power through pneumonia if you knew it would be gone in days and your enemies would use it to take your job?
Clinton knows that whatever she says and does will be used against her. The media, the opposition, and her own party have proven, over decades, that no tidbit of information is too small to twist into a dagger.
Given that, anyone with half a brain would minimize what information went out so as to minimize the damage -- and the pain --that follows. It's fair to say that much of Clinton's effort to protect herself can be blamed on those who distort what she says. (Like the two baskets of deplorables quote, in which only one basket was cherry-picked for target practice.)
Even if that were not true, I know dozens of people who've had pneumonia, and with few exceptions, they went on antibiotics and kept barreling along in their jobs - either because they, like Clinton, thought it wasn't a big deal, or sometimes because they, like Clinton, didn't want people to think they didn't care enough about their work.
So give the "no transparency" drum a rest, Mr. Bruni. Not making a big deal out of pneumonia is normal human behavior. If Clinton didn't disclose cancer, then by all means complain. But wouldn't you also try to power through pneumonia if you knew it would be gone in days and your enemies would use it to take your job?
2
Hillary Clinton is every-woman of a certain age with a career in a male dominated industry. She slogs through a day, pushing, pushing with 19 hour days even when she's sick. She can't reveal a weakness because she's been exploited every time she's admitted one before. Look at the coverage on "transparency" --we ignore Trump's and put a spotlight on hers. Just as Obama's presidency helped us see who the racists were, Hillary is doing the same with sexism. The greater the attacks on Hillary, the more the press tilts toward Trump, the more I admire her. She is every-woman. She is enough.
3
Trump's doctor's remark about him being the healthiest president ever is ludicrous when you consider that at the end of Obama's term, I'm confident he could best Trump in every single athletic challenge except perhaps golf, which, let's be honest, is more of a game of skill than athletic prowess. Although I'm not really sure that even Obama would lose - Trump claims a handicap of three or four while Obama says his is a thirteen. I wouldn't be surprised if the former is inflating his prowess and the latter is sandbagging.
1
Donald Trump will not release his tax returns because they will expose him as the fraud and huckster that he is. The man HAS no net wealth, and has been living off the fees of others who have licensed his name pay him. During the financial meltdown in 2008, the banks who had loaned Trump money considered him too big to fail. They realized that foreclosing on Trump would have made the meltdown even more calamitous. The man is a shill. Releasing his returns would show Trump has zero wealth.
The Washington Post article regarding Trump's "charitable foundation" also highlights this. Trump may brag about giving millions to charity, but none of that money was actually Trump's. He was a pass-thru who essentially licensed his name to charitable (and as we now know questionable and illegal) donations funded by others who sought to bask in his self-promoted limelight. Note that this "YUGE" charity has a value of a paltry $3 million. That'd be chump change for a verified billionaire. The only thing outsized in this man are his lies. Oh, and he really does have small hands.;)
The Washington Post article regarding Trump's "charitable foundation" also highlights this. Trump may brag about giving millions to charity, but none of that money was actually Trump's. He was a pass-thru who essentially licensed his name to charitable (and as we now know questionable and illegal) donations funded by others who sought to bask in his self-promoted limelight. Note that this "YUGE" charity has a value of a paltry $3 million. That'd be chump change for a verified billionaire. The only thing outsized in this man are his lies. Oh, and he really does have small hands.;)
1
The comments here are interesting and enlightening in the sense that they provide insights into how people perceive a simple illness and a person carrying on despite it.
But the really interesting aspect of this situation is the media response to it. Many see nefarious machinations to elect Donald Trump. A new meme has arisen in the last few days that Big Business is working through media outlets to push the Trump agenda.
Upon closer examination, the sad truth seems to be that the media will drive the country, perhaps the free world, over a cliff for profit. This is the real illness rife in this country. Anything for money. Greed. Blistering greed that allows ignorance of any horror as long as the upcoming quarter has better returns than the last.
I have no excuse for the New York Times and it's treatment of HRC. It's very well-known the Times is not fond of the Clintons. But it's time the Paper of Record put on it's big kid pants and look at reality. No more piling on with false equivalencies. The Republic is at stake.
Stop. Wake up. Because it's almost too late.
But the really interesting aspect of this situation is the media response to it. Many see nefarious machinations to elect Donald Trump. A new meme has arisen in the last few days that Big Business is working through media outlets to push the Trump agenda.
Upon closer examination, the sad truth seems to be that the media will drive the country, perhaps the free world, over a cliff for profit. This is the real illness rife in this country. Anything for money. Greed. Blistering greed that allows ignorance of any horror as long as the upcoming quarter has better returns than the last.
I have no excuse for the New York Times and it's treatment of HRC. It's very well-known the Times is not fond of the Clintons. But it's time the Paper of Record put on it's big kid pants and look at reality. No more piling on with false equivalencies. The Republic is at stake.
Stop. Wake up. Because it's almost too late.
1
Bruni, it isn't her being sick that is the problem, it's her obsessive need to hide the truth and then get caught out that will continue to make her look bad. Comparing her to Trump is simply an exercise in working to obscure the facts - HRC plays by her own made up rules. Of course Trump is a terrible candidate and probably a terrible person, but that isn't the real issue here. The real issue is HRC's lack of transparency and her dishonesty. Those that carry the water for HRC and those that carry it for Trump are doing a disservice to the American people by qualifying and rationalizing the deep faults of these two unpresidential people.
2
I would suggest that Hillary chooses to handle the enormous stress of being a hugely public figure by steeling herself inside a protective wall. She began her political life long before women were allowed to in the game. I am more interested in her capacity to govern than her willingness to entertain and cuddle the public.
2
What a shameful comment that Hillary is pathological about privacy. She has been examined more than anyone ever and learned the double standard that's applied to her. Hillary is physically and psychologically superior to her opponent who has escaped any reasonable scrutiny. We know nothing about his shady business dealings, health, taxes, on going lawsuits, etc. The records of his discrimination and cheating workers over his lifetime are barely mentioned. The Washington Post has the lock on credibility with their thorough research on the facts. The NYT is becoming the equivalent of a "scandal sheet". The false equivalencies are lazy and wrong.
4
The easiest, and one of the best, ways to figure out what Trump is hiding is to see what he accuses others of. It's called projection, and he can't resist. So, if Trump calls Hillary Clinton "crooked Hillay", it means that he knows his own (mostly hidden) finances show extensive fraud and malfeasance. If he accuses Jeb Bush of "low energy" it may be because he gets lots of sleep every night -- in his own sheets in his own bed in his own airplane--and then in his own bed in NYC--and can't summon the energy and diligence to even read, let alone master the briefing papers and information needed to actually make competent decisions. His accusations that HIllary Clinton is "owned" by the banks because of about 700000 in speaker's fees might be a better indicator of how "owned" he is by over 300 million dollars in money from Putin's buddies that have financed much of his recent real estate activity.
Now health: we will not see Trump health records any more than we will see his damning tax returns -- and for the same reason: they show uncomfortable reality.
Now health: we will not see Trump health records any more than we will see his damning tax returns -- and for the same reason: they show uncomfortable reality.
2
The Don once again proves hes is ADD, Manci Depressive, Narcissism on steroids. Now he "might" have disclosed some of his health with Dr. Oz. He won't say. And the press blares out his every move. This is insane!
3
I do not think that being reserved over being an exhibitionist is a pathological situation. It is a personality difference. One that is also often gendered.
Women tend to be more private because there is little reward and much punishment for being an exhibitionist. Showing everything as a woman doesn't get love and the coverage of Clinton is no exception.
I also don't think there is any reason we do need to know she had pneumonia since it wasn't a serious case. She got a little weak and dehydrated. That's it.
Women tend to be more private because there is little reward and much punishment for being an exhibitionist. Showing everything as a woman doesn't get love and the coverage of Clinton is no exception.
I also don't think there is any reason we do need to know she had pneumonia since it wasn't a serious case. She got a little weak and dehydrated. That's it.
3
This fixation, one promoted by the press, about the candidates' health and the public's need to know is maddening. Not only does it really not matter except if the candidate has a terminal illness but it deflects from what we should all be concerned about and at least two of those issues are mortal threats to our country and the world. Nine presidents have had to leave office before their terms expired, some from assassination, some from illness and one from political embarrassment. Our country managed to get through all of those crisis with the democratic system intact. In 1967 the 25th amendment was passed to ensure even clearer direction for replacement of a sitting president. We are losing a week or more of the remaining 150 days of this campaign to a non-issue when we should be pondering our own mortal condition with the threat of climate change and the possibility of nuclear war. That pundit Shakespeare called it this "petty pace." Some may call it this petty race.
2
The truly idiotic features of our taxing, protracted and outrageously expensive political campaigns are surpassed solely by the narcissism, megalomania and thirst for power that drive so many of the candidates to participate in running such a brutal, yet silly, gauntlet.
Does a commitment to freedom of speech actually demand that we, as citizens, put up with this utter idiocy--an idiocy that forces our elected officials to spend such a huge portion of their time raising donations, and participating in such palpably propagandistic, laughably choreographed and manipulative marketing ventures?
Such buffoonery makes no sense to the rest of the developed democratic world. Why must we continue to pretend it makes sense to us?
Must we--by doing the same routine over and over again, but each time expecting better results--display our insanity, on a regular basis, to the broader world?
Does a commitment to freedom of speech actually demand that we, as citizens, put up with this utter idiocy--an idiocy that forces our elected officials to spend such a huge portion of their time raising donations, and participating in such palpably propagandistic, laughably choreographed and manipulative marketing ventures?
Such buffoonery makes no sense to the rest of the developed democratic world. Why must we continue to pretend it makes sense to us?
Must we--by doing the same routine over and over again, but each time expecting better results--display our insanity, on a regular basis, to the broader world?
1
The health issue is just another distraction from discussing real issues. Any healthy person can develop problems in the future and any person with health problems can serve his/her term with no problem.
We (hopefully) elect people for their judgment and political skills to deal with our nation's problems and lead the country. How many great presidents would we have missed with the same obsessive scrutiny of their health? And how many perfectly healthy failed presidents have we had?
We (hopefully) elect people for their judgment and political skills to deal with our nation's problems and lead the country. How many great presidents would we have missed with the same obsessive scrutiny of their health? And how many perfectly healthy failed presidents have we had?
4
Gotta hand it to the Republican propaganda machine! They have done a good job of pushing Hillary into a corner through their conspiracy theories about her being unfit medically to run for the Presidency even before this incident at the 9/11 ceremony. No wonder her campaign did not want to reveal that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia by her doctor on Friday! That would be adding fuel to the conspiracy fire! Bad error in judgment! Instead of going on the offensive, Hillary campaign resorted to pretending that keeping secrets of this nature is actually productive! Don't thye know that teflon Don is the only one in this political season who can get away with things even far worse. By his own observation even shooting someone will not cause him to lose the support of his devoted fans! Hopefully the Hillary campaign learned a lesson (and hope not too late) to never allow Trump and his surrogates manipulate them! To me if anything, what this health episode proves is that she is human! Ask teachers and parents of young children. Exposure to any contagious disease puts one at risk of catching it! That is what happened to Hillary! That is not proof that Trump won't fall ill tomorrow! If anything being a man his age with lower life expectancy than a woman, and being a little older than Hillary, he is a more of a risk than she is!
3
The real pathology is the presumption that women's bodies are up for public scrutiny. We see that in the uproar that Mrs. Clinton did not declare that she has pneumonia and an Rx for it; we see that in the continue arbitrary restrictions on abortion; we see that in the different insurance coverage of birth control for women from that of Viagra for men; we see that in the ease with which Jeb! Bush dismissed the monetary priority of women's health care.
4
I spent most of my working life "on the road", in fact I had two separate wardrobes, one that went on the road and one for home so I didn't have to pack/unpack as much.
Sure, I stayed in hotels and ate in restaurants and relaxed in the hotel pool. But by and large I found the whole exercise grueling, often irksome and downright tiring and....lonesome. But for the candidates, apart from the travel they spend hours talking to large crowds under the gaze of thousands of eyes and cameras, every word and action scrutinized by a bunch of a seemingly cynical, somewhat lazy media looking for a "gotcha" moment ranging from an overheard frustration to perhaps even an "upskirt" in lieu of actually doing some policy homework.
Like Mr. Bruni, I too wonder why there isn't more sickness to accompany the dog-tiredness and frustrations of life traveling, despite the efforts made to ease the grind.
I also wonder how often they question "Is it really worth it?" Whether your motivation is a sincere desire to help your fellow citizen and country or self-gratification (another of the stark differences in this campaign) the path to the White House is an onerous one indeed.
Sure, I stayed in hotels and ate in restaurants and relaxed in the hotel pool. But by and large I found the whole exercise grueling, often irksome and downright tiring and....lonesome. But for the candidates, apart from the travel they spend hours talking to large crowds under the gaze of thousands of eyes and cameras, every word and action scrutinized by a bunch of a seemingly cynical, somewhat lazy media looking for a "gotcha" moment ranging from an overheard frustration to perhaps even an "upskirt" in lieu of actually doing some policy homework.
Like Mr. Bruni, I too wonder why there isn't more sickness to accompany the dog-tiredness and frustrations of life traveling, despite the efforts made to ease the grind.
I also wonder how often they question "Is it really worth it?" Whether your motivation is a sincere desire to help your fellow citizen and country or self-gratification (another of the stark differences in this campaign) the path to the White House is an onerous one indeed.
2
Perhaps she wouldn't have to be so secretive if we weren't so nosy? After a million investigations, she has been found to have committed no crime and gained no exceptional compensation (even the speaking fees, while exorbitant to most people, are hardly unusual for celebrity politicians, and, if anything, emphasize our perhaps uniquely American fascination with celebrity).
If there is an issue of pay for play, please let's follow Mr. Sanders' recommendation and have public financing of campaigns and create rules for how long public officials have to be out of office before they embark on speaking tours or lobby their colleagues. Mr. Trump's own contributions to an AG look awfully close to bribery; if she is subject to influence, hers is hardly an isolated case.
Perhaps pathological scrutiny creates pathological secrecy? Especially since at one point it opened what surely must have been a humiliating private incident not only before the world but before her daughter.
People keep telling me she's no Kennedy, no FDR, and that times have changed (as if there were no Cuban Missile Crisis, no WWII). I have no issue with amending the Constitution to require public officials to release tax returns and physicals but that will not cure our obsession with others' personal lives. What has changed is that we have lost all respect for privacy; now we turn even the most serious issues into National Enquirer stories.
If there is an issue of pay for play, please let's follow Mr. Sanders' recommendation and have public financing of campaigns and create rules for how long public officials have to be out of office before they embark on speaking tours or lobby their colleagues. Mr. Trump's own contributions to an AG look awfully close to bribery; if she is subject to influence, hers is hardly an isolated case.
Perhaps pathological scrutiny creates pathological secrecy? Especially since at one point it opened what surely must have been a humiliating private incident not only before the world but before her daughter.
People keep telling me she's no Kennedy, no FDR, and that times have changed (as if there were no Cuban Missile Crisis, no WWII). I have no issue with amending the Constitution to require public officials to release tax returns and physicals but that will not cure our obsession with others' personal lives. What has changed is that we have lost all respect for privacy; now we turn even the most serious issues into National Enquirer stories.
5
Let’s lose the 2-year presidential election slog.
Can we say in good faith that the extra year of campaigning has helped the electorate know the candidates in a fair and balanced way? I don’t think so. It’s an extra year of disproportionate coverage on issues; big money; framing the race around the battle in the arena, we the spectators whipped up and entertained, the candidates dueling to the bitter end.
One year is plenty. For the health of the candidates, the country, our democracy.
Can we say in good faith that the extra year of campaigning has helped the electorate know the candidates in a fair and balanced way? I don’t think so. It’s an extra year of disproportionate coverage on issues; big money; framing the race around the battle in the arena, we the spectators whipped up and entertained, the candidates dueling to the bitter end.
One year is plenty. For the health of the candidates, the country, our democracy.
2
Let’s see. A 68-year-old woman involved in a back-breaking, exhausting marathon develops what used to be called “walking pneumonia” and there is a one-day or two-day delay in releasing the news to the press.
This becomes the scandal of the week, as we all wait with bated breath for courageous reporters to uncover the leprosy which surely lurks in the background.
The existence of a private email server – already the crime of the century, even though it was never hidden to anyone who sent emails to her or received them and who knows that a .com address is not a .gov address – temporarily moves off center stage.
In the meantime, America is trying to deal with a maniac on the loose, who also happens to be running for president and who is busily forging bonds and planning strategy with the Kremlin.
The Twitter candidate in his Manhattan aerie probably has told his heavily armed surrogates here at home to stand down temporarily until he knows if they’ll be needed.
This becomes the scandal of the week, as we all wait with bated breath for courageous reporters to uncover the leprosy which surely lurks in the background.
The existence of a private email server – already the crime of the century, even though it was never hidden to anyone who sent emails to her or received them and who knows that a .com address is not a .gov address – temporarily moves off center stage.
In the meantime, America is trying to deal with a maniac on the loose, who also happens to be running for president and who is busily forging bonds and planning strategy with the Kremlin.
The Twitter candidate in his Manhattan aerie probably has told his heavily armed surrogates here at home to stand down temporarily until he knows if they’ll be needed.
3
Hillary Clinton isn't doing herself a favor with all this secrecy. I don't believe candidates should open up their complete medical files, and even then not everybody would be satisfied, because those files could say a lot, but mean very little.
But Clinton isn't regarded as very trustworthy in polls. To handle a situation like her pneumonia the way she did -- with lots of secrecy -- was a poor course of action. The way she did it just started rumors about her true medical condition.
On the other hand people should realize that even though Clinton or Trump will end up being President, they still have a private life and I would say their health status is private information as long as it doesn't affect the ability to act as President. Which would mostly be true for illnesses with a reduction in mental capacities.
America would be served well if people -- and sometimes the media -- would put the same amount of interest in policies and fact-checking as they put into spreading rumors and seeing the elections as a big reality show.
But Clinton isn't regarded as very trustworthy in polls. To handle a situation like her pneumonia the way she did -- with lots of secrecy -- was a poor course of action. The way she did it just started rumors about her true medical condition.
On the other hand people should realize that even though Clinton or Trump will end up being President, they still have a private life and I would say their health status is private information as long as it doesn't affect the ability to act as President. Which would mostly be true for illnesses with a reduction in mental capacities.
America would be served well if people -- and sometimes the media -- would put the same amount of interest in policies and fact-checking as they put into spreading rumors and seeing the elections as a big reality show.
1
I'm sick (no pun intended) of hearing about Clinton's pneumonia diagnosis as another sign of her penchant for secrecy. Who hasn't tried to tough through an illness to take care of important work matters? If Clinton were a man, the press would be praising her toughness! Think about it. The 911 commeroration was not only an important national event, but an important personal one. Clinton was Senator from New York on the day it happened, and she was instrumental in acquiring aid for the city and its first responders in its aftermath. And she faced criticism and the inevitable rumor mill (she's fragile and permanently impaired!) had she missed the event. She had to make a difficult political choice, and she thankfully lacks Trump's ego, who, had it been him, would have bragged that he was attending despite his illness. Yes, candidates need to let us know about important health issues, but I do not believe that they need to produce a doctor's note at every cough. For God's sake, can't this country grow up!
3
Republicans are shamelessly exploiting Clinton’s pneumonia. As I see it,
-Hillary wanted to attend the 9-11 Memorial, on an event involving her as a US Senator,
-Symptoms of pneumonia surfaced on Friday,
-Attending the Memorial, next day, was decided after her doctor felt it would be safe, and
-With the concurrence of her campaign staff, she decided on Friday to postpone telling the public about the pneumonia attack until Sunday to avoid becoming a major distraction at the Memorial.
This would be a satisfactory explanation when viewed in the context of U.S. history. Since 1994, when Ken Starr started a 4 ½-year investigation of the Clintons’ involvement in the Whitewater venture and the death of Vince Foster, spending $39.2 million, the private life of Hillary (and Bill) has become the subject of media serials for the bizarre entertainment of tens of millions. They expect, and often demand, being fed these intrusive accounts, and the inquiry into Hillary’s pneumonia and medical history is the latest such intrusion. These people need this information allegedly to determine whether she is qualified to be president. Did Americans express a comparable “need to know” about the health of FDR, Ike, and JFK? No, because voters felt then they would be effective presidents overcoming their health problems. Most voters today feel the same and also recognize that each president is backed up by a vice president, required by our system as insurance.
-Hillary wanted to attend the 9-11 Memorial, on an event involving her as a US Senator,
-Symptoms of pneumonia surfaced on Friday,
-Attending the Memorial, next day, was decided after her doctor felt it would be safe, and
-With the concurrence of her campaign staff, she decided on Friday to postpone telling the public about the pneumonia attack until Sunday to avoid becoming a major distraction at the Memorial.
This would be a satisfactory explanation when viewed in the context of U.S. history. Since 1994, when Ken Starr started a 4 ½-year investigation of the Clintons’ involvement in the Whitewater venture and the death of Vince Foster, spending $39.2 million, the private life of Hillary (and Bill) has become the subject of media serials for the bizarre entertainment of tens of millions. They expect, and often demand, being fed these intrusive accounts, and the inquiry into Hillary’s pneumonia and medical history is the latest such intrusion. These people need this information allegedly to determine whether she is qualified to be president. Did Americans express a comparable “need to know” about the health of FDR, Ike, and JFK? No, because voters felt then they would be effective presidents overcoming their health problems. Most voters today feel the same and also recognize that each president is backed up by a vice president, required by our system as insurance.
2
Mr. Bruni's article reflects the current logic that Clinton is bad but Trump is worse so vote for Clinton. But how could anyone want to put someone in the White House who is borderline pathological because of her perverse penchant for self destruction. Should we dismiss her pathology simply because it has been enduring, or should we be concerned that a self destructive President might, also, do a number on the rest of us?
It is truly tragic that a major political parry could nominate someone like Donald Trump. It reflects a breakdown in the American political system. However, the suggestion that we vote for his opponent as described in the article won't solve the problem; it can end up making it worse.
It is truly tragic that a major political parry could nominate someone like Donald Trump. It reflects a breakdown in the American political system. However, the suggestion that we vote for his opponent as described in the article won't solve the problem; it can end up making it worse.
2
Ground zero "meltdown"??
That sounds more like a tantrum or screaming fit than what it was, a person recovering from pneumonia (a case not serious enough to require hospitalization) succumbing to the heat and the crowd. But sure, spin it as a "meltdown" if it gets clicks. If she chooses privacy concerning a temporary illness, call it "secrecy", something illicit and suspect.
Mr. Bruni, the only path by which Trump wins is if the media fails to do their job, if they pursue false equivalence and if they fail to investigate that which obviously begs examination. Newsweek demonstrated the results of the hard work of real investigation today:
http://www.newsweek.com/2016/09/23/donald-trump-foreign-business-deals-n...
Trump wins if venerated news sources refuse to examine Trump's corruption and bribery, and instead produce soft interviews with angry voters who support him.
Trump wins if, following Hillary's statement concerning the basket of deplorables, we spend all our time discussing whether that was an expedient thing to say, instead of looking at the truth of the Trump campaign as Hillary sought to name it: that Trump has two kinds of followers, the desperate and disenfranchised, and the racist, bigoted, anti-semitic, xenophobic Alt-right as embodied by David Duke. Trump and Pence still won't denounce David Duke.
And that is deplorable.
That sounds more like a tantrum or screaming fit than what it was, a person recovering from pneumonia (a case not serious enough to require hospitalization) succumbing to the heat and the crowd. But sure, spin it as a "meltdown" if it gets clicks. If she chooses privacy concerning a temporary illness, call it "secrecy", something illicit and suspect.
Mr. Bruni, the only path by which Trump wins is if the media fails to do their job, if they pursue false equivalence and if they fail to investigate that which obviously begs examination. Newsweek demonstrated the results of the hard work of real investigation today:
http://www.newsweek.com/2016/09/23/donald-trump-foreign-business-deals-n...
Trump wins if venerated news sources refuse to examine Trump's corruption and bribery, and instead produce soft interviews with angry voters who support him.
Trump wins if, following Hillary's statement concerning the basket of deplorables, we spend all our time discussing whether that was an expedient thing to say, instead of looking at the truth of the Trump campaign as Hillary sought to name it: that Trump has two kinds of followers, the desperate and disenfranchised, and the racist, bigoted, anti-semitic, xenophobic Alt-right as embodied by David Duke. Trump and Pence still won't denounce David Duke.
And that is deplorable.
2
The entire country is suffering from exhaustion, a mental, emotional and physical fatigue. This endless, insane campaign didn't start 13 or 14 months ago with the 16 Republicans clowns, it started in 2008 when Barack Obama was elected.
And even before 2008 various "baskets of deplorables" have been spreading lies and hate like zombies who won't die. It's enough to make anyone sick.
The Orange Buffoon is diseased and contagious, born in the swamps of Republican hatred, fear and lies.
Eliminate him and we'll all get better.
And even before 2008 various "baskets of deplorables" have been spreading lies and hate like zombies who won't die. It's enough to make anyone sick.
The Orange Buffoon is diseased and contagious, born in the swamps of Republican hatred, fear and lies.
Eliminate him and we'll all get better.
7
When Hillary Clinton’s campaign finally released information about the pneumonia diagnosis, and the news media quickly hopped aboard the secrecy bus, it made me realize how really tired I am of this angle and the knee-jerk coverage in general. Yeah, yeah, she has this habit and makes things harder for herself. But this time around the overwrought quality of the stories pushed me to the point where I realized, well, this is who she is, take it or leave it. And weighed against her experience, depth of knowledge and policy positions — important stuff to be president — there’s no question in my mind about where I stand.
I’ll admit the video of Mrs. Clinton being helped into the van got to me when I first saw it. But when the diagnosis was released (again, finally), it was no big deal. I mean, who hasn’t gone to work when maybe they shouldn’t because there’s stuff to be done, or you can’t afford to take the time off? It’s what you do. And it should not be forgotten that, for Mrs. Clinton, this is all in the context of Trump’s passive-aggressive winking conspiracy about “stamina.” Such a wuss.
In the end, I feel clearer about my support for Mrs. Clinton. I made several donations to Bernie Sanders, and yesterday I made my first to her campaign. It’s not breaking news she really, really wants to be president. But now there’s proof she will soldier-on until, almost literally, she drops. I admire that passion and spirit. I hope to see her take it to the Oval Office.
I’ll admit the video of Mrs. Clinton being helped into the van got to me when I first saw it. But when the diagnosis was released (again, finally), it was no big deal. I mean, who hasn’t gone to work when maybe they shouldn’t because there’s stuff to be done, or you can’t afford to take the time off? It’s what you do. And it should not be forgotten that, for Mrs. Clinton, this is all in the context of Trump’s passive-aggressive winking conspiracy about “stamina.” Such a wuss.
In the end, I feel clearer about my support for Mrs. Clinton. I made several donations to Bernie Sanders, and yesterday I made my first to her campaign. It’s not breaking news she really, really wants to be president. But now there’s proof she will soldier-on until, almost literally, she drops. I admire that passion and spirit. I hope to see her take it to the Oval Office.
3
I'm a lib and not a Hillary fan, but I'm starting to really pull for her. We are hearing less about a first woman president than I had anticipated, which is a positive. Her gender should not be the reason that anyone votes for or against her. The stakes are too high to be concerned with race or gender.
However what is evident is the hurdles her gender face. For years women were disqualified by many as not experienced enough. But now that a woman is easily more qualified than her opponent, other hurdles emerge. Her likability and openness. Her "shrill" voice. Now her endurance and health.
She is suffering the slings and arrows of many who still perceive women as weaker, as the first of anything often have to endure the doubts. So while she is more ambitious then heroic, and is not intentionally taking the blows for her gender, I still wish her well as she plows the road for those who will someday follow behind her.
However what is evident is the hurdles her gender face. For years women were disqualified by many as not experienced enough. But now that a woman is easily more qualified than her opponent, other hurdles emerge. Her likability and openness. Her "shrill" voice. Now her endurance and health.
She is suffering the slings and arrows of many who still perceive women as weaker, as the first of anything often have to endure the doubts. So while she is more ambitious then heroic, and is not intentionally taking the blows for her gender, I still wish her well as she plows the road for those who will someday follow behind her.
5
Ross Douthat is really on to something when he characterized Mr. Trump's election hopes as hinging on a series of "grey swans". The last thing in the world Trump desires is a black swan, a truly unanticipated and disastrous event that would knock Hillary out of contention. She would then be replaced by someone more electable.
Trump has adopted a strategy whereby he seizes on actual events and their negative implications for Ms. Clinton, exaggerates their significance,
distorts them, and keeps them ever before the public's attention. He hopes, by a constant drip, drip, drip of amplified negative implications, to undermine Ms. Clinton's claims to be the better qualified candidate.
Ms. Clinton's current illness provides Mr. Trump with an ideal grey swan.
Trump has adopted a strategy whereby he seizes on actual events and their negative implications for Ms. Clinton, exaggerates their significance,
distorts them, and keeps them ever before the public's attention. He hopes, by a constant drip, drip, drip of amplified negative implications, to undermine Ms. Clinton's claims to be the better qualified candidate.
Ms. Clinton's current illness provides Mr. Trump with an ideal grey swan.
1
A witty read, one of the few good things to grow from this interminable slog of a campaign.
In December 2002, John Kerry, then a leading Democratic presidential candidate, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He did not reveal his cancer to the public until February 2003, a few days before surgery. Even a week before surgery he had denied being ill to a reporter. He kept his cancer private for many weeks in order to perform testing and consult with doctors and family about his treatment options. The press, including this paper, treated Kerry's illness and surgery in appropriately respectful tones: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/12/us/kerry-to-undergo-surgery-for-prosta...
Contrast this respect for Kerry's privacy with the hysterical reporting around Clinton's pneumonia. That she did not instantly leap to inform the press about contracting pneumonia, likely hoping it might be mild and something she could deal with, has been transformed into a “penchant for secrecy” that is “borderline pathological”. Really? She cannot have a day or two to deal with her health in private? The world is entitled to know every detail of a candidate’s health on the very day of a diagnosis?
Making a big fat fake fuss about Clinton's health, with Bruni’s frothing that this represents a “perverse form of self-destruction”, is just cheap reporting. Where’s the fuss over Trump refusing to release anything? Where’s the fuss over the decades long history of Trump's carefully protected corruption and sleaze? The double standard here is breathtakingly hypocritical.
Contrast this respect for Kerry's privacy with the hysterical reporting around Clinton's pneumonia. That she did not instantly leap to inform the press about contracting pneumonia, likely hoping it might be mild and something she could deal with, has been transformed into a “penchant for secrecy” that is “borderline pathological”. Really? She cannot have a day or two to deal with her health in private? The world is entitled to know every detail of a candidate’s health on the very day of a diagnosis?
Making a big fat fake fuss about Clinton's health, with Bruni’s frothing that this represents a “perverse form of self-destruction”, is just cheap reporting. Where’s the fuss over Trump refusing to release anything? Where’s the fuss over the decades long history of Trump's carefully protected corruption and sleaze? The double standard here is breathtakingly hypocritical.
213
I firmly believe that destiny calls Hillary Clinton. It calls her to be the first woman to break-through the no-female-president glass ceiling. Think about it. It's as if her entire life (as first lady, as senator, as secretary of state and so on) has been in preparation for this monumental moment. And that's reflected in the fact that she's the most qualified/experienced/knowledgeable candidate (male or female) ever to run for president. She's a solely unique candidate who can successfully take over the serious/complicated reins of government day one. Thus, nothing, nothing at all, will keep this bright/intelligent woman from walking through destiny's door. And that includes a temporary health issue or the character assassinations, psychological projections, and other undermining tricks of the likes of a Donald J.
7
So, now that Trump has reneged on his plan to discuss the results of his most recent physical exam with Dr. Oz, may we expect to see equal time devoted to what this reversal means? Did those results show something awful? Is he fit to run for President? Is his health now a private matter as alleged by his spokeswoman on TV, after she has spent days insinuating all sorts of terrible things about Clinton's pneumonia diagnosis and failure to let us all know ASAP? The far more stringent standards consistently applied to Clinton boggle the mine. Anyone who could best the Benghazi panel after 10+ hours of questioning, and leave Chairman Goudy literally sweating, is more than fit to be President. Could Trump have withstood that kind of assault without having a stroke or storming out? I think not.
3
In November I will vote for Hillary Clinton. If the worst case rumors are true about her health (highly unlikely, to be sure), I will effectively be voting for Tim Kaine, potentially with some degree of Bill Clinton as shadow President. I will gladly cast that ballot.
9
Richard--Of course millions of Americans can't see any value in the first two terms of Obama. Millions of Americans voted for Romney and/or McCain, just not the majority of voters. The majority of voters voted for Obama twice and more than 50% polled have favorable views of Obama.
All the voters matter, but let's not pretend that your millions outweigh the millions that voted for Obama and still would. We will find out if Trump's "inexperience" in governing garners him votes or not. Trump has a great deal of experience, but much of it is disqualifying him for the office rather than qualifying. He has a great deal of wealth garnered by unethical and sometimes illegal practices. He is the least qualified Republican nominee I've ever seen. Going back to Nixon, all of the Republican nominees had something to recommend them
All the voters matter, but let's not pretend that your millions outweigh the millions that voted for Obama and still would. We will find out if Trump's "inexperience" in governing garners him votes or not. Trump has a great deal of experience, but much of it is disqualifying him for the office rather than qualifying. He has a great deal of wealth garnered by unethical and sometimes illegal practices. He is the least qualified Republican nominee I've ever seen. Going back to Nixon, all of the Republican nominees had something to recommend them
4
Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton got pneumonia from working too hard. The Don flies home every night so he can sleep in his own bed. And we are actually having this discussion trying to seriously compare them in one of the world's leading news sources? It boggles the mind.
21
njglea, We don't know how Mrs. Clinton got pneumonia. It's the strain that people transmit to each other, and campaign staffers were/are also sidelined with the bug. Certainly, it worsened by her ignoring it- remember Jim Henson?
So, it remains to be reported, how she got the illness. Oh, yeah, her opponent is one degree of separation from a former KGB operative, who never shies from removing adversaries the old-fashioned way. And that operative stands to gain tons from seeing her... go down. Think about it. It wouldn't surprise me.
So, it remains to be reported, how she got the illness. Oh, yeah, her opponent is one degree of separation from a former KGB operative, who never shies from removing adversaries the old-fashioned way. And that operative stands to gain tons from seeing her... go down. Think about it. It wouldn't surprise me.
1
This misses the point. I suspect that is deliberate.
It isn't about Hillary's "cough." It isn't about a mild case of walking pneumonia.
It is about how she handled it.
Worse, it is about how in this horserace environment much of our media abandons all principles they usually support and say this is just fine, all in for their side no matter what.
It isn't about Hillary's "cough." It isn't about a mild case of walking pneumonia.
It is about how she handled it.
Worse, it is about how in this horserace environment much of our media abandons all principles they usually support and say this is just fine, all in for their side no matter what.
5
Trump just reneged on disclosing his health records.
He's also now under investigation regqrding his "charity."
He's also now under investigation regqrding his "charity."
2
We could say the same about how Trump has been handling his health information.
2
As with most things that get far more attention in the media than they should before people generally have had a chance to give it some thought, this health thing needs some thinking through. What about a president's health - if the president is female, what do I want to know? every time she has a yeast infection? endometriosis? other afflictions of the female reproductive organs, which can afflict women with great regularity? The results of her annual pap smear or mammogram? What about the president if he's male - whether he's taking pills for ED? The results of his latest test for prostate cancer? his treatment for indigestion? Is there not a real possibility that some kinds of info could rapidly and wrongly destroy careers - anyone remember Edmund Muskie and his treatment for depression?
There's a lot to chew over here. Let's all give it some thought before we rush to judgments and adopt positions.
There's a lot to chew over here. Let's all give it some thought before we rush to judgments and adopt positions.
2
Nobody is (fairly) saying the candidates' health is the ONLY issue.
But let's get back to real life here.
When a candidate has two coughing fits, one lasting three minutes, and a week later collapses after leaving early from a 9/11 commemoration event, we voters naturally wonder what's going on. We wonder whether we're really choosing between Clinton and Trump, as we'd thought, or between Kaine and Trump, or perhaps between Kaine and Pence.
I'd have said the candidates' right to privacy means they don't have to disclose medical records – IF we hadn't just received very good reasons to wonder about Clinton's ability to serve if elected.
Trump might have insisted it's unfair to ask the same of him, but he hasn't made that argument. To the contrary, he's announced that he'll release a full report of his recent physical, as soon as the report is available. In a separate article, the Times points out that Trump withdrew his announcement that he'd discuss the results with Dr. Oz, but I couldn't care less what Dr. Oz has to say about those results; I just want Trump to release them, as he's promised.
I don't fault Clinton for not disclosing her pneumonia diagnosis. I'd have done exactly the same thing. But now that it's out there, and she's had two long coughing fits and one collapse in the course of a week, we voters have very good reasons for asking for some independent confirmation that she'll be able to serve if elected -- or not, if that's the case.
But let's get back to real life here.
When a candidate has two coughing fits, one lasting three minutes, and a week later collapses after leaving early from a 9/11 commemoration event, we voters naturally wonder what's going on. We wonder whether we're really choosing between Clinton and Trump, as we'd thought, or between Kaine and Trump, or perhaps between Kaine and Pence.
I'd have said the candidates' right to privacy means they don't have to disclose medical records – IF we hadn't just received very good reasons to wonder about Clinton's ability to serve if elected.
Trump might have insisted it's unfair to ask the same of him, but he hasn't made that argument. To the contrary, he's announced that he'll release a full report of his recent physical, as soon as the report is available. In a separate article, the Times points out that Trump withdrew his announcement that he'd discuss the results with Dr. Oz, but I couldn't care less what Dr. Oz has to say about those results; I just want Trump to release them, as he's promised.
I don't fault Clinton for not disclosing her pneumonia diagnosis. I'd have done exactly the same thing. But now that it's out there, and she's had two long coughing fits and one collapse in the course of a week, we voters have very good reasons for asking for some independent confirmation that she'll be able to serve if elected -- or not, if that's the case.
4
Trump will release his health records about eleven hours after he releases his tax records.
And by the way, the issue with the Oz show is that Trump, yet again, made a promise and then reneged.
Pardon me if I prefer a Prez who at least pretends to try and do what they've said they'll do.
And by the way, the issue with the Oz show is that Trump, yet again, made a promise and then reneged.
Pardon me if I prefer a Prez who at least pretends to try and do what they've said they'll do.
1
Mr. Bruni you say, "Her self-protection is a perverse form of self-destruction." No, it is not. Any woman or man who has been the target of mass attempts to destroy them know Mr. Hillary Rodham Clinton's self-protection is very smart. The press pounces on her because she won't hold press conferences then when she does allow them on her plane they act like a bunch of parrots and talk about e-mails instead of anything but substance. Republicans have been relentless in their pursuit of her for 25+ years.
Want to talk about self-protection? Talk about The Don - if you have the courage. It appears real courage is in short supply in today's media. They tippy toe around him. It's disgusting in The Don's words.
By the way, it seems The Don won't talk about his health with Dr. Oz after all. It was a complete ratings-getting sham anyway. What a mockery he is making of OUR country.
Want to talk about self-protection? Talk about The Don - if you have the courage. It appears real courage is in short supply in today's media. They tippy toe around him. It's disgusting in The Don's words.
By the way, it seems The Don won't talk about his health with Dr. Oz after all. It was a complete ratings-getting sham anyway. What a mockery he is making of OUR country.
29
self-protection is smart if it works, but if it becomes self-destructive (the email server, telling the world you are fine two hours before your campaign says you were diagnosed with pneumonia days before) then it is not smart.
when self-protective moves are repeatedly not smart and repeatedly become self-destructive (travel gate, denouncing the women who complained about Bill Clinton's sexual advances and actions, up to present instances), then it is an ingrained negative personality trait, which can also be called a pathology.
is Trump worse?
I can only quote Sarah Palin (or was it Tina fey?): You Betcha!
I don't think gender has anything to do with Trump being more pathological than Clinton, but I could be wrong.
when self-protective moves are repeatedly not smart and repeatedly become self-destructive (travel gate, denouncing the women who complained about Bill Clinton's sexual advances and actions, up to present instances), then it is an ingrained negative personality trait, which can also be called a pathology.
is Trump worse?
I can only quote Sarah Palin (or was it Tina fey?): You Betcha!
I don't think gender has anything to do with Trump being more pathological than Clinton, but I could be wrong.
1
In the past couple days, I’ve heard or read several opinions from “neutral” media saying that this pneumonia episode is another example of Clinton’s penchant for secrecy. Gimme a break!
If she HAD announced it to the media last Friday when the diagnosis was given, Republicans would have spun it as a play for sympathy while mockingly making violin-playing gestures. As it is, they spin the story as more secrecy, which is understandable coming from them. But NOT coming from “neutral” media.
Health issues that may impact a president’s ability to serve are important for voters to know. Lesser temporary health issues are not. The media needs to quit inundating the public with superfluous information. Focus on the policies of the two candidates! What are they likely to do in office! That is what will have real impact on lives, and what the voters need to know, as opposed to blow by blow descriptions of her sniffles.
If she HAD announced it to the media last Friday when the diagnosis was given, Republicans would have spun it as a play for sympathy while mockingly making violin-playing gestures. As it is, they spin the story as more secrecy, which is understandable coming from them. But NOT coming from “neutral” media.
Health issues that may impact a president’s ability to serve are important for voters to know. Lesser temporary health issues are not. The media needs to quit inundating the public with superfluous information. Focus on the policies of the two candidates! What are they likely to do in office! That is what will have real impact on lives, and what the voters need to know, as opposed to blow by blow descriptions of her sniffles.
16
I'm not so sure withholding the truth is ever a good idea. If she had done that simple thing, any subsequent denouncements from the GOP would have been seen as insensitive at best, vengeful at worst.
The pneumonia diagnosis is now a secondary issue. Her trustworthiness, already in the tank, took another hit.
Any reasonable person would decide that she can't be trusted to disclose simple things like an illness. What does that say about what else she doesn't tell us as it relates to her fitness for POTUS?
The pneumonia diagnosis is now a secondary issue. Her trustworthiness, already in the tank, took another hit.
Any reasonable person would decide that she can't be trusted to disclose simple things like an illness. What does that say about what else she doesn't tell us as it relates to her fitness for POTUS?
2
I'm guessing that the news media, including you, Mr. Bruni, won't give Hillary a break on her attempts to maintain a smidgen of privacy in a life that has been subjected to more scrutiny than any other living human being save for Bill Clinton, unless she starts taking a pool reporter with her to the bathroom. As for Trump, get out the press bazooka and start firing at that armored car of opacity.
As an aside, we'll probably see Trump's medical records when we see his tax returns.
As an aside, we'll probably see Trump's medical records when we see his tax returns.
16
Frank, I love your writing. This is good, but not fair. Hillary is not any more secretive than Trump. What do we know about Trump, really? Except he is crude, shallow, and deplorable. Yes I said it and yes Hillary was telling the truth. Trump disparages Mexicans, women, Muslims, and African Americans, sometimes all in the same day, but Hillary's use of the word deplorable hurts his feelings. And the feelings of his deplorable followers.
Our elective process is out of control and inhuman. The money spent is obscene, the time spent is a waste. We can't get anything legislated in 4 years but we can spend 2 years on this? The length of the process alone is enough to make a candidate look sick. Why do we put up with this deplorable political process? Deplorable is my new favorite word.
Using the word pathological to describe Hillary is untrue and unfair and an example of the less that honest reporting on Hillary. Especially as she is running against the poster child of pathological, Donald Trump.
Otherwise, I love your writing. Have a good day.
Our elective process is out of control and inhuman. The money spent is obscene, the time spent is a waste. We can't get anything legislated in 4 years but we can spend 2 years on this? The length of the process alone is enough to make a candidate look sick. Why do we put up with this deplorable political process? Deplorable is my new favorite word.
Using the word pathological to describe Hillary is untrue and unfair and an example of the less that honest reporting on Hillary. Especially as she is running against the poster child of pathological, Donald Trump.
Otherwise, I love your writing. Have a good day.
16
You've said all we need to know when you claimed, "Their stamina isn’t at issue, just their sanity." Hillary Clinton may have short-lived "walking pneumonia," but Donald Trump has a life-long case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder with its massive grandiosity, lack of empathy, and incessant lying to get attention, approval, and denigrate others. If we really want to know about a candidate's health, it must include mental, as well as physical, conditions that impair their ability to govern. Donald Trump has just such a condition that disqualifies him from holding any political office. When it comes to an election there is no choice (and I'm not a big fan of Sec. Clinton, but I am a professional psychologist), but to vote for "sanity." And there's absolutely no doubt about Hillary Clinton's mental stability, "temperament" or "sanity."
11
Neither of the Triassic era dinosaurs currently running for President of the United States of America have hair honestly colored to reflect their chronological age.
Neither Donald nor Hillary would be confused with a healthy youthful slim athletic active human being. That was John F. Kennedy the youngest American ever elected President. But JFK had hidden health maladies based upon his genetic biological history-Addison's disease- and life history-naval service. That would be Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton was no healthy exercising healthy eating athlete. Bill has heart problems. And Clinton's paternal genetic heritage is unknown. Mr. Obama is known for being active and athletic while chain smoking. And the Obama paternal and maternal heritage is known.
Family mental, physical and emotional medical history of the candidates and their parents are essential information for American voters when the presidential candidates are two setting septuagenarian suns. Coupled with detailed current medical mental, emotional and physical.
Every one notices that Hillary Clinton has mammary glands and is a mother. And all can see that Donald Trump is father who has had two Slavic born atheistic communist supermodel wives. Their colored all white condition separates them from the current White House occupant.
While hissy fits are stereotypically female, Trump has had them as often as Cruz, Rubio, Carson and Christie. The prancing pretending posturing parade of princesses.
Neither Donald nor Hillary would be confused with a healthy youthful slim athletic active human being. That was John F. Kennedy the youngest American ever elected President. But JFK had hidden health maladies based upon his genetic biological history-Addison's disease- and life history-naval service. That would be Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton was no healthy exercising healthy eating athlete. Bill has heart problems. And Clinton's paternal genetic heritage is unknown. Mr. Obama is known for being active and athletic while chain smoking. And the Obama paternal and maternal heritage is known.
Family mental, physical and emotional medical history of the candidates and their parents are essential information for American voters when the presidential candidates are two setting septuagenarian suns. Coupled with detailed current medical mental, emotional and physical.
Every one notices that Hillary Clinton has mammary glands and is a mother. And all can see that Donald Trump is father who has had two Slavic born atheistic communist supermodel wives. Their colored all white condition separates them from the current White House occupant.
While hissy fits are stereotypically female, Trump has had them as often as Cruz, Rubio, Carson and Christie. The prancing pretending posturing parade of princesses.
6
The fact that they are rationalists (only pinheads and inbreds use the term atheist) is literally the only good thing they have going for them.
1
Of course we are concerned about Hillary Clinfon's health as she has had a few issues lately with fainting spells and uncontrolled coughing. It is only fitting that the woman running for president of one of the most important offices in the world be forthcoming about health issues and concerns that might effect her ability to be our next leader. We want the truth if it is at all possible from a woman who has been caught in lies and half truths. Is this asking too much?
Donald Trump should also be forthcoming about his health and provide all the details of his medical records. Although it is not Donald Trump who has had physical problems recently and he looks pretty healthy to me. He seems to have a great deal of stamina and grit.
Donald Trump should also be forthcoming about his health and provide all the details of his medical records. Although it is not Donald Trump who has had physical problems recently and he looks pretty healthy to me. He seems to have a great deal of stamina and grit.
6
Instead of parsing Hillary Clinton's very treatable pneumonia and dehydration — understandable during this endless election season — I look to find anything worthy or redeeming in Donald Trump. There is nothing. Nada. Zilch. No one is more ill-suited or ill-prepared to be president than this hollow, self-absorbed, bigoted boor. He offends every time he opens his mouth, one large ruptured pipeline spewing toxicity. His business 'success' was inheriting wealth from Dad and failing to pay contractors and vendors.
A dangerous clown, fomenting hate on the campaign trail, mocking the disabled, lying with the majority of his statements (pants on fire), is not to be rewarded with our highest office. GOP, how *could* you do this to our country?
A dangerous clown, fomenting hate on the campaign trail, mocking the disabled, lying with the majority of his statements (pants on fire), is not to be rewarded with our highest office. GOP, how *could* you do this to our country?
14
I'd *love* to see Judge Judy take Trump apart. I wouldn't be surprised if she could. Dr. Oz is bad news; too many people buy the Oprah sign of good intentions and belief in magic and he's good looking.
Frank Bruni makes a good point: I am increasingly frustrated with Hillary's campaign, which is defensive rather than coming out swinging with the obvious, such as all the good the Clinton Foundation does, what it supports, how it operates, that the Clintons give to it rather than taking out of it. Why is this so difficult?
I's not just false balance and clickbait in the more open-minded press promoting constant "gossip" memes about unpopularity and corruption. The campaign itself and Hillary are in a defensive huddle. I can't blame people who've been subjected to modern internet abuse (it's worse than you think), but with Fox in a solid front, we do need the facts to get out.
The Clinton campaign can't just point to a website and list of policies. They have to batter away at the disinformation and get the truth out.
As to the health, the idea that extensive health records and a new battery of tests are a requirement is both invasive and wrong. On the whole, I believe Clinton will now pay better attention to her doctor(s) and so she should. But for Trump to claim the high ground on health is risible. He's so obviously self-indulgent, and flies home to sleep in his own bed every day. How does that work? Does he gold plate the White House? (an appalling thought)
Frank Bruni makes a good point: I am increasingly frustrated with Hillary's campaign, which is defensive rather than coming out swinging with the obvious, such as all the good the Clinton Foundation does, what it supports, how it operates, that the Clintons give to it rather than taking out of it. Why is this so difficult?
I's not just false balance and clickbait in the more open-minded press promoting constant "gossip" memes about unpopularity and corruption. The campaign itself and Hillary are in a defensive huddle. I can't blame people who've been subjected to modern internet abuse (it's worse than you think), but with Fox in a solid front, we do need the facts to get out.
The Clinton campaign can't just point to a website and list of policies. They have to batter away at the disinformation and get the truth out.
As to the health, the idea that extensive health records and a new battery of tests are a requirement is both invasive and wrong. On the whole, I believe Clinton will now pay better attention to her doctor(s) and so she should. But for Trump to claim the high ground on health is risible. He's so obviously self-indulgent, and flies home to sleep in his own bed every day. How does that work? Does he gold plate the White House? (an appalling thought)
8
Clinton recently gave a major speech on her mental health plan. The media ignored it. It's the media that doesn't want to cover substance. I'm sure Hillary would love to talk policy.
6
Hillary Clinton has a cold. The same one we all had this year and still took cold meds and went to work. What is really at work here is ageism and its evil twin misogyny, because as we all know it is women in our culture who are not allowed to age. We know Hollywood thinks actresses who are 36 are too old to play the love interests of men nearly 60. We know it is women who spend billions each year on lotions and potions and surgeries to try to look younger. We know that it is women who internalize and endure the stereotypes about aging, and knowingly and unwittingly pass these along to our daughters.
Therefore, to see an exceptionally strong, stunningly beautiful and highly intelligent 68 year old woman, like Hillary Clinton on the world stage running for president is a completely new phenomenon. She is the first. She is feminism personified. She is everything little girls are still being told they can’t be when we insist on dressing them in pink midriff baring clothing from little in girls’ clothing shops; even as we enrol them in soccer and tell them they can be anything they want to be.
This is not about health secrecy; this is about misogyny and ageism. This is about a country that has nurtured and shaped one of the greatest woman leaders in world history, but still refuses to allow her to succeed and most of all to be human. Women are still fighting to be “persons.”
Therefore, to see an exceptionally strong, stunningly beautiful and highly intelligent 68 year old woman, like Hillary Clinton on the world stage running for president is a completely new phenomenon. She is the first. She is feminism personified. She is everything little girls are still being told they can’t be when we insist on dressing them in pink midriff baring clothing from little in girls’ clothing shops; even as we enrol them in soccer and tell them they can be anything they want to be.
This is not about health secrecy; this is about misogyny and ageism. This is about a country that has nurtured and shaped one of the greatest woman leaders in world history, but still refuses to allow her to succeed and most of all to be human. Women are still fighting to be “persons.”
19
"only 36 percent of respondents said that Trump was qualified to be president"
What these 36 percent are clearly talking about, a crucial point that gets lost in the morass of this election, is his mental health, not his physical health. If these candidates are going to release their health records, I for one would be much more interested in a mental health assessment and how any issues discovered there could impact the presidency. Not a bone spur or a bout with pneumonia.
What these 36 percent are clearly talking about, a crucial point that gets lost in the morass of this election, is his mental health, not his physical health. If these candidates are going to release their health records, I for one would be much more interested in a mental health assessment and how any issues discovered there could impact the presidency. Not a bone spur or a bout with pneumonia.
3
Trump just announced he won't be talking about his health, even with his Republican buddy, Dr. Oz. But Hillary Clinton is the one with a problem with transparency about her health. Trump obviously has no plans to ever release his tax documents, and no one in The press seems to have a problem with that fact. The Trump Foundation has been revealed to be something between a money making front for Trump dressed in the guise of a charity and a funnel thought which he can bride politicians, but the Clinton Foundation which has actually saved lives, educated people and tried to pull together diverse groups to do good and has been consistently rated A level in its uses of donations by charity rating groups is the one that has to be disbanded.
Why don't we just admit we are in the equivalent of a high school election for president of the senior class. We are not going to vote for the valedictorian, because she messes up the grade curve in every class for the rest of us with her relentless work ethic and exhausts us with her do-gooderism, when, frankly, all we want to do is kick back and go to the game on the weekend, not work at the local homeless shelter. Instead we are going to vote for the rich kid who throws the wild parties when his parents aren't home, terrorizes everyone with the threat of nasty nicknames, and uses his parents money to buy off the administration every time he gets into trouble. Too bad this particular election will give him the nuclear codes!
Why don't we just admit we are in the equivalent of a high school election for president of the senior class. We are not going to vote for the valedictorian, because she messes up the grade curve in every class for the rest of us with her relentless work ethic and exhausts us with her do-gooderism, when, frankly, all we want to do is kick back and go to the game on the weekend, not work at the local homeless shelter. Instead we are going to vote for the rich kid who throws the wild parties when his parents aren't home, terrorizes everyone with the threat of nasty nicknames, and uses his parents money to buy off the administration every time he gets into trouble. Too bad this particular election will give him the nuclear codes!
14
Hillary has spent many years in demanding jobs that included a lot of travel. Nonetheless, she appears to have more energy and stamina than many of us in our late 60's. Trump may be physically healthy enough (we can't tell from his doctor's note), but he clearly does have a personality disorder. That condition is not curable. It puts a serious limitation on his ability to listen to or empathize with anyone else. Several people who have worked with him report he has a short attention span and is, as he appears to be in public, impulsive and unpredictable. The chaos of his campaign shows the burden of these traits.
6
Now that Trump has cancelled even the carnival show of talking to Dr. Oz and only about the health issues Trump cared to reveal from an undisclosed recent physical supposedly performed by a yet undisclosed doctor, I think we are more than entitled to ask, "What's he hiding?"
I generally don't care about candidates' health, but the Trump campaign and the media have made health an issue, so it ought to be dealt with evenhandedly. Trump's behavior around his health is shaping up to be the same as his behavior around his taxes: full nondisclosure.
At this point, any member of the media who writes one more word about Hillary's "lack of transparency" in the face of Trump's stonewalling must be considered no longer a reporter but a Trump campaign flack.
I generally don't care about candidates' health, but the Trump campaign and the media have made health an issue, so it ought to be dealt with evenhandedly. Trump's behavior around his health is shaping up to be the same as his behavior around his taxes: full nondisclosure.
At this point, any member of the media who writes one more word about Hillary's "lack of transparency" in the face of Trump's stonewalling must be considered no longer a reporter but a Trump campaign flack.
10
There is a difference between privacy or intimacy. and honesty. Voters do not need (or usually care) to know every personal detail of a candidate's life. What we do require and deserve, is candid disclosure of historic behavior, current views and future intentions. It would appear that neither of these candidates respect the American voter enough to think that we can "handle the truth".
4
What does it say about either candidate that they have treated this issue just like so many issues in this campaign, with triviality and secrecy? It's not that I am that interested in their personal medical records. I think that a cursory, serious synopsis would suffice. Overall, the way each campaign has either bungled it or tried to use it to their advantage gives me even less confidence in how they would handle other much more serious and complicated matters as president. One could say they will have the most-esteemed advisors and counselors in the world at their disposal as president, but they already have quite a cadre of staff, particularly in Mrs. Clinton's case, and look how they have managed to not handle this issue very well at all.
7
One hopes Mr. Bruni realizes this is not the two-horse race peddled incessantly by the media. When neither of the major party candidates is inclined toward transparency the involved voter ought to be looking in other directions for candidates who are. No one is being forced into a vote for the "lesser of two weevils."
As Charley Reese noted in his now-famous 1985 editorial in the Orlando Sentinel, the problems we face now were all created by the "One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices — 545 human beings out of 235 million — are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country." If, over the years, there were any among this group who weren't Republicans or Democrats, that fraction pales to statistical irrelevance.
Would you keep your lemon of a car because you believed there were no other choices? The parties have offered up one candidate with carburetor issues and another with a distributor problem. Never has the status quo screamed so loud for an overhaul. Endless posturing and angling for advantage by both major parties has left us with two wheels in the ditch and no prospects for getting out. It's high time to call the tow truck.
As Charley Reese noted in his now-famous 1985 editorial in the Orlando Sentinel, the problems we face now were all created by the "One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices — 545 human beings out of 235 million — are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country." If, over the years, there were any among this group who weren't Republicans or Democrats, that fraction pales to statistical irrelevance.
Would you keep your lemon of a car because you believed there were no other choices? The parties have offered up one candidate with carburetor issues and another with a distributor problem. Never has the status quo screamed so loud for an overhaul. Endless posturing and angling for advantage by both major parties has left us with two wheels in the ditch and no prospects for getting out. It's high time to call the tow truck.
5
"The parties have offered up one candidate with carburetor issues and another with a distributor problem. Never has the status quo screamed so loud for an overhaul. Endless posturing and angling for advantage by both major parties has left us with two wheels in the ditch and no prospects for getting out. It's high time to call the tow truck."
It's too bad that the 3rd party candidates have a blown engine and a seized-up transmission, respectively, so your argument is moot.
Oh, by the way, how's Aleppo doing these days?
It's too bad that the 3rd party candidates have a blown engine and a seized-up transmission, respectively, so your argument is moot.
Oh, by the way, how's Aleppo doing these days?
1
I guess I don't understand the health issue in this presidential election. One candidate has a simple, curable medical condition (pneumonia), while the other has a debilitating, incurable medical condition (narcissistic personality disorder). Why is there a disadvantage for Clinton?
28
Hillary hasn't held an open press conference in almost 300 days. That is the opposite of transparency. If she were to be elected President, she can rightly say that she has a mandate to continue what she has done over the past year. We can look forward to a shuttered White House with the occasional Executive Order tossed over the fence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave while reporters, who were banished from the property, scramble on their knees to see what the latest decree held.
The only new things we've learned about Hillary during this election cycle has been information that was leaked by hackers. The only reason her staff released the Pneumonia Prognosis was because she collapsed in the street and a random Joe caught it on their cell phone. If that citizen hadn't posted the video we wouldn't have even known about it since the traveling press corps was ordered to stay back, stand down and stop filming.
We are setting a dangerous precedent that this type of opaqueness is the new normal for our President.
The only new things we've learned about Hillary during this election cycle has been information that was leaked by hackers. The only reason her staff released the Pneumonia Prognosis was because she collapsed in the street and a random Joe caught it on their cell phone. If that citizen hadn't posted the video we wouldn't have even known about it since the traveling press corps was ordered to stay back, stand down and stop filming.
We are setting a dangerous precedent that this type of opaqueness is the new normal for our President.
12
She has done over 350 interviews in the first 7 months of this year alone. But because they weren't open press conferences she is non-transparent? That's absurd. She is probably the most investigated politician on the planet and guess what? There is nothing that any other politician in her position hasn't done. That includes emails.
Bush was so ill in Japan he vomited at a state dinner. The other Bush is an alcoholic. Reagan had all kinds of issues. Why is it ok for them to be non-transparent? How is this a new precedent?
Bush was so ill in Japan he vomited at a state dinner. The other Bush is an alcoholic. Reagan had all kinds of issues. Why is it ok for them to be non-transparent? How is this a new precedent?
163
Hillary is pilloried
Her quest for privacy is "borderline pathological." When every possible word she utters is parsed in the most negative ways to give a negative view of her and positive spin to the opposition, is this pathological? Trump can disparage the parents of a U.S. military war victim and it's completely forgotten in a few days.
Hillary is pilleried for the truth! At least half the Trump supporters are "deplorable." However, that word, has a broad reaching connotation that Hillary, a lawyer with verbal skills, should never have used. But, the word never reaches the depths of Trumps truly pathological statements.
The Trump support of Trump is deplorable, for obvious reasons. But, the people themselves, are backing Trump for a whole list of reasons, some legitimate, some single issue, and some by the cognative dissonance of ignoring the negative things Trump represents, to feel good about those few narrow issues.
Hillary must never put down an opposition voter. They may have been fooled and lied to, but we can't blame them for putting hope in another candidate, even if the candidate is deplorable.
Her quest for privacy is "borderline pathological." When every possible word she utters is parsed in the most negative ways to give a negative view of her and positive spin to the opposition, is this pathological? Trump can disparage the parents of a U.S. military war victim and it's completely forgotten in a few days.
Hillary is pilleried for the truth! At least half the Trump supporters are "deplorable." However, that word, has a broad reaching connotation that Hillary, a lawyer with verbal skills, should never have used. But, the word never reaches the depths of Trumps truly pathological statements.
The Trump support of Trump is deplorable, for obvious reasons. But, the people themselves, are backing Trump for a whole list of reasons, some legitimate, some single issue, and some by the cognative dissonance of ignoring the negative things Trump represents, to feel good about those few narrow issues.
Hillary must never put down an opposition voter. They may have been fooled and lied to, but we can't blame them for putting hope in another candidate, even if the candidate is deplorable.
4
The Constitution, as amended, has provisions for succession in the event of the death, resignation, impeachment or incapacity of a President. There is no remedy for what ails Donald Trump.
I would vote for a dead or indicted Hillary Clinton before voting for Donald Trump alive and at the top of his game.
I would vote for a dead or indicted Hillary Clinton before voting for Donald Trump alive and at the top of his game.
18
Look at what blindly voting democratic party lines has done to your state.
4
The problem is that the media is only holding one candidate's feet to the fire. Only Hillary is required to be transparent in everything she does. Only her tax returns are required, only her health records, only her answers need to be "fuller, more coherent and more grammatical" . Trump can lie to the media's faces, speak in tongues and shoot people on 5th Ave without fear of a followup question. I was fooled into believing that the election of a black President would be the final nail in racism's coffin. Putting Hillary in an early coffin shows that misogyny isn't going anywhere soon either.
18
The only people interested in Trump's tax returns are the people who aren't going to vote for him regardless of what they show. At this point it is just the noise to make when anybody criticizes Clinton.
3
Many will probably be watching the debates between Trump and Clinton, not to hear issues discussed, but to see if Hillary experiences a coughing episode. Some hope she will,others are fearful. This is certainly a strange presidential race.
4
Maybe it is because it has been going on for 9 months. I doubt she has had pneumonia for 9 months. The cough is not normal and not allergy related since we are now entering the fourth different season of the year.
12
I cough from allergies. Allergies are not just related to seasons but sometimes to buildings and other particles or contaminants.
1
Thanks for explaining that, Dr Adams.
1
Running for president is brutal for all candidates, except the current Republican nominee. How convenient. No bias here. So what if he travels home every night. While I enjoy my own bed, and the company of my wife, the difficulty of traveling is not the hotel room; it's the actual travel, enduring the plane ride and the ground travel. Trump has not been forthcoming, but he also has not evidenced any physical problems. I have no doubt Trump travels in much better comfort than us commoners, but so does Clinton.
A week ago, all concerns about Clinton's health were just "conspiracy theories," but the media has learned nothing, because of their ideological and elitist blindness. With the same credulity that they accepted the allergy explanation, they accept the pneumonia explanation. Pneumonia is just the best explanation the Clinton camp could muster during five hours of crisis management. It may be true, and it may be the most serious thing wrong with her, but we have no way of knowing that, because they lie and obfuscate constantly, and any correspondence their explanation has with the truth is purely random.
A week ago, all concerns about Clinton's health were just "conspiracy theories," but the media has learned nothing, because of their ideological and elitist blindness. With the same credulity that they accepted the allergy explanation, they accept the pneumonia explanation. Pneumonia is just the best explanation the Clinton camp could muster during five hours of crisis management. It may be true, and it may be the most serious thing wrong with her, but we have no way of knowing that, because they lie and obfuscate constantly, and any correspondence their explanation has with the truth is purely random.
10
In a scary parallel to HRC, I too have pneumonia. It started about 2 weeks ago with a cough and shortness of breath. Since I have allergies and asthma, I attributed it to that and used my inhaler, but kept up my regular work and social schedule. 10d later it was not getting better and my family insisted I see the Dr. who diagnosed pneumonia. Now I am on antibiotics and feeling much better, thank you.
The point is, this can happen to any one, and the way Clinton treated her illness by powering through is pretty much normal, at least in my social and work group and presumably in hers, though we are light years apart. I do fault her for not disclosing her diagnosis immediately and taking a break, but frankly, she would have been pilloried for that also. At least I could take 2-3 days off work and not suffer any consequences!
Bottom line - I just don't see this as an issue. And I admire her stamina. I could not have maintained her schedule. It was hard maintaining my own, with a mere 8h work day at a desk. And I'm 15 years younger.
The point is, this can happen to any one, and the way Clinton treated her illness by powering through is pretty much normal, at least in my social and work group and presumably in hers, though we are light years apart. I do fault her for not disclosing her diagnosis immediately and taking a break, but frankly, she would have been pilloried for that also. At least I could take 2-3 days off work and not suffer any consequences!
Bottom line - I just don't see this as an issue. And I admire her stamina. I could not have maintained her schedule. It was hard maintaining my own, with a mere 8h work day at a desk. And I'm 15 years younger.
39
Of all the rather lame explanations offered by Hillary's staff, one explanation rings true: She wanted to power her way through it.
Good Lord, we know she's ambitious and this is definitely her last shot at the White House.
If The Donald loses, he'll just spend the rest of his life dodging litigation. Probably prison, if we ever get to see his tax returns...
Good Lord, we know she's ambitious and this is definitely her last shot at the White House.
If The Donald loses, he'll just spend the rest of his life dodging litigation. Probably prison, if we ever get to see his tax returns...
14
I just really fail to see that Clinton was obligated to issue a press release the moment she was diagnosed with pneumonia. It's not like she was diagnosed with brain cancer. Are candidiates now obligatated to issue press releases if they come down with the flu? The media needs to get a grip when it comes to its coverage of Hillary Clinton.
52
She should have canceled a few appearances which would have required a few explanations. If she truly has pneumonia it never hurts to tell the truth. Decades of parsing and short circuiting have helped to create a situation for Clinton where it hard to believe her no matter what she says. In this incidence if she was ill she should have stayed in bed. That would have required an (hopefully honest) explanation. Once again her bad judgement and the baggage of her reputation didn't allow her to do the thing that made sense.
A willingness to allow a candidate to disappear from the campaign trail with no explanation, or excuse one who refuses to see the press for months is apathy. These are the people who could get your kids killed in more illegal wars. We have the right to respectfully criticize and disagree. For the most part if they want the job they owe us. If they earn our respect and loyalty they will have it.
A willingness to allow a candidate to disappear from the campaign trail with no explanation, or excuse one who refuses to see the press for months is apathy. These are the people who could get your kids killed in more illegal wars. We have the right to respectfully criticize and disagree. For the most part if they want the job they owe us. If they earn our respect and loyalty they will have it.
3
Shame on you Bruni..."Frailty"...Really?
Is is frailty when you get a cold germ from someone who sneezes when you are 23? Or get the zika virus? We are humans and live in a land of germs. I also object strongly to this overblown attention on when WE were informed she had pneumonia. We sound like discarded lovers who were damaged because our partners didn't tell us they had an STD. HRC is a bulldog and like many of us, thought she could push through an illness that would have been better served if she had taken a day or two to rest and recuperate. So much more has been made of this than serious shortcoming of her opponent whose proposed actions could put us all in mortal danger, and have already damaged the moral health of our country. I will say that she doesn't thrill me...I was (am) more of a progressive Bernie supporter, and I am not truly excited about voting for her. But we really need to start evaluating her (and DT) based on their ability and qualifications in doing the job as president. Even if one would propose that her health as president might be an issue, we DO have a legal succession procedure. As far as secrecy? I think it would be far more important to look into the non-knowledge we have about Trump. All we know about him is what he says...and that is in constant flux. I heard there is a story in Newsweek this morning that is an exposé about his business dealings and taxes. THAT is much more important than whether or not Hillary told us she had pneumonia.
Is is frailty when you get a cold germ from someone who sneezes when you are 23? Or get the zika virus? We are humans and live in a land of germs. I also object strongly to this overblown attention on when WE were informed she had pneumonia. We sound like discarded lovers who were damaged because our partners didn't tell us they had an STD. HRC is a bulldog and like many of us, thought she could push through an illness that would have been better served if she had taken a day or two to rest and recuperate. So much more has been made of this than serious shortcoming of her opponent whose proposed actions could put us all in mortal danger, and have already damaged the moral health of our country. I will say that she doesn't thrill me...I was (am) more of a progressive Bernie supporter, and I am not truly excited about voting for her. But we really need to start evaluating her (and DT) based on their ability and qualifications in doing the job as president. Even if one would propose that her health as president might be an issue, we DO have a legal succession procedure. As far as secrecy? I think it would be far more important to look into the non-knowledge we have about Trump. All we know about him is what he says...and that is in constant flux. I heard there is a story in Newsweek this morning that is an exposé about his business dealings and taxes. THAT is much more important than whether or not Hillary told us she had pneumonia.
25
Running for President is a walk in the park on a late spring afternoon compared with the stress of serving as President of the most powerful nation in the history of the world.
You can't say a healthy Donald Trump is unsuited for office but that a Hillary Clinton over 60 percent of the electorate considers untrustworthy somehow is suited. And that she is despite the possibility of her suffering from some ongoing neurological problem, and her proven determination, and the determination of her firmest supporters, to maintain secrecy at all costs.
You can't say a healthy Donald Trump is unsuited for office but that a Hillary Clinton over 60 percent of the electorate considers untrustworthy somehow is suited. And that she is despite the possibility of her suffering from some ongoing neurological problem, and her proven determination, and the determination of her firmest supporters, to maintain secrecy at all costs.
10
"You can't say a healthy Donald Trump is unsuited for office but that a Hillary Clinton over 60 percent of the electorate considers untrustworthy somehow is suited."
I find it hilarious that you use a statistic to denigrate one candidate, when the other has a worse "favorable" rating with the same public. Pathetic.
I find it hilarious that you use a statistic to denigrate one candidate, when the other has a worse "favorable" rating with the same public. Pathetic.
2
Funny- over 60% of the electorate find Trump untrustworthy as well. Why is that left out of your argument?
1
One has spent a lifetime slogging it through, fighting for every degree, every job, every policy and mastering the fine points of domestic and foreign policy.
And the other one inherited his throne, promoted it, licensed it, sold it and now is considered presidential by virtue of his marketing skills.
The fighter who earned it, or the attacker who lucked into it.
I know who I'm voting for.
And the other one inherited his throne, promoted it, licensed it, sold it and now is considered presidential by virtue of his marketing skills.
The fighter who earned it, or the attacker who lucked into it.
I know who I'm voting for.
47
First, we were told she got "overheated." On a 75-degree day.
Then, she went to Chelsea's $10 million apartment to recover. She claims to have pneumonia. Why not go to a hospital or go straight to Chappaqua?
Then, she comes out of Chelsea's apartment, saying she's fine and possibly exposing a young girl to pneumonia.
Then, a video comes out that shows her collapsing at the 9/11 event and being carried into a van, leaving her shoe in the gutter.
These are powerful and bizarre optics that I with my own eyes. I'm not sure I want four or eight years of another Clinton lying to my face.
And Trump isn't an option, either. So what's a good citzen supposed to do?
Then, she went to Chelsea's $10 million apartment to recover. She claims to have pneumonia. Why not go to a hospital or go straight to Chappaqua?
Then, she comes out of Chelsea's apartment, saying she's fine and possibly exposing a young girl to pneumonia.
Then, a video comes out that shows her collapsing at the 9/11 event and being carried into a van, leaving her shoe in the gutter.
These are powerful and bizarre optics that I with my own eyes. I'm not sure I want four or eight years of another Clinton lying to my face.
And Trump isn't an option, either. So what's a good citzen supposed to do?
19
vote for the idiot Trump with the expectation that he is going to be indicted within the first 6 months.
1
"Then, she comes out of Chelsea's apartment, saying she's fine and possibly exposing a young girl to pneumonia."
Pneumonia isn't contagious. I guess ignorance truly is bliss.
Pneumonia isn't contagious. I guess ignorance truly is bliss.
2
There does indeed seem to be a substantial difference in styles. For instance, it seems that almost all meetings with poobahs of various kinds take place in Trump Tower. People come to him, rather than requiring him to exert himself once in a while go by going to them. He treats his private jet like a whistle stop train from the old days: walking down the stairs, up to a podium on the tarmac, delivering a speech and then flying home to Manhattan for the night.
While Hillary's camped out at a Hampton Inn for the night, Donald exerts his thumbs with twittering from his Trump Tower bed, surrounded by stainless steel, gold doorknobs and framed magazine covers featuring himself as the cover boy. One gets the impression that his entire Trump Tower "apartment" is an "I Love Me" room, but with no trophy cases.
That's probably the way a septuagenarian should conduct himself - if he can afford it - but it's hardly a display of the stamina usually required for a presidential campaign. It's just not... presidential.
While Hillary's camped out at a Hampton Inn for the night, Donald exerts his thumbs with twittering from his Trump Tower bed, surrounded by stainless steel, gold doorknobs and framed magazine covers featuring himself as the cover boy. One gets the impression that his entire Trump Tower "apartment" is an "I Love Me" room, but with no trophy cases.
That's probably the way a septuagenarian should conduct himself - if he can afford it - but it's hardly a display of the stamina usually required for a presidential campaign. It's just not... presidential.
12
Did you mean Hampton inn as one that is in The Hamptons where Clinton has been reported to spend a bit of time this summer by this paper. Trump made at least his sixth appearance in Philly last night. There is a lot to criticize about Trump, however hiding out in a luxury pad somewhere is the least of them. Over the top sarcasm is as meaningless and unhelpful as Trump's rants.
2
Don't know what Trump does in some places but in Pa. he has made speeches in convention halls and other venues of that type where he has spoken to crowds of thousands. And if he is only speaking at airports, which he is not , at least he is showing up.
Trump held two rallies in different Pa. cities on one of the hottest days of the summer here. The airport in at least one of the cities hardly would hold the number of people who attended the rally. Perhaps he uses a helicopter to arrive at times but here at least he is not addressing crowds from the steps of his plane. Trump spoke near Philly last night, for something like the sixth time. He spoke in a hall, no airport any closer than there are anywhere Hillary speaks, if she does.
I keep writing about Trump's appearances in my state like a broken record. Sorry about that. But people keep posting these fairy tales about Trump's easy life on the campaign trail. When you just put words on a page with no basis in reality you sound like you are getting paid so much a word, no matter what you say. Baseless hyperventilations look as bad from Clinton fanboys as they do from Trump's.
Trump held two rallies in different Pa. cities on one of the hottest days of the summer here. The airport in at least one of the cities hardly would hold the number of people who attended the rally. Perhaps he uses a helicopter to arrive at times but here at least he is not addressing crowds from the steps of his plane. Trump spoke near Philly last night, for something like the sixth time. He spoke in a hall, no airport any closer than there are anywhere Hillary speaks, if she does.
I keep writing about Trump's appearances in my state like a broken record. Sorry about that. But people keep posting these fairy tales about Trump's easy life on the campaign trail. When you just put words on a page with no basis in reality you sound like you are getting paid so much a word, no matter what you say. Baseless hyperventilations look as bad from Clinton fanboys as they do from Trump's.
2
So Trump is having a sit-down with a guy who claimed soap can cure restless leg syndrome, the séances can save your life, that chili peppers and green coffee bea extract can make you lose weight, that you can survive surgery with the help of a Reiki master, that Umckaloabo root cures the common cold, that 200 orgasms a day reduces your age - so Trump will have his "consult" with this "expert" and emerge to tell us his physical condition is "amazing", "beautiful" and "outstanding".
18
Yes, with Dr. Oz. Who claimed all of what you cited and yet is still wildly popular with viewers. Rather seems they are a perfect match.
1
Sec. Clinton has more fortitude in her little finger than just about any other politician out there. A quality that IS required to be president of the U.S. As her staff states repeatedly "she will power through."
And she does.
When President Reagan was shot there was concern and well wishes, from every side of the aisle, as there should be. Now Sec. Clinton is much less serious, yet I see almost no "get well soon" wishes anywhere. I say emphatically, what is happening to our humanity? Where is the neighbor bringing over a meal or retrieving the mail because you are under the weather?
The press and all the others revelling and profiting in the discomfort of anyone is sick, and shameful.
Sec. Clinton, I wish you good health soon. Bring back the humanity.
And she does.
When President Reagan was shot there was concern and well wishes, from every side of the aisle, as there should be. Now Sec. Clinton is much less serious, yet I see almost no "get well soon" wishes anywhere. I say emphatically, what is happening to our humanity? Where is the neighbor bringing over a meal or retrieving the mail because you are under the weather?
The press and all the others revelling and profiting in the discomfort of anyone is sick, and shameful.
Sec. Clinton, I wish you good health soon. Bring back the humanity.
23
Different only bc of transparency. I'm no Trump supporter and Trump's clearly made no attempt to hide his hissy fits. If I had an employee who repeatedly lied to me, I'd fire rather than promote him or her. The coughing fits never were a big deal to me--I have allergies and a persistent cough myself--but the attempt to dissemble after the fainting has left me very uneasy.
11
What attempt to dissemble? She postponed for two days announcing the diagnosis. When someone asked her how she felt, she said great. That's what many people say to strangers. She does have coughing due to allergies. She did develop pneumonia, a common illness for which she was being treated. Did you think she would stop on the sidewalk and share with the world her diagnosis? Ridiculous double standard. Charles Schumer had pneumonia a few weeks ago. He divulged it on Monday. He took antibiotics, had a light schedule, and didn't blare out his private medical condition to the world.
2
Hillary Clinton calmly and comfortably weathered an unprecedented 11-hour congressional Salem Witch Trial last October dominated by Republican Congressional conspiracy theorists and lunatic fringers foaming at the mouth over Benghazi.
There have been few public displays of such American grit, intelligence, diplomacy, level-headedness and endurance displayed by an American - Hillary Clinton - in the cross-hairs of a seditious enemy indulging in yet another of their many attempts to overthrow the American government.
I would like to see Donald Trump weather an 11-hour Congressional hearing into his hiring of the 200 undocumented Polish workers who cleared the land that his Trump Tower stands on who later successfully sued him for a lack of fair wages, a lack of overtime wages and blatant violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and United States immigration law.
The final legal settlement remains 'sealed' in secrecy.
The one time Hillary Clinton was MIA on the campaign trail was when Clinton was seconds late to the Democratic debate stage in December following a bathroom break.
Trump's Presidential response ?
"I know where she went -- it's disgusting, I don't want to talk about it," Trump said, contorting his face as his 5th grade Basket of Deplorables audience laughed and cheered. "No, it's too disgusting. Don't say it, it's disgusting."
As Donald Trump went MIA during the Vietnam War with his ever-so-delicate ladylike heels excuse.
We know who the real sicko is.
There have been few public displays of such American grit, intelligence, diplomacy, level-headedness and endurance displayed by an American - Hillary Clinton - in the cross-hairs of a seditious enemy indulging in yet another of their many attempts to overthrow the American government.
I would like to see Donald Trump weather an 11-hour Congressional hearing into his hiring of the 200 undocumented Polish workers who cleared the land that his Trump Tower stands on who later successfully sued him for a lack of fair wages, a lack of overtime wages and blatant violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and United States immigration law.
The final legal settlement remains 'sealed' in secrecy.
The one time Hillary Clinton was MIA on the campaign trail was when Clinton was seconds late to the Democratic debate stage in December following a bathroom break.
Trump's Presidential response ?
"I know where she went -- it's disgusting, I don't want to talk about it," Trump said, contorting his face as his 5th grade Basket of Deplorables audience laughed and cheered. "No, it's too disgusting. Don't say it, it's disgusting."
As Donald Trump went MIA during the Vietnam War with his ever-so-delicate ladylike heels excuse.
We know who the real sicko is.
191
Don't forget, she already destroyed the blackberries and wiped the servers with a cloth when the hearing occurred.
Obstruction of justice is justified when its for the Blue Team. As Saul Alinsky taught her, the ends justify the means.
Obstruction of justice is justified when its for the Blue Team. As Saul Alinsky taught her, the ends justify the means.
3
Thank you for bringing up Trump's response to Hillary's bathroom break! No wonder she was dehydrated; if she risks that kind of public comment every time she needs to go, I wouldn't be surprised if she deliberately restricts liquids during the day.
3
Nowhere in the world do elections go on for this long, this expensive. Back in 2012 alone, it crossed a billion dollar mark. What a drain of money and resources. Running the election is only the first step. Post election, fundraising continues for the next election...and so on. What an utter disgusting waste, when billions are starving, have no place to live, have no clothes to wear. Sadly Mrs Clinton represents the kind of politician who will take Big Money, any money, anytime, she has no qualms. Mrs Clinton is supposedly doing a favor, when in 2013, women democratic senators signed a secret pledge urging Mrs Clinton to run as First Lady President. She carries the hopes of these women senators on her shoulders, apparently. That's a lot to carry for a 68+ year old or younger...
16
I wonder what Prof Krugman would say. Is an election a way to pump money directly into the economy of the nation?
Big money and politics have gone hand-in-hnad in this country since the very begining of this country -- or did you think Clinton invented it??
The trouble is, that's all everyone seems to focus on when there's a lot more there.
And yes. Fundraising is one of those necessary things one needs to do to ensure downline-candidates have a shot of being elected.
The Republicans do the same thing.
The trouble is, that's all everyone seems to focus on when there's a lot more there.
And yes. Fundraising is one of those necessary things one needs to do to ensure downline-candidates have a shot of being elected.
The Republicans do the same thing.
Trump is like a butterfly fluttering happily through this campaign, sucking up sweetness from all the Republican flowers that are bowing towards him. To him it's food for the ego, not hard work. And if he is elected, the fluttering will continue. This has always been Trump's modus operandi. He's a name, something he inherited from his father along with a lot of money, but the real work gets done by someone else. Attorneys are handy that way when you run scam universities and businesses that don't like to pay contractors and employees, and really good ones can even bail you out of failing casinos with a profit.
In a Trump presidency. this 'someone else' would be Mike Pence, a man who shares Trump's scorn for women and ordinary people and has the self-righteous attitude of someone who thinks he's always right. But Trump would still have the power. And that makes him a very dangerous choice.
In a Trump presidency. this 'someone else' would be Mike Pence, a man who shares Trump's scorn for women and ordinary people and has the self-righteous attitude of someone who thinks he's always right. But Trump would still have the power. And that makes him a very dangerous choice.
55
Hillary Clinton is deceptive. She always has been and she always will be. Can you write about something interesting an useful?
15
And Drumpf is not.
Thank you, Frank. What stunned in your piece "Hillary Clinton's Sick Days" was your phrase, "what we have is a stress-aggravated instance of frailty from one of two senior citizens engaged in a marathon". It is beyond comprehension that Hillary Clinton is now a senior citizen recovering from pneumonia, while her Republican nemesis continues to bizarrely spin straw into election gilt. Dr. Oz will examine Donald Trump on his TV show on Thursday? Is Dr. Oz Professor Marvel, the snake oil medicine man in his caravan (and later the Wizard of Oz, a nobody), Dorothy Gale meets on a road in Kansas before the cyclone? Running for office in the US in the longest lasting presidential campaign in memory is like running over hot coals. Some fakirs manage to make the miraculous run, other fakers fall to burning and blistered feet. Thrilling to see President Obama yesterday take up Hillary's momentary fallen gonfalon, beat feet to the hustings for her and praise her to the skies, deriding her opponent. One wonders if the moving photo of Mrs. Clinton at dusk by Doug Mills, accompanying your column today - still a Hillary sick day - is a harbinger of a grievous time to come or the herald of Hillary Clinton's victory as yet unachieved? Time will tell us.
6
Nancy, the British were brilliant in dismissing ayurveda, an ancient healing medicine system from the Indian subcontinent, as primitive. They banned it. Little did they know that an expert physician could simply feel your pulse using three fingers and determine which organ which part of your body was out of whack. Designed and tailor made to that specific individual, the herbs and concoctions were then formulated and the person treated. Even grandmas and moms were trained to these fundamental remedies, using local herbs, spices, roots and brews. Western medicine has yet to catch up with these ancient systems. Tibetan medicines, Chinese medicines, ayurvedic medicines have been around since before the western civilizations understood any condiment beyond salt and black pepper. Thanks to the trades on the Silk route and camel back routes, many beneficial spices were introduced to the middle east and western world.
So before you dismiss dr Oz as a wizard of Oz, please take a moment to admit that we here in the western world, do not KNOW everything that is to be known. Kindly.
So before you dismiss dr Oz as a wizard of Oz, please take a moment to admit that we here in the western world, do not KNOW everything that is to be known. Kindly.
1
May I also add that Hillary herself is very familiar with ancient eastern medicines and the practice of yoga and meditation. Trump, doubt it very much.
BTW, Dr Oz is connected to Bill Clinton's heart surgery team in a very "its a small world" way http://www.heartosaurus.com/2012/08/new-york-presbyteriancolumbia-heart....
BTW, Dr Oz is connected to Bill Clinton's heart surgery team in a very "its a small world" way http://www.heartosaurus.com/2012/08/new-york-presbyteriancolumbia-heart....
1
Karl Rove plants a seed to the right wing media about Hillary's health. Social media gets into the ruse by showing unflattering pictures and video. Then the mainsteam entertainment, tabloid media gets into the mix, demanding more health records. Then much to Karl's diabolical delight, Hillary comes down with pneumonia. Now she's perceived as swooning and weak by the NYT. Karl is laughing now. Then because Hillary has seen this senario for 30 years, she doesn't let us know she's sick right away and suddenly she's being secretive again. Karl just fell over on the floor. His diabolical plan worked and the NY Times fell right into the trap. Congrats.
340
unflattering pictures and video? Most people have "unflattering pictures and video". I have enough of myself to fill all the storage in your computer. There are two videos of Clinton having a physical reaction that can only be described as very concerning, not "unflattering". If you have seen those videos and say otherwise, than you share Clinton's must serious disease - Compulsive Lying Disorder.
Vote Your Conscience. Johnson/Weld 2016
Vote Your Conscience. Johnson/Weld 2016
What secrecy ?
No other candidate was vetted as much as Hillary Clinton for the last 40 some years. Yes she did not disclose her walking Pneumonia thinking it should be over soon until her body gave in. Actually her tenacity is remarkable and I respect her more for her that.
Critics are forgetting She was on Lauer`s grueling right before that where she stood up from time to time to address them all.
And the joke of today Trump is going to a quack show of Dr. Oz to prove how healthy he is and to Dr. Phil to show he is mentally fit.
America is becoming a clown`s reality show and media is all for that.
No other candidate was vetted as much as Hillary Clinton for the last 40 some years. Yes she did not disclose her walking Pneumonia thinking it should be over soon until her body gave in. Actually her tenacity is remarkable and I respect her more for her that.
Critics are forgetting She was on Lauer`s grueling right before that where she stood up from time to time to address them all.
And the joke of today Trump is going to a quack show of Dr. Oz to prove how healthy he is and to Dr. Phil to show he is mentally fit.
America is becoming a clown`s reality show and media is all for that.
130
As I have repeatedly written, the US is in an irreversible death spiral as manifested by choosing candidates each with a 60% disapproval rating, a Congress even less popular, gridlock in DC, our tragically flawed persistent war policy in the Middle East and elsewhere, income disparity, Wall Street banksters and now Wells Fargo, and our failure to address climate change. The presidential campaign suffers from poverty of thought, a junior high school play ground debate. We are done for.
In response to B Sharp from Cincinnati, I totally agree about the reality show aspect of America. There seems to be a "confusion" by Trump supporters as to what is really "real". Madame Secretary is real, a politician doing great work, seasoned, over exposed, stalwart and enduring. A foundation helping thousands combating AIDS in Africa. A lifetime of advocacy for women and children mired by poverty.
Trump is the fiction with his lies and back tracking, plain lack of coherence and knowledge of the facts, and his obvious unsuitability for the office of President of the United States; erratic decisions, whimsical thought, narcissistic thinking. Plus the added danger as he exposes the United States to ridicule by the rest of the world and an unhealthy positive regard for a murderous ex KGB director?
When American stops looking for the "show" aspect of news and facts and starts a debate about verifiable truths, then we might be on the right track. Until then we will have the "false equivalences" resulting in the messy and chaotic thinking predominating this election cycle.
Trump is the fiction with his lies and back tracking, plain lack of coherence and knowledge of the facts, and his obvious unsuitability for the office of President of the United States; erratic decisions, whimsical thought, narcissistic thinking. Plus the added danger as he exposes the United States to ridicule by the rest of the world and an unhealthy positive regard for a murderous ex KGB director?
When American stops looking for the "show" aspect of news and facts and starts a debate about verifiable truths, then we might be on the right track. Until then we will have the "false equivalences" resulting in the messy and chaotic thinking predominating this election cycle.
4
“He’s ignorant, but so robustly ignorant. A liar, but such a strapping one. Forget those hateful tirades; look at those cholesterol levels.”
Just add an S in from of the "He's" and Frank's frank judgment equally applies to HRC, from the tirades to the hissy fits. Her judgment is even worse. Read the Post's quote from Colin Powell today. When in doubt, lie.
Find another non-major candidate, folks. They both are major disasters.
Just add an S in from of the "He's" and Frank's frank judgment equally applies to HRC, from the tirades to the hissy fits. Her judgment is even worse. Read the Post's quote from Colin Powell today. When in doubt, lie.
Find another non-major candidate, folks. They both are major disasters.
17
I am so sick of this. She kept campaigning (she shouldn't have) despite her diagnosis. She kept moving. IF she'd disappeared with no explanation, I'd get the criticism. But she kept working. Why do we feel we need to know every detail of Hllary's life and if we don't, it means she's deliberately keeping something nefarious from us? It doesn't. It means there are more important things to talk about, which is exactly how Hillary Clinton thinks. Why is there more outrage over her being sick for a couple of days than there is over Trump clearly hiding something by not releasing his tax returns like every candidate has done in modern times? The standards we put on HRC compared to any other candidate are absurd, including the relentless refrain from the press that she's untrustworthy and dishonest when not only to statistics show that that is a false claim but her opponent is the worst liar to ever run for office.
I don't get it, other than to say that, from my own workforce experience, it smacks of the tactics used to keep women "in their place" and make their progress much more difficult than that of a man.
It's sexism. Plain and simple.
I don't get it, other than to say that, from my own workforce experience, it smacks of the tactics used to keep women "in their place" and make their progress much more difficult than that of a man.
It's sexism. Plain and simple.
161
I completely agree.
Peter Beinart from The New Yorker calls it 'fear of emasculation.'
White men are particularly susceptible to it.
Peter Beinart from The New Yorker calls it 'fear of emasculation.'
White men are particularly susceptible to it.
3
An article in Ha'aretz, "When Golda Meir, Israel's first and only female PM, also took a fall," reminds us that Golda Meir had two collapses, an injury, and lymphoma before she was elected prime minister at age 69.
47
A YouGov poll commissioned by the Times of London shows that less than half the voters believe Hillary Clinton's explanation that she is suffering from pneumonia.
So her problem is not just illness, whatever she might be feeling. She has lost all credibility with the voters, and they are waiting for the next revelation to come out.
So her problem is not just illness, whatever she might be feeling. She has lost all credibility with the voters, and they are waiting for the next revelation to come out.
17
The meeting will come to order. The Chair invokes the Cokie Roberts rule.
'Less than half of people BELIEVE...'
That's just it, there's always something to 'believe' but not a lot to 'believe in.'
I believe in her and always have.
#bigbluewave
That's just it, there's always something to 'believe' but not a lot to 'believe in.'
I believe in her and always have.
#bigbluewave
1
Leaders don't get sick. They have a job to do. It happens every day in every workplace in America. Parents don't get sick. They have children to care for.
That Secy. Clinton didn't tell Frank Bruni or the other media leeches who would secretly LOVE! to be in the room at all of her doctors' appointments, is perfectly rationale behavior.
Frank, show us your medical records going back to childhood, your voting history for each election and your tax records. For all we know, you're a close ally of Trump or Putin.
That Secy. Clinton didn't tell Frank Bruni or the other media leeches who would secretly LOVE! to be in the room at all of her doctors' appointments, is perfectly rationale behavior.
Frank, show us your medical records going back to childhood, your voting history for each election and your tax records. For all we know, you're a close ally of Trump or Putin.
21
"Her self-protection is a perverse form of self-destruction. It’s borderline pathological." I call that irresponsible journalism. For one thing, her self-protection is perfectly normal and average human behavior. First you lay out how difficult running for office is - don't you think the scrutiny of public service requires self-protection from the daily insults? Secondly, you are not qualified to evaluate what is or is not pathological from the sidelines.
67
I agree. Pneumonia is a self limited illness, which typically has little consequence if properly treated. Why the need to disclose? It's like waking up with diarrhea and feeling compelled to tell everyone.
Disclosure of health conditions has not been the norm for presidents. Why doesn't anyone look into Ronald Reagan's non-disclosure of cognitive changes that almost certainly occurred while he was president and covered up by his family and staff?
As anecdote, while watching Ronald Reagan give a speech during his last year of presidency, I told my husband that i thought President Regan had Alzheimer's disease, as his speech patterns had changed so significantly. How does that situation compare with the current one?
Disclosure of health conditions has not been the norm for presidents. Why doesn't anyone look into Ronald Reagan's non-disclosure of cognitive changes that almost certainly occurred while he was president and covered up by his family and staff?
As anecdote, while watching Ronald Reagan give a speech during his last year of presidency, I told my husband that i thought President Regan had Alzheimer's disease, as his speech patterns had changed so significantly. How does that situation compare with the current one?
50
Yes, we had a right to know about Reagan. And we have a right to know if HRC is hiding a neurological disorder that they are trying to explain away with allergies, dehydration, pneumonia, etc. Past omissions or mistakes are no carte blanche for the current election.
5
Diagnosed with pneumonia, Hillary has been declared walking-dead by Trump surrogates. But not by Trump. No, Mr. Trump used the occasion to express his concern for her health and wish her recovery. X$!!& Sorry, I had to vomit. The master of insults expressing genuine concern? No, that was opportunism, manipulation--he struck a pose of a caring person to give the public the impression he is not an unfeeling psychopath he actually is. That is deplorable--disgraceful--shameful--awful.
Speaking of deplorable...and baskets? Consider the man who used to have a middle class job, used to have a retirement plan, lost his home following the 2008 bank-casino collapse, now scraping along working for half his former wages. He's no racist, no xenophobe, not anti-Muslim; he's angry. Legitimately, understandably angry. He's supporting Trump because he is angry at our government's failure to work. He is not deplorable, but his support for Trump is deplorable. He's buying into Trump and Republican lies blaming President Obama and Secretary Clinton for his losses and government's failures. I's deplorable he does not see the truth. He's so angry he sees Trump as a bold, successful leader. That's deplorable. This man and many like him are in the basket of deplorable. They are good people, but misguided people. They are not deplorable, but their support for Trump is deplorable. It is lamentable that they are suckered by the snake-oil salesman and Republican Party. That is deplorable.
Speaking of deplorable...and baskets? Consider the man who used to have a middle class job, used to have a retirement plan, lost his home following the 2008 bank-casino collapse, now scraping along working for half his former wages. He's no racist, no xenophobe, not anti-Muslim; he's angry. Legitimately, understandably angry. He's supporting Trump because he is angry at our government's failure to work. He is not deplorable, but his support for Trump is deplorable. He's buying into Trump and Republican lies blaming President Obama and Secretary Clinton for his losses and government's failures. I's deplorable he does not see the truth. He's so angry he sees Trump as a bold, successful leader. That's deplorable. This man and many like him are in the basket of deplorable. They are good people, but misguided people. They are not deplorable, but their support for Trump is deplorable. It is lamentable that they are suckered by the snake-oil salesman and Republican Party. That is deplorable.
171
The basket of deplorables is Congress. The Trump voters are the victims.
3
Agreed. But the issue of Ms. Clinton's honesty, translated as "transparency," makes her vulnerable. She may have pneumonia, as she has stated, or she may not. You just don't know with Hillary. And therein lies the problem. Once your pathological need for privacy entails deception, and you're branded as liar, well, you can say whatever you like, your opponents are going to have a field day with speculation. Never mind that Ms. Clinton's opponent routinely lies. His lies are the result of not knowing anything, and saying whatever comes into his head from whatever sources he may have seen; hers, on the other hand, are the work of someone who knows what's going on and lies purposely to deceive.
13
Here are the facts.
The Democratic Presidential nominee was on the road campaigning with only a few weeks left until the election. The candidate had been keeping up a grueling schedule, as do all candidates, and had a brutal schedule in the days ahead - as far as the eye could see - commitments made. Every vote counts in not just another election, but in what many believe to be a fight for the very life of this Republic itself.
This candidate wasn't feeling well - worse each day - but had a decision to make. Put out a news release, see a doctor, go to bed for a few days, or slog on, trying to do the very best they could until they simply couldn't anymore - and had to take those days off.
Now we can disagree about where along the line from "I'm not feeling real well" to "Hey guys, take me to the car" she should have said more, and given up and given in, but if this was anyone - anyone - but Hillary, we would be having a different conversation.
That conversation would have been about dedication, perseverance, strength, self reliance, steadfastness, not being a "wimp", maybe even "soldiering on".
But because it IS Hillary, her amazing show of strength becomes a sign of weakness; her display of the work ethic she has always been famous for somehow denigrated; her stoicism - a trait much admired in American culture becomes sinister.
The woman went to work sick and didn't complain about it until she was too sick to work.
Take that fact and make of it what you will.
The Democratic Presidential nominee was on the road campaigning with only a few weeks left until the election. The candidate had been keeping up a grueling schedule, as do all candidates, and had a brutal schedule in the days ahead - as far as the eye could see - commitments made. Every vote counts in not just another election, but in what many believe to be a fight for the very life of this Republic itself.
This candidate wasn't feeling well - worse each day - but had a decision to make. Put out a news release, see a doctor, go to bed for a few days, or slog on, trying to do the very best they could until they simply couldn't anymore - and had to take those days off.
Now we can disagree about where along the line from "I'm not feeling real well" to "Hey guys, take me to the car" she should have said more, and given up and given in, but if this was anyone - anyone - but Hillary, we would be having a different conversation.
That conversation would have been about dedication, perseverance, strength, self reliance, steadfastness, not being a "wimp", maybe even "soldiering on".
But because it IS Hillary, her amazing show of strength becomes a sign of weakness; her display of the work ethic she has always been famous for somehow denigrated; her stoicism - a trait much admired in American culture becomes sinister.
The woman went to work sick and didn't complain about it until she was too sick to work.
Take that fact and make of it what you will.
740
It's a fact that wearing glasses with blue lenses or even looking through blue plastic sheeting has been known to relieve the symptoms of Parkinsons-related dyskinesia. Take that fact and make of it what you will.
http://www.colorglasses.com/Color-Therapy-Medical-Benefits/Parkinsons-Di...
http://www.colorglasses.com/Color-Therapy-Medical-Benefits/Parkinsons-Di...
She was in the Hamptons dialing for dollars. Then she was headed to California to raise more money at a celebrity dinner and reception where she would be posing for photos with donors willing to pay for so much a click of the camera. She travels in comfort and Abedin does her packing, remembering the earpiece. We should all have it so rough when we have to go somewhere.
2
You gotta be kidding. Hillary has not even come close to the incredible pace Trump has mustered as the underdog. In fact, it's the main reason he's closing the gap and appears to be about to leave her wilted in the stretch. The true "oddity" is Bruni's fudging of that inconvenient fact. It's what happens when the horse you've bet on begins showing signs it's gonna finish out of the money.
12
Well, I grudgingly admit this is true. Trump was out campaigning amongst the people and holding rallies all of August. Hillary disappeared to 1% fundraisers.
2
"Hillary Clinton’s penchant for secrecy. We’ve had it confirmed — for the millionth time. Her self-protection is a perverse form of self-destruction. It’s borderline pathological. "
If the NYT continues to repeat such exaggerated nonsense, complete with inflammatory word like "pathological", there's no need for the Alt-right to even comment.
If the NYT continues to repeat such exaggerated nonsense, complete with inflammatory word like "pathological", there's no need for the Alt-right to even comment.
55
Please don't jump on the "Hillary is paranoid about privacy" bandwagon. Roll back the clock and think critically. I'm sure that, if in any newsroom in the US today, a journalist said, "Well,of course she didn't disclose the illness; why would she?," that person would depicted as a Hillary apologist.That is mere group think.
Hillary has severe allergies. Allergies are severe this year, particularly in the area in which the Clintins live-I know, because I live nearby and I have
allergies. She's having severe coughing fits, however and consults for physician, who examines her and tells her she has a touch of pneumonia. No big deal –it's a common complication of bad allergies that, if treated, is easily resolved. She is told to take antibiotics and rest for a few days.
She figures that if she can get through Friday, a heavily scheduled day, she can rest over the weekend. Her only commitment is the 9-11 ceremony, and all she has to do there is stand for a couple of hours. Her opponent's strategy has been to depict her as sick. Why would she disclose a minor illness that she has been told will go away in 3 days, thus giving him additional ammunition?
What she doesn't factor in is that she will be looped on medication on Friday night, when she has to give a speech, & that her occasional low BP condition, which occurs when she is sick and becomes dehydrated, will kick in at the 9/11 ceremony.
She should not have disclosed the illness; she should have stayed home on Friday.
Hillary has severe allergies. Allergies are severe this year, particularly in the area in which the Clintins live-I know, because I live nearby and I have
allergies. She's having severe coughing fits, however and consults for physician, who examines her and tells her she has a touch of pneumonia. No big deal –it's a common complication of bad allergies that, if treated, is easily resolved. She is told to take antibiotics and rest for a few days.
She figures that if she can get through Friday, a heavily scheduled day, she can rest over the weekend. Her only commitment is the 9-11 ceremony, and all she has to do there is stand for a couple of hours. Her opponent's strategy has been to depict her as sick. Why would she disclose a minor illness that she has been told will go away in 3 days, thus giving him additional ammunition?
What she doesn't factor in is that she will be looped on medication on Friday night, when she has to give a speech, & that her occasional low BP condition, which occurs when she is sick and becomes dehydrated, will kick in at the 9/11 ceremony.
She should not have disclosed the illness; she should have stayed home on Friday.
14
Another one of Clinton's would be doctors weighing in with a diagnoses made over the phone like that of the Congressman who diagnosed Terry Schiavo.
I'm not one to defend a Clintonista but when it comes to this secrecy "thang," and it IS borderline pathological when actions routinely self-sabotage as so often is the case with the both of them, consider your own reaction to a lifetime of being attacked in public. Would it not make you a bit....guarded? Even to the extreme? It's a self-reinforcing negative feed-back loop isn't it.? You get attacked, you go on guard. You get attacked for being paranoid and being on guard, so what do you do? Get more guarded. Perverse; but that about sums human nature for the most part Yours, mine, the Clintonistas. Just try enduring a lifetime of it and see what you get.
Anyway...as for this health "thang." Well...consider both candidates ain't exactly spring chickens. Basically they're a last gasp grasp of the Power Oval brass ring by a increasingly doddering generation of 20th Century (boomer) folks who can't, won't, let themselves be relegated to history. I mean no offense to the generation they are a part of but they don't much represent the present face of this country, and most decidedly do not represent its future. So tell me why, again, I should be voting for either of them?
John~
American Net'Zen
Anyway...as for this health "thang." Well...consider both candidates ain't exactly spring chickens. Basically they're a last gasp grasp of the Power Oval brass ring by a increasingly doddering generation of 20th Century (boomer) folks who can't, won't, let themselves be relegated to history. I mean no offense to the generation they are a part of but they don't much represent the present face of this country, and most decidedly do not represent its future. So tell me why, again, I should be voting for either of them?
John~
American Net'Zen
34
Because we live in a two-party world and those are the folks who won the party primaries. And I don't like it either. But I'll vote for her over someone with a clear mental illness.
1
"So tell me why, again, I should be voting for either of them?" Because "the only thing it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
1
Don't tell us you're going to vote for Gary 'What's Aleppo' Johnson.
Mr. Bruni, I took a poll of 100 readers and asked how long it would take you this time to pivot from any discussion of Hillary and her woes to bashing Trump. 100 out of 100 felt you would turn "Hillary Clinton's Sick Days" into "Donald Trump is the Sick One" as fast as Hillary makes excuses when she gets caught. But then again, only a fool uses polls and statistics to "prove" anything, kind of like actually believing the PR you're fabricating.On the subject of "hissy fits" there's only one person I see having them and his candidate is floundering despite the petulant damage control being "heroically" spewed.
9
Ever note the irony in slamming a person for being too secretive and simultaneously raking her over the coals because she might've exposed secrets?
11
Mr. Buni wakes up. there is nothing funny about Trump. Just
ask the woman with the oxygent mask that was assaulted at one
of his rallies.
otday he lied saying HIllary does not hae child care program.
big lie, she's had one since before he entered the race.
Lying is what he does and who he is.
Maybe Dr. Irwin Corey should do the physical.
give me a break.
ask the woman with the oxygent mask that was assaulted at one
of his rallies.
otday he lied saying HIllary does not hae child care program.
big lie, she's had one since before he entered the race.
Lying is what he does and who he is.
Maybe Dr. Irwin Corey should do the physical.
give me a break.
10
"Her lack of transparency might well be disqualifying if her opponent were the political equivalent of freshly Windexed glass. Her opponent is the political equivalent of a thickly armored car."
It couldn't have been said any better. Simply put, this is like the proverbial pot calling the kettle black.
It couldn't have been said any better. Simply put, this is like the proverbial pot calling the kettle black.
89
Saying something is OK because the other guy did worse usually is over with by kindergarten. Frank seems to be a late bloomer in that regard.
2
If your every action and word had been relentlessly and unfairly picked apart, twisted into a pretzel, ridiculed, criticized, over-analyzed, misinterpreted, or especially, lied about, for decades on end, you might be secretive too.
14
It has sadly come to this. Mrs. Clinton is ill and no one believes her self reported diagnosis of pneumonia. Her track record of lying and deception preclude most Americans except her sycophants from giving any credibility to anything she says. Such skepticism is the natural result of suffering her these past 30 years. Why did she not tell us of this pneumonia on Friday when she was allegedly diagnosed with? She had to know we would find out? Is it really pneumonia? Did she have a chest X-ray ? Why did she faint and how many times has she fain ted in the past? Her Husband said only a few times? Who ever faints among us and if we did who would not remember the exact amount of times? If she had pneumonia why did she expose her infant granddaughter to this potentially deadly disease rather than immediately go to an emergency room? Has she had a CT scan of her brain? Has she seen a neurologist? Has she had blood work? What did she tell the FBI about her memory loss? Is she fit to be commander in chief? Is she on any medication? All these are unanswered questions that she will never answer. The cloak of secrecy surrounding her campaign is Nixonian.I suspect for good reason.
19
Thank you again Mr. Bruni - I had just finished reading Mr. Douthat's editorial about how Trump might win and scared the bejeebers out of myself. Your editorial brought me back to hope!
1
Enough about Hillary's health. Please.
Instead could we discuss:
Trump tax returns? Can he produce the form letter sent to everyone by the IRS when an audit takes place?
Why do we assume a pathological liar is telling the truth about an audit?
How about an update on Trump University fraud and court case?
His use of undocumented labor to build Trump Tower?
His refusal to pay workers and contractors?
His multiple bankruptcies?
The Trump Foundation?
I'd also like to know a little bit more about Melania Trump's entrance into this country. What happened to the stories that were examining whether or not she stayed here illegally? She might be the First Lady. Like Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Jackie Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt. Melanie gave a speech with words lifted from Michelle Obama's convention speech. She lied about graduating from a university in her original country. She's married to a man whose signature issue is illegal immigration. Ironic if his wife entered legally, but stayed on illegally. I'd like to know.
Finally, there's Russia.
From a nation crazed about communism, from Sen. Joe McCarthy, to bumper stickers crying "Better Dead than Red," the Cold War, the Cuban missile crisis -- how have we ended up with a GOP nominee who loves Putin, whose former campaign manager had ties to Russia, and who knows what financial ties Trump has to Russia.
Please do your job, Mr. Bruni.
Secretary Clinton is fine. Stop wasting column inches on her health.
Investigate Trump.
Instead could we discuss:
Trump tax returns? Can he produce the form letter sent to everyone by the IRS when an audit takes place?
Why do we assume a pathological liar is telling the truth about an audit?
How about an update on Trump University fraud and court case?
His use of undocumented labor to build Trump Tower?
His refusal to pay workers and contractors?
His multiple bankruptcies?
The Trump Foundation?
I'd also like to know a little bit more about Melania Trump's entrance into this country. What happened to the stories that were examining whether or not she stayed here illegally? She might be the First Lady. Like Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Jackie Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt. Melanie gave a speech with words lifted from Michelle Obama's convention speech. She lied about graduating from a university in her original country. She's married to a man whose signature issue is illegal immigration. Ironic if his wife entered legally, but stayed on illegally. I'd like to know.
Finally, there's Russia.
From a nation crazed about communism, from Sen. Joe McCarthy, to bumper stickers crying "Better Dead than Red," the Cold War, the Cuban missile crisis -- how have we ended up with a GOP nominee who loves Putin, whose former campaign manager had ties to Russia, and who knows what financial ties Trump has to Russia.
Please do your job, Mr. Bruni.
Secretary Clinton is fine. Stop wasting column inches on her health.
Investigate Trump.
704
Thank you historylesson, that's a great list. I'd like to add another important and under-reported item: the potential risk to national security of Trump's multiple and shady international deals. In Newsweek today at
http://www.newsweek.com/2016/09/23/donald-trump-foreign-business-deals-n...
http://www.newsweek.com/2016/09/23/donald-trump-foreign-business-deals-n...
2
Hillary is estimated to be worth about 1/2 billion dollars so she is obviously not sleeping in cheap motels either, but really, how petty can you get. What has gone unexplained is the incident about a month ago (on video on youtube), in case you didn't see it, of Hillary at a diner, standing and being questioned by some supporters. She has a 20 second, violent, uncontrolled head shaking and jerking event. Those around her don't know what to do and it looks bizarre. What was that, what illness does that represent?
12
Don't start picking on backgammon. Right now, he's playing the biggest game there is, with the lives and welfare of millions of Americans.
1
Pro-Hilary people lack a funny bone - just like the old time Russian Communists and Germany's Nazis - rigidly bound to their ideology. Trump's medical letter is a great comedic shtick! Mel Brooks could not have done better. Can you imagine the great Sid Caesar playing the mad scientist against Donald's Archie Bunker. People - lighten up and enjoy the brilliance.
5
The pneumonia doesn't bother me, the pathological secrecy does. When Clinton speaks, I assume I'm hearing a half-truth at best, and she keeps giving me reasons to think I'm overestimating. She should just stick to being Not Trump and quit giving reluctant supporters like myself additional reasons to think poorly of her.
12
So you cleared that up...You hate Trump. Why not just lead with that headline and tell us something that is useful...like the weather today.
9
My first thought when the pneumonia news broke was "wow, she has pneumonia and she still managed to keep up that punishing schedule."
Most women have had to work, raise kids, run a household etc. while sick or injured, it's brutal but we're generally pretty tough and we manage to keep going.
Most women have had to work, raise kids, run a household etc. while sick or injured, it's brutal but we're generally pretty tough and we manage to keep going.
100
For the last month, that punishing schedule was fundrasing with the 1%. Inexplicably, since she seems to have more than enough money on hand.
2
This type of article convinces me yet again that NYT is becoming Faux News. Find an issue that is important, try to learn something new, and then inform us. If I want entertainment, I will go elsewhere as this is not informative or entertaining.
7
Only a columnist who produces 2 pieces a week would see running for office as brutal. If she works 20 hours a day (doubtful), she is likely sitting 18. Some folks work 20 hour days doing actual physical labor. She, and Trump, have attendants for everything. I'm personally thankful they both have limos since the idea of them driving, especially Hillary, would scare me more than the idea of either in office.
9
Yes, this needs to be kept in perspective. Just yesterday there was an article about an 89 year old man in Chicago who pushes a food cart every day and sells food. Why? He has to. He needs the money to survive. There are people who endure much, much more. Everyday.
1
If pneumonia keeps her from making more 'basket' comments, I hope she stays sick.
4
Don’t agree. But you’ve raised a good point. It was the “basket” (with its connotations of “basket case”) that delivered the insult, not the “deplorable” (which actually only means ‘pitiable’).
The healing powers of the New York Times editors is truly a blessing.
4
It isn't like we don't have choices other than Clinton and Trump. You'd never know that reading the New York Times, though.
8
"Her self-protection is a perverse form of self-destruction. It’s borderline pathological."
This is inane. Hillary has released her tax info and medical information, but don't let obvious evidence get in the way of your rhetoric.
This is inane. Hillary has released her tax info and medical information, but don't let obvious evidence get in the way of your rhetoric.
48
One of the interesting aspects of any NY Times opinion piece involves watching it morph somehow, someway into an attack on Donald Trump.
What starts out in Mr. Bruni's column as a story about legitimate concerns related to Mrs. Clinton's health (based on actual facts) devolves into an attack on Mr. Trump (based on speculation).
Perhaps Mr. Bruni should simply state: "I hate Donald Trump sooooooo much that no matter what Hillary Clinton does, I am going to find a way to convert any criticism of her into a platform to launch an attack on him. God forbid that I write anything about the Libertarian or Green Party candidates."
What starts out in Mr. Bruni's column as a story about legitimate concerns related to Mrs. Clinton's health (based on actual facts) devolves into an attack on Mr. Trump (based on speculation).
Perhaps Mr. Bruni should simply state: "I hate Donald Trump sooooooo much that no matter what Hillary Clinton does, I am going to find a way to convert any criticism of her into a platform to launch an attack on him. God forbid that I write anything about the Libertarian or Green Party candidates."
15
And we are going to go there.
Hillary cannot win. If she talked about having pneumonia, the Bloviati would have had a field day talking about how weak she is; if she kept quiet, then it becomes pneumonia-gate. A candidate should not have to circle the wagons because she has a virus. Clinton's defensiveness is a learned reaction after a quarter century of attacks.
I work in a job that lets me meet a wide variety of people. Some healthy, some weak, some lovely and some dour, nasty. But mostly I like the people who pass through daily. We have a lot of good people around, a lot of reasons to like Americans.
But when we get to the level that we are looking at a national personality, we just are not as attractive. We display a national personality of partisanship that makes us look like the kind of fan who sits half naked in the cold painted in team colors. Committed, yes. Intelligent, no. And we display a remarkable disregard for picking out relevant needles from the haystack.
Hillary is defensive and secretive. Trump is bluff, crass and secretive. We just don't pay attention to his secrets because he has tossed so much out there, like the size of his personal pride and joy, that we forget to ask him to prove his claim that he is a great businessman and an honest dealer.
I'd rather a President who soldiers on when sick and keeps it a secret, than one who never gets sick, but keeps more important secrets. But then again, I wear a warm coat to a football game.
Hillary cannot win. If she talked about having pneumonia, the Bloviati would have had a field day talking about how weak she is; if she kept quiet, then it becomes pneumonia-gate. A candidate should not have to circle the wagons because she has a virus. Clinton's defensiveness is a learned reaction after a quarter century of attacks.
I work in a job that lets me meet a wide variety of people. Some healthy, some weak, some lovely and some dour, nasty. But mostly I like the people who pass through daily. We have a lot of good people around, a lot of reasons to like Americans.
But when we get to the level that we are looking at a national personality, we just are not as attractive. We display a national personality of partisanship that makes us look like the kind of fan who sits half naked in the cold painted in team colors. Committed, yes. Intelligent, no. And we display a remarkable disregard for picking out relevant needles from the haystack.
Hillary is defensive and secretive. Trump is bluff, crass and secretive. We just don't pay attention to his secrets because he has tossed so much out there, like the size of his personal pride and joy, that we forget to ask him to prove his claim that he is a great businessman and an honest dealer.
I'd rather a President who soldiers on when sick and keeps it a secret, than one who never gets sick, but keeps more important secrets. But then again, I wear a warm coat to a football game.
33
Just when you thought things couldn't any worse, trump is "revealing" his health data with medical sell- out Oz acting as interpreter.
Any shred of American self respect has gone down the tubes. We're really seeing the decline of a once great nation at warp speed. Sure we've got s lot of money ( some of us, that is) and a powerful military, a citizenry armed to the teeth, but we also have is a nation weakened by anger, hatred, fear, and ignorance.
The candidates are simply a proxy for the poor health of our psyches and our souls.
Any shred of American self respect has gone down the tubes. We're really seeing the decline of a once great nation at warp speed. Sure we've got s lot of money ( some of us, that is) and a powerful military, a citizenry armed to the teeth, but we also have is a nation weakened by anger, hatred, fear, and ignorance.
The candidates are simply a proxy for the poor health of our psyches and our souls.
38
Christine, I love your comments and usually agree with you 100%. But, I gotta tell ya, things can always get worse and they may get MUCH worse in a couple of months.
2
I just don't understand why no one is focusing on Trump's health. That is, his mental health. Do we really want a narssisitic sociopath running the country??
47
Mr. Bruni is exactly right. Except of course, we now have video of Clinton not just "stumbling," but losing her ability to stand, and being dragged into a car.
So IF Obama came into Office looking like Will Smith, and will leave looking like Morgan Freeman. I can only imagine how the Presidency might age Trump or Clinton.
So IF Obama came into Office looking like Will Smith, and will leave looking like Morgan Freeman. I can only imagine how the Presidency might age Trump or Clinton.
11
Pfft. Slowly at first now accelerating, the bubble created for Herself to shield her from questions, scrutiny and the vast cohort of deplorables begins to deflate. And with it the generational dream of power uber alles she has wrecked lives to attain dissolves. A west wing pariah as Firs t Lady, an unaccomplished carpetbagger Senator, a murderously failed diploma and a lying, conceited, identity-obsessed candidate. Quite a legacy, and one richly deserved as she stumbles into the dustbin of history. Perhaps the foundation could use a receptionist to vet the calls cancelling their bribes.
13
It doesn't matter what Hillary does or did the white foaming at the mouth right wing zealots like Mitch McConnell & Jason Chaffetz will come after her like rabid dogs. I think their craziness towards Hillary is because she's a woman. Not only could they not stand a black as President, the thought of a smart woman in power drives them bonkers. Racism and sexism are strong components of the 21st century GOP.
113
Clinton has to pressure Trump about the tax returns every time she speaks. Everyone knows by now that Trump's use of the bogus "audit" excuse, and failure to release the returns, means that they are dispositive in some fashion. Hillary should have her economic advisors project a worst case scenario for the tax return contents, and lead off every speech by articulating a potential debacle, with the caveat that if it isn't true, Trump should release his returns.
12
"...his hissy fits, which are scarier and harder to cure."
The problem, Mr. Bruni, is that Trump's "hissy fits" have become the new norm that even when he says outrageous and dangerous things, it doesn't get front page coverage nor does he get taken to task.
Take for example his statement about Iran, ""When they circle our beautiful destroyers with their little boats and they make gestures at our people that they shouldn't be allowed to make, they will be shot out of the water."
The Times buried it in the "Middle East" section with this headline from Reuters: "Trump Vows Harsh Response to Iranian Vessels That Harass U.S. Navy." http://nyti.ms/2ca6Q53
He's the Yosemite Sam of US politics saying, "Varmint, I'm a-gonna b-b-b-bloooow yah t'smithereens!" Bugs Bunny usually got the better off Sam. One can only hope Mrs. Clinton does the same, just so that we don't all get blown to smithereens by Trump's macho man actions as president.
The problem, Mr. Bruni, is that Trump's "hissy fits" have become the new norm that even when he says outrageous and dangerous things, it doesn't get front page coverage nor does he get taken to task.
Take for example his statement about Iran, ""When they circle our beautiful destroyers with their little boats and they make gestures at our people that they shouldn't be allowed to make, they will be shot out of the water."
The Times buried it in the "Middle East" section with this headline from Reuters: "Trump Vows Harsh Response to Iranian Vessels That Harass U.S. Navy." http://nyti.ms/2ca6Q53
He's the Yosemite Sam of US politics saying, "Varmint, I'm a-gonna b-b-b-bloooow yah t'smithereens!" Bugs Bunny usually got the better off Sam. One can only hope Mrs. Clinton does the same, just so that we don't all get blown to smithereens by Trump's macho man actions as president.
47
" I have seen him playing golf, which isn’t much more aerobically demanding than backgammon."
One may walk between four and five miles during a round of golf, so it more than qualifies for a fitness outing. Unless there is a private cart and driver.....
One may walk between four and five miles during a round of golf, so it more than qualifies for a fitness outing. Unless there is a private cart and driver.....
4
Every time I go to a country club I see golf carts being used by every golfer on the course. Most of the players are morbidly obese middle aged men who couldn't walk five miles if their lives depended on it.
3
The media has cured Hillary all in one day. Amazing medical breakthrough this. I do not think it was the media who raised Lazarus from the dead although I am not sure.
Does the media need a license to practice medicine?
Does the media need a license to practice medicine?
6
The reason this became an issue is because the press decided to make it one with scores of talking heads, headlines and opinion pieces connecting the dots for voters. She is secretive. She is pathological. SCARY! It is the same way that Trump's huge transparency problem has not been made an issue. Imagine if the paper, radio and cable news obsessed over Trumps tax returns for weeks on end, hypothesizing about what could be in them or the fact that he has released really nothing about his health status? They haven't. They talk about them for a day or to and then drop it. Some reporters have even had the temerity to ask Trump what he thinks about Clinton's transparency "problems" while asking him nothing about his own issues. As Paul Krugman pointed out, the press favors trump for some reason and is tipping the coverage scale in his favor.
480
In the past I've thought that I might have made a pretty good journalist, but nowadays I'm very happy I never trod that path. Rather than independent investigators, the majority now seem to be corporate puppets, slanting stories according to the whims of their suited masters -- mere order takers. With a few exceptions the media should be ashamed for the divisiveness they have created and exploit, contributing to unraveling the fabric of this once great nation, now descending into Third World misery and chaos, sure to be accelerated if the Trump Ego Monster machine prevails in November.
9
The press favors Trump because it is all about attracting eyeballs and ears in pursuit of ad dollars and profits. Ironically, Trump got where he is by spending minimally on ads and garnering free media attention via daily, increasingly outrageous antics that dominated every news cycle. The press can't help itself being attracted to Trump like moths to light. Trump knows this and is exploiting it for all it's worth, without regard to the future of our nation or, for that matter, the world. In pretending to be 'fair and balanced', the press in all it's forms has failed in it's Fourth Estate duty to seek out and publish the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
5
Trump's first order of business will be attempting to stifle the press that gave him such a free ride in their hunger for ratings.
2
Hillary's campaign first repeatedly denied that her cough signified any illness. When she left the 9-11 ceremony, her campaign said it was because of the "heat" (when the temperature was in the 70s.) They barred any press from following them; and it was only because of an amateur video that the campaign finally had to acknowledge the pneumonia diagnosis. Of course, no information has been given at all about the type of pneumonia, or the severity. Incredibly, Mr. Bruni is okay with all of this. Instead of asking questions he simply accepts what Hillary says about it; and tries to change the topic to Trump's tax returns, or Trump's health. What does Trump's health have to do with this? Trump wasn't caught on camera collapsing. Amazing.
14
Perhaps a rather simple point to make, but Hillary Clinton has not nominated a Sarah Palin as her running mate.
11
Transparency, Frank. Transparency is the issue. Or, more appropriately, the lack thereof. There's a pattern here, Frank. And you know it. People's complaint about her (subtracting the most rabid of Trump fans, of course) in this case is not that she is sick. It's the same insistence by her and her campaign to prevent the public from knowing about it.
You know what's "brutal", Frank? Trying to support a candidate who is manifestly unqualified in her own way to hold the office of POTUS. Her lack of transparency is one of the things that gives her that "unqualification".
You know what's "brutal", Frank? Trying to support a candidate who is manifestly unqualified in her own way to hold the office of POTUS. Her lack of transparency is one of the things that gives her that "unqualification".
9
In contrast, Trump has been perfectly transparent about his dealings with foreign investors, the Trump Foundation, his medical records and his tax returns. Right?
1
Mr. Bruni's column deserves inclusion in Guinness Book of World Records as among the most disingenuous pieces on HRC I have ever read.It's as if she were a NYC schoolteacher taking a few days off from educ.emporium where she works to regain her second wind. Truth is her disabilities r quite serious:thrombosis, concussions, double vision, hyperthyroidism,history of concussions and latest, pneumonia. In fact if HRC were a teacher, she would have been granted a disability pension months ago.Running for office of President requires sturdiness. Barring a medical miracle, cannot foresee a return to normal health for Hillary,opinion of a layman, a "profane."My hunch is that HRC will withdraw in favor of Biden,"people's choice,"who does not have Hillary's baggage and health problems.Surprisingly, it may finally be time for CLINTONS to fold their cards.But there is another problem chez Bruni: a refusal to discuss issues.If he disagrees with DT re illegal immigration, extreme vetting of incoming migrants--we already allow 1 million LEGAL immigrants in yearly--open societies, NAFTA , TPP, Obama's deceitfulness re ANA, please tell us why. Relentless character assassination is a poor substitute for substantive debate of issues.DT has launched a challenge against liberals and their shibboleths.It is up to Bruni and his colleagues to meet Trump's "defi."give the lie to our slogans, and demonstrate where we have gone astray, and do so "gentillment,"without offending us, if u please.
4
The first debate is two weeks away and while there is no 'good' time to have pneumonia, with proper rest this week, Mrs Clinton can be at her best for perhaps the most watched television in American history.
Donald Trump said that he doesn't like doing debate prep. So his ignorance of issues will be for all to see and American undecideds will scratch their heads and say, " This guy can't be the next POTUS."
Mrs Clinton should use the week to rest and prepare to have her greatest television moments since the convention and the incredibly brilliant performance she had before the laughable GOP 11 hours on Benghazi.
Donald Trump said that he doesn't like doing debate prep. So his ignorance of issues will be for all to see and American undecideds will scratch their heads and say, " This guy can't be the next POTUS."
Mrs Clinton should use the week to rest and prepare to have her greatest television moments since the convention and the incredibly brilliant performance she had before the laughable GOP 11 hours on Benghazi.
16
That's right Frank, keep those rose colored glasses on (or do you have a pair of blue tinted ones too) and at all costs, protect Hillary.
Death, taxes and protect Hillary.
Death, taxes and protect Hillary.
10
Both candidates are simply too old. This is a very important, grueling job they are competing for. The nature will take its course. There should be a cut off age, say, 62.
3
Chronological age is only a number. Some are finished at age 30.
1
Amazing how quick the NYT rushes to the defense of HRC. The fact that she is sick is not the issue, the cover-up and poor judgement are the issues, which based on the past with the Ckintons leads one to believe there is more being hidden than Pneumonia for 2 days.
11
If HRC is so fit then why does she ride around in a wheel chair van?
8
Because she does not ride around in a wheelchair van. Where do you people get this stuff? Incredible the lies people will base their votes on these days, aren't there any intelligent Americans left any more?
3
frank, what are you running for? what are you trying to accomplish? who are you trying to persuade? seriously, you are a clinton staffer, charged with strategic communications. if i were you, i'd try to write an op-ed column instead.
4
Good column, Frank!
We'll take a temporarily-ill Hillary over a permanently-sick Trump, any day of the week!
We'll take a temporarily-ill Hillary over a permanently-sick Trump, any day of the week!
8
I'll support neither of them.
Donald does appear to be physically healthy.
5
His skin tone says otherwise.
1
How do you know this? Have you done a catherization of his coronary arteries recently?
I'm glad this column opens with acknowledgement of the effort it takes to campaign for president. But you lose me when you refer to Sec. Clinton's "secrecy" as "pathological." Did you forget about the many years of scrutiny she has undergone over nothing?
Focus on another topic or give her a sympathetic break. She has said she didn't think her cough was a big deal. Why does soldiering on in the face of ill health have to rise to the level of sinister privacy?
Do you think there is no danger in adding your voice to those who denigrate her while the nation faces the prospect of an incompetent person winning the White House? Please stop it.
Focus on another topic or give her a sympathetic break. She has said she didn't think her cough was a big deal. Why does soldiering on in the face of ill health have to rise to the level of sinister privacy?
Do you think there is no danger in adding your voice to those who denigrate her while the nation faces the prospect of an incompetent person winning the White House? Please stop it.
18
Nearly one out of every six U.S. presidents (8 of 43) so far has died in office. Statistically speaking, taking up the presidency is almost like taking up a six-shooter for a round of Russian roulette. So far all presidents have been younger than Donald Trump will be on first taking office (and all but one younger than Hillary Clinton will be). Without wishing anyone any harm, shouldn’t we be looking harder at the running mates? (Not to mention the likelihood, in my opinion, that a President Trump would leave office, by impeachment or resignation, long before his term was up.)
5
FDR and JFK and others served well with ailments.... Reagan was borderline senile....
I'd take any, and many others, before I'd let trump within 100 miles of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
I'd take any, and many others, before I'd let trump within 100 miles of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
28
Mrs. Clinton is not the first busy woman who has tried to power through without making a big fuss about being sick, nor is she the first to overestimate her ability to live up to everyone's expectations. Imagine the fallout for her if she had skipped the 9/11 memorial. So please to stop with the critiquing of her "secrecy" about the pneumonia. I get that this piece is not primarily about her secrecy but I don't get why so many feel obliged to call her out on such a non-issue.
766
It's just so gosh darned difficult to be a woman! You should come back in your next life as a guy, Sarah. It's an idyllic romp through a halcyon experience of unending pleasure.
1
It boggles my mind how the media is pitching it as some big deal. She was sick and she went to work anyway. This is something everyone in America does at some point. Clinton made a point of trying to get to the 9/11 memorial because she felt it was important. And the media and Trump are shaming her dedication? Because she got dizzy due to pneumonia and a grueling schedule?! Come on! The phenomenal double standards we have between these two candidates is terrifyingly blatant at this point.
931
Don the Con is the creation of the media. He's a "reality TV" star. Of course they'd report favorably on one of their own, even if he were (as he is) a narcissistic, self-entitled, stupid, grifting person.
2
In fact, it's the American way. How is it that this isn't proof of her dedication?
1
The hippie doctor/groupie , the author of To Whom It MY Concern, is most likely the clinician who diagnosed the multiple sport playing prep school whiz Trump as too debilitated to suffer the rigors of the Viet Nam draft.
That diagnosis of a yellow bellied, lily livered coward probably consumed all of five minutes also.
That diagnosis of a yellow bellied, lily livered coward probably consumed all of five minutes also.
18
There is indeed a HUGE difference between both candidates.
All media organizations have donated millions of millions to her Foundation.
Reason why she does not care at all if the public believes her lies or not.
MSM is there to cover up over and over again, regardless of how perverse the next lie might be
All media organizations have donated millions of millions to her Foundation.
Reason why she does not care at all if the public believes her lies or not.
MSM is there to cover up over and over again, regardless of how perverse the next lie might be
7
The real, critical issue here that should be examined is the mental health of the 2 candidates, not physical health.
6
As a very young child when I heard the story of Barabas I began to fear a raving crowd more than the stories of hell. Watching Trump rallies fills me with the same gut chilling fear.
18
. . . and I can't believe she might lose to him.
4
"I can't imagine any of the other 64 percent reasoning: 'He's ignorant, but so robustly ignorant.'"
Therein lies the flaw in your analysis, Mr. Bruni: you are attempting to apply logic to the potential Trump supporter. It does not fit.
Therein lies the flaw in your analysis, Mr. Bruni: you are attempting to apply logic to the potential Trump supporter. It does not fit.
10
Trump made what was at least his sixth appearance in Pennsylvania yesterday. He's out there, at least you can't criticize him for that. Obama appeared for Clinton. He most certainly did a better job than she would have done. She was never scheduled to appear anyhow as she had a fund raiser to attend in California if she had been healthy. With about six weeks left in a campaign and enough money to run a developing country she is still out there raising more instead of meeting voters at rallies. You don't have to be voting for Trump to be critical of Clinton.
Pundits and voters afraid to examine and criticize candidates are dangerous. You are willing to believe even their stories leading to wars. Judith Miller was feeding us stories and this paper was printing them. They are as dangerous as politicians who fail to read to the end of intelligence reports or daily briefings.
The candidates need to know the voters and the press are carefully watching them and expect to be informed regularly and honestly as to what is going on with them. If president, regular and scheduled press conferences. If they need to take a few days off because they are sick, it's OK. If you have a reputation for honesty, which unfortunately neither of these candidates has, they will believe you. Now, according to one news report, something like 45% of the voters don't believe the pneumonia story.
Money, PR and name recognition have given us two of the worst candidates possible.
Pundits and voters afraid to examine and criticize candidates are dangerous. You are willing to believe even their stories leading to wars. Judith Miller was feeding us stories and this paper was printing them. They are as dangerous as politicians who fail to read to the end of intelligence reports or daily briefings.
The candidates need to know the voters and the press are carefully watching them and expect to be informed regularly and honestly as to what is going on with them. If president, regular and scheduled press conferences. If they need to take a few days off because they are sick, it's OK. If you have a reputation for honesty, which unfortunately neither of these candidates has, they will believe you. Now, according to one news report, something like 45% of the voters don't believe the pneumonia story.
Money, PR and name recognition have given us two of the worst candidates possible.
1
No one has reported on whether or not Ms. Clinton has ever gotten a pneumonia vaccination. And if not, why not?
My doctor didn't ask me if I wanted it, he just gave it to me.
Does Ms. Clinton even get annual physicals? At her age, if her doctor didn't strongly recommend a pneumonia vaccination, then she should get a new doctor!
My doctor didn't ask me if I wanted it, he just gave it to me.
Does Ms. Clinton even get annual physicals? At her age, if her doctor didn't strongly recommend a pneumonia vaccination, then she should get a new doctor!
2
Frank,
The stamina of the candidates is an issue, but even more the judgment and honesty of the candidates are an issue. Since the NYT and you are both shilling for Clinton no one expects you to see that. "If you think my candidate is bad you should see the other guy" is NOT a glowing enforcement.
"Why tell the truth when a lie will do as well", seems to be your candidates motto. The bad judgment and lack of respect for those you are dealing with are also an issue. If Harry Truman said, "The buck stops here" and practiced it, Hillary's practice is the buck stops with the guy under the bus.
Your candidate had a 7 point lead a few weeks ago, today it is less than 2 points. If your candidate looses it Will primarily be due to making unforced errors over the course of those few weeks.
I wonder how Bernie Sanders would have done?
The stamina of the candidates is an issue, but even more the judgment and honesty of the candidates are an issue. Since the NYT and you are both shilling for Clinton no one expects you to see that. "If you think my candidate is bad you should see the other guy" is NOT a glowing enforcement.
"Why tell the truth when a lie will do as well", seems to be your candidates motto. The bad judgment and lack of respect for those you are dealing with are also an issue. If Harry Truman said, "The buck stops here" and practiced it, Hillary's practice is the buck stops with the guy under the bus.
Your candidate had a 7 point lead a few weeks ago, today it is less than 2 points. If your candidate looses it Will primarily be due to making unforced errors over the course of those few weeks.
I wonder how Bernie Sanders would have done?
9
"Her self-protection is a perverse form of self-destruction. It’s borderline pathological." it is way past borderline. it meets the criterion for being a "pathological liar". of course, she shares that trait with Trump. but she, as a professional politician, bears direct responsibility for Trump's rise which is the result of politicians in both parties promising but not delivering to the american voter, resulting in their now having a self-destructive tantrum against all politicians.
2
If only the choice were between 'coughing fits' and 'hissy fits'. It's not as simple as that. So much attention has been focussed on Trump's narcissistic buffoonery that one ignores HRC's failings that are far worse than questions about her health:
She is the Warmonger 'par excellence'. When she's not cheerleading it (as she did during 9/11) she's starting it (as Secretary of State during the bombings of Libya and Syria). Does anyone honestly believe there would have been an Iran-U.S. nuclear deal if she hadn't resigned to make way for the infinitely more capable and diplomatic Kerry?
Obama lowered the war temperature IN SPITE OF HRC who was busy appeasing the Israeli-Saudi (read Wahhabi-Zionist) Lobbies in order to show she was out of the loop on the nuclear accord. She probably told them: "No sweat, guys, let Obama have his legacy and Kerry his day in the sun. I resigned because I didn't want to have anything to do with it. I'll reverse everything when I'm Prez and bomb the Hell out of Iran."
Her earlier statements should give a clue:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/23/hillaryclinton.iran
HRC isn't just a "woman with a coughing fit". She is a "mad woman with a coughing fit".
She is the Warmonger 'par excellence'. When she's not cheerleading it (as she did during 9/11) she's starting it (as Secretary of State during the bombings of Libya and Syria). Does anyone honestly believe there would have been an Iran-U.S. nuclear deal if she hadn't resigned to make way for the infinitely more capable and diplomatic Kerry?
Obama lowered the war temperature IN SPITE OF HRC who was busy appeasing the Israeli-Saudi (read Wahhabi-Zionist) Lobbies in order to show she was out of the loop on the nuclear accord. She probably told them: "No sweat, guys, let Obama have his legacy and Kerry his day in the sun. I resigned because I didn't want to have anything to do with it. I'll reverse everything when I'm Prez and bomb the Hell out of Iran."
Her earlier statements should give a clue:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/23/hillaryclinton.iran
HRC isn't just a "woman with a coughing fit". She is a "mad woman with a coughing fit".
8
Dear Mr Trump,
At the first debate, please look straight into the camera and say exactly the words "I am not a crook". Then it'll all be ok. Trust me.
At the first debate, please look straight into the camera and say exactly the words "I am not a crook". Then it'll all be ok. Trust me.
5
Well, Trump got a number of exemptions from serving in the Vietnam War so wouldn't that also exempt him from the equally hard task of running the Free World?
Oh, I forgot, we have to apply different standards to Hillary.
Oh, I forgot, we have to apply different standards to Hillary.
8
I agree, I think Trump's "bone spurs" didn't just disappear, they migrated to what passes for his brain.
3
Godfrey, There are no different standards being applied to Hillary. She's a criminal politically through and through, just as Trump is a criminal businessman through and through.
They're both pathological liers. Why make a distinction? And while I don't support either one of them, why doesn't the NY Times write an article about how the Clintons earned more than $10 million without either one of them apparently having a job? I searched in vain for such an analysis when she released her tax forms. What does Clinton have in common with 99% of the people of America either? Who's the Teflon candidate now? How about some real journalism for a change from the New York Times? Stop making excuses for the inexcusable.
6
With all of the mud that has been thrown at her over the years, much for little reason, I'd be guarded too. Besides, if her foes don't have ammunition, they just make it up, look what they are doing now. I've actually seen Tweets in the thousands suggesting she has a "body double", and that's who came out of Chelsea's apartment to fool everyone.
With that kind of crazy around, I'd keep as much to myself as possible! At least she's not stupid, like some candidates
With that kind of crazy around, I'd keep as much to myself as possible! At least she's not stupid, like some candidates
562
@CJC PhD: Your logic rewards the "crazies" who are used as justification for a non-transparent government. "The public cannot be informed about [XYZ] because the "crazies" will exploit it."
We don't need less information about the candidates who supposedly serve us. We need more. I want to know everything about Donald and the fact he is not forthcoming does not want me to know less about Hillary.
The fact a certain percentage of people are nuts is no justification for keeping information from those of us who are not. It's called a democracy for a reason.
We don't need less information about the candidates who supposedly serve us. We need more. I want to know everything about Donald and the fact he is not forthcoming does not want me to know less about Hillary.
The fact a certain percentage of people are nuts is no justification for keeping information from those of us who are not. It's called a democracy for a reason.
3
I never thought of that one. It is not really too far fetched, although I doubt it to be the case here. I saw President Ford arrive at the stage door of the theater in Philly where he would be debating Carter. There was a crowd waiting to see him and a lot of security as he arrived as there had already been a few pot shots taken at him in other cities. The front door of his limo was opened and a man resembling Ford got out,looking very presidential. While the crowd was applauding the double, Ford quickly got out of the car, was surrounded by security and ducked into the theater before anybody realized the trick.
This article is actually solid evidence why Clinton feels the need for keeping a private space, something that journalists like Bruni call her "pathological penchant for secrecy". The pathological need is the journalists who demand "transparency" and the right to pry into every detail of Clinton's life: "No, we need more emails!" should be their rallying cry.
Subjecting Clinton to this treatment reminds me of the medieval custom of gathering around the bed to watch a newly wed couple make love, and it is curious that similar demands and obsessions with 'secrecy' are not made with Trump. The proper response for Clinton would be to say to these journalists, "Screw 'em, they can take their demand for prying into my life and shove it." Unfortunately, she's aware that such an attitude would feed right into their meme of her being "secrecy-obsessed."
One can't help but think that obsessions such as Bruni's indeed have something to do with gender...
Subjecting Clinton to this treatment reminds me of the medieval custom of gathering around the bed to watch a newly wed couple make love, and it is curious that similar demands and obsessions with 'secrecy' are not made with Trump. The proper response for Clinton would be to say to these journalists, "Screw 'em, they can take their demand for prying into my life and shove it." Unfortunately, she's aware that such an attitude would feed right into their meme of her being "secrecy-obsessed."
One can't help but think that obsessions such as Bruni's indeed have something to do with gender...
29
Yet another misogynistic spin on Hillary Clinton in the New York Times by a columnist that I would expect more of. Loaded phrases - "penchant for secrecy," "borderline pathological". Never has a politician been scrutinized and criticized so much across the decades. She waits less than two days to inform the world that she has pneumonia, first attending the 9/11 ceremony that was obviously deeply important to her. Stop the presses! The media wasn't informed of a woman's private health matters.
Pneumonia is a common illness. She was being treated for it. Her doctor said she was doing fine. She rises above it and attend the tribute, wearing a suit, a bullet proof vest, possibly having a fever and is in the sun in a crowd on a hot day. That is proof of endurance and stamina, if anything.
Her taxes since 1977 have been released. The various witch hunt investigations -- none of which have found anything -- have combed through her private and public life for years. What do the press want? What does the New York Times want?
This is so much like a continuing witch hunt, with Republicans and the media seeming to be consulting their handy copies of the Malleus Maleficarum with its premise that women are weaker than men and more prone to be witches. An examination of the woman's body was usually part of the prosecution.
Where are Donald Trump's taxes? His secrecy is borderline pathological since all other presidential candidates for almost 50 years have released them.
Pneumonia is a common illness. She was being treated for it. Her doctor said she was doing fine. She rises above it and attend the tribute, wearing a suit, a bullet proof vest, possibly having a fever and is in the sun in a crowd on a hot day. That is proof of endurance and stamina, if anything.
Her taxes since 1977 have been released. The various witch hunt investigations -- none of which have found anything -- have combed through her private and public life for years. What do the press want? What does the New York Times want?
This is so much like a continuing witch hunt, with Republicans and the media seeming to be consulting their handy copies of the Malleus Maleficarum with its premise that women are weaker than men and more prone to be witches. An examination of the woman's body was usually part of the prosecution.
Where are Donald Trump's taxes? His secrecy is borderline pathological since all other presidential candidates for almost 50 years have released them.
1020
"Where are Donald Trump's taxes?"
Trump has been throwing out the red herring that he will release them after IRS finishes its audit. The media haven't pushed him on this, despite the fact that audits for years past would have been long over with.
As for recent years.....yesterday, finally, a CNN interviewer hit a nerve. She asked Kellyanne Conway if Trump could produce any paperwork from the IRS notifying him he was being audited. Suddenly agitated, Ms. Conway hesitated, then in the exchange that followed, twice asked "are you calling him a liar?" - without, of course, answering the question. Looks like the shoe fits.
Trump has been throwing out the red herring that he will release them after IRS finishes its audit. The media haven't pushed him on this, despite the fact that audits for years past would have been long over with.
As for recent years.....yesterday, finally, a CNN interviewer hit a nerve. She asked Kellyanne Conway if Trump could produce any paperwork from the IRS notifying him he was being audited. Suddenly agitated, Ms. Conway hesitated, then in the exchange that followed, twice asked "are you calling him a liar?" - without, of course, answering the question. Looks like the shoe fits.
12
Nice comment, but did you have to use the word "misogynistic?" It's such a knee jerk word and yes, we all get it, she's a woman. She' also human and makes mistakes. ("Deplorable" being one of them).
So we have to look forward to eight years of "misogynistic" being pulled out every time she's criticized? It's like Obama criticism, being raciest all the time. And, I certainly didn't like her vote on the funding of the Iraq war, but it wasn't because she's a woman, (and I hate her for it.)
I think we have to let her stand on her own, as human being, without the enforced victimization of gender politics, (genderization). That, will give her true power and authority.
So we have to look forward to eight years of "misogynistic" being pulled out every time she's criticized? It's like Obama criticism, being raciest all the time. And, I certainly didn't like her vote on the funding of the Iraq war, but it wasn't because she's a woman, (and I hate her for it.)
I think we have to let her stand on her own, as human being, without the enforced victimization of gender politics, (genderization). That, will give her true power and authority.
1
And what's with the line "swoon that changed history"? Another case of Bruni being inaccurately over dramatic to try to show off his writing skills. But if true it undermines his entire point.
1
Transparency, or a lack thereof, works in strange and sometimes contradictory ways, and clearly there are double standards at play in this election cycle. Hillary is being pilloried for her failure to be forthcoming about her illness. Trump is routinely let off the hook for his own lack of openess with respect to information customarily provided by presidential candidates.
Pneumonia is serious stuff, and a presidential candidate who fails to deal with it up front, in public, is asking for trouble. Why Clinton thinks it's no big deal is beyond me.
Trump, on the other hand, has routinely been let off the hook for his refusals to be forthcoming, about his medical history but also about his foundation, tax and financial circumstances. His supporters maintain that he's "just being Trump," as if that were sufficient reason to hold him to a different set of standards regarding candor.
His flip-flopping on issues is legendary, but it's OK that we don't really know where he stands on key issues (because HE doesn't really know) since "he's just being Trump." Why people who support him argue so furiously in his favor, in spite of not knowing what he stands for is beyond me.
This election seems to be coming down, for many, to a decision between which candidate we dislike and distrust less, and not about qualifications to be president and Commander in Chief. Sad commentary on our electorate, our candidates and, yes, the media coverage of the race.
Pneumonia is serious stuff, and a presidential candidate who fails to deal with it up front, in public, is asking for trouble. Why Clinton thinks it's no big deal is beyond me.
Trump, on the other hand, has routinely been let off the hook for his refusals to be forthcoming, about his medical history but also about his foundation, tax and financial circumstances. His supporters maintain that he's "just being Trump," as if that were sufficient reason to hold him to a different set of standards regarding candor.
His flip-flopping on issues is legendary, but it's OK that we don't really know where he stands on key issues (because HE doesn't really know) since "he's just being Trump." Why people who support him argue so furiously in his favor, in spite of not knowing what he stands for is beyond me.
This election seems to be coming down, for many, to a decision between which candidate we dislike and distrust less, and not about qualifications to be president and Commander in Chief. Sad commentary on our electorate, our candidates and, yes, the media coverage of the race.
253
J. Raven
"Pneumonia is serious stuff, and a presidential candidate who fails to deal with it up front, in public, is asking for trouble. Why Clinton thinks it's no big deal is beyond me."
I have always understood that walking pneumonia, which is what Clinton seems to have, is not nearly as serious as just plain pneumonia and a short rest plus whatever her dr. prescribes will take care of it in the matter of days. If you are a physician and disagree, please explain.
"Pneumonia is serious stuff, and a presidential candidate who fails to deal with it up front, in public, is asking for trouble. Why Clinton thinks it's no big deal is beyond me."
I have always understood that walking pneumonia, which is what Clinton seems to have, is not nearly as serious as just plain pneumonia and a short rest plus whatever her dr. prescribes will take care of it in the matter of days. If you are a physician and disagree, please explain.
2
I'm not a physician, but I do disagree and my disagreement is based upon personal experience as a patient...four days in ICU, two more weeks in the hospital hooked up to two IV's, another two weeks at home and then weeks more regaining my strength. Fatigue also plays a role as do age and repeated aircraft pressurization and depressurization. No pneumonia is simple or to be taken lightly at Clinton's age, in particular, because it can easily be exacerbated and sudden complications are possible. I give her full credit for powering through it, but her understandable reluctance to disclose it is offset by reinforcement of perception that does not work in her favor.
Trump has not been let off for his failings.
Hillary has been let off for the lack of transparency regarding her Foundation. It filed fraudulent information to the IRS and has yet to release the revised returns. Which, by the way, are mandated by law to be public.
Trump would be a fool to release his returns, which are private. The media would spend their time picking apart the details. We know that Trump believes in paying as little taxes as possible. Nothing newsworthy is going to be revealed if he releases them, and he's not going to get the waiver the Clintons have gotten on their false Foundation information given to the IRS.
Hillary has been let off for the lack of transparency regarding her Foundation. It filed fraudulent information to the IRS and has yet to release the revised returns. Which, by the way, are mandated by law to be public.
Trump would be a fool to release his returns, which are private. The media would spend their time picking apart the details. We know that Trump believes in paying as little taxes as possible. Nothing newsworthy is going to be revealed if he releases them, and he's not going to get the waiver the Clintons have gotten on their false Foundation information given to the IRS.
1
Unfortunately a lot of Ms. Clinton's time and energy has been expended accumulating money from wealthy donors behind closed doors and not enough has been expended in facing the press or pressing the flesh. This adds to her cloak of secrecy and makes her less sympathetic. The media would be far more gracious toward Ms. Clinton had she given them more access and face time and the voters would be more empathetic had she spent more time in town halls on Main Streets and less in walled mansions.
10
Were a candidate to have a serious long term illness or a pattern of illness that could effect his or her ability to perform the duty of president or potentially shorten the candidate's life span, the American public would merit the information (as in the case of John F Kennedy's Addison's disease) An isolated case of pneumonia doesn't pose such a threat. Given that the Trump campaign and supporters had been launching attacks on Mrs Clinton's health, linking her cuncusion of 2013 to a long term debilitating illness, it is understandable that she chose to ignore her doctor's orders of rest and plow on with the campaign regardless. Had she publicized her illness upon diagnosis, Trump and the alt right conspiracy theorists would have seized the news and taken to social media to besmirch her announcement as a cover-up conspiracy belying some debilitating, possibly gender specific, terminal illness.
369
She has been sick for months. She knew she had pneumonia on Friday and kissed a small child on Sunday afternoon for political gain, despite having an infectious disease. My prediction is that she has Parkinson's disease. The video of her being loaded into the SUV showed her in a locked status characteristic of Parkinson's. And swallowing difficulties of Parkinson's explains the coughing and the pneumonia.
As with Nixon, it is not the offense that will finish her off, it is the corrupt cover up.
As with Nixon, it is not the offense that will finish her off, it is the corrupt cover up.
3
What we learned about this incident is an insight into Hillary Clinton's dark soul. Just dxed with pneumonia she comes in close proximity to a 6 year old child in a photo op which was designed to further the lie that she had fully recovered from heat exhaustion at the 9/11 event. What sort of human being would risk a child's heath for political calculus?
1
This just about says it. The Congressional "leaders" who have for decades found perfect villains in the Clintons and Obamas as "uppity" and vowed to deny them any substantial legislative accomplishments are painfully predictable in pouncing on the fact that a driven HRC soldiered through illness that should have sidelined her as evidence she's unfit.
So do I want a thoroughly prepared and competent President who obviously has a "control thing" and is arguably too secretive under perpetual ad hominem attack for decades, who defies common sense aboiut her health because she understands what is required of those to whom much talent is givem, and is willing to give with a backbone and resolve pf steel when it hurts? We should be applauding her grit while hoping to see a little less of the policy machine and more of the mother and grandmother who is humble enough to display some vulnerability and take sick days once in a while.
So do I want a thoroughly prepared and competent President who obviously has a "control thing" and is arguably too secretive under perpetual ad hominem attack for decades, who defies common sense aboiut her health because she understands what is required of those to whom much talent is givem, and is willing to give with a backbone and resolve pf steel when it hurts? We should be applauding her grit while hoping to see a little less of the policy machine and more of the mother and grandmother who is humble enough to display some vulnerability and take sick days once in a while.
413
Health, mental more so than physical, ought to the subject under discussion. Hillary's cloaked world is no match for Trump's delusional universe on this score. Clinton's secrecy is self-serving and self-destructive; Donald's fabulist fabulousness is dangerous if he is put in possession of the weaponry of modern warfare.
Understood, that those who run for President are possessed of a level of narcissism a cut or two above that of your average Lexus or Cadillac driver. Trump's self love is deep in the red zone of the pathological end of that scale. Unfortunately, while his campaign is, at its core, all and only about Donald, Hillary's is tainted with it as well. Her concern for the plight and needs of others is real enough, but the feeling is not unjustified that she, like Trump, believes this accolade is her due for her decades in its pursuit.
Hillary is a candidate because this has been the plan, for a long, long time. Trump is a candidate in spite of the total lack of anything resembling a plan of duration longer than a single tick of the second hand.
Hillary's obsession has probably not been beneficial to her overall health. Donald Trump's obsession is definitely pathological...to the overall health and safety of the people of the United States and the world beyond.
Understood, that those who run for President are possessed of a level of narcissism a cut or two above that of your average Lexus or Cadillac driver. Trump's self love is deep in the red zone of the pathological end of that scale. Unfortunately, while his campaign is, at its core, all and only about Donald, Hillary's is tainted with it as well. Her concern for the plight and needs of others is real enough, but the feeling is not unjustified that she, like Trump, believes this accolade is her due for her decades in its pursuit.
Hillary is a candidate because this has been the plan, for a long, long time. Trump is a candidate in spite of the total lack of anything resembling a plan of duration longer than a single tick of the second hand.
Hillary's obsession has probably not been beneficial to her overall health. Donald Trump's obsession is definitely pathological...to the overall health and safety of the people of the United States and the world beyond.
9
Trump marched through his best and brightest-Republican finest opponents in the primaries like Sherman through Georgia by using schoolyard bully tactics which, perhaps to his own amazement, worked like a charm. While psychiatrists are properly hesitant to diagnose anyone they haven't personally examined, it is apparent to anyone who can read that Trump is a classic sociopath or, as the current DSM-V terms it: Antisocial Personality Disorder, defined as:
A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, occurring since age 15, as indicated by 3 or more of the following:
1. failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest;
2. deception, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure;
3. impulsivity or failure to plan ahead;
4. irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults;
5. reckless disregard for safety of self or others;
6. consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations;
7. lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.
Having bamboozled enough 'suckers born every minute' i.e. 'fooled some of the people all of the time', Trump's election depends on whether he can fool enough of the people some of the time.
A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, occurring since age 15, as indicated by 3 or more of the following:
1. failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest;
2. deception, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure;
3. impulsivity or failure to plan ahead;
4. irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults;
5. reckless disregard for safety of self or others;
6. consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations;
7. lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.
Having bamboozled enough 'suckers born every minute' i.e. 'fooled some of the people all of the time', Trump's election depends on whether he can fool enough of the people some of the time.
24
Why must elections be about popularity? If we can put a persons life on trial with a jury of randomly chosen citizens, arguably the most difficult trial that anyone can be subjected to, then why can we not have our most important politicians vetted in the same manner? Once a consensus of opinion as to who the most viable candidates are, then let themselves be presented to the public, with all of the gathered information from the inquiry that is pertinent to their electability made available to public, in a timely manner so that the voters can make an informed decision. Our elections are a sham that allows our body politic to be selected by .01% how own 50% of the country's wealth. We will never break out of this wealth inequality until we break the ability of wealth to be passed on as legal inheritance, which allows it to continue to become a larger share of the total wealth of the country with each iteration. Did we not rebel against the passing on of the wealth of the nation by blood inheritance coded into law? Is not our allowing the passing on of wealth by legal decree the same thing? We must not allow a legal aristocracy to exist in our country, our laws must be for the benefit of the everyone, not just for the few.
"...and a sit-down (=Mr. Trump) with Dr. Oz, who is Trump with a stethoscope.."
Mr. Bruni certainly does not like Dr. Oz. Here is what he writes on April 22, 2015 about Dr. Oz: He's a one-man morality play about the temptation of mammon and the seduction of applause, a Faustian parable with a stethoscope".
He may not like either Dr. Oz or Mr. Trump but he appears to be enamored with the simile.
Mr. Bruni certainly does not like Dr. Oz. Here is what he writes on April 22, 2015 about Dr. Oz: He's a one-man morality play about the temptation of mammon and the seduction of applause, a Faustian parable with a stethoscope".
He may not like either Dr. Oz or Mr. Trump but he appears to be enamored with the simile.
Mr. Bruni, I can't tell you how tired this issue is. Peel the onion and what you see is sexism on steroids.
Mrs. Clinton has been wearing a bulls-eye on her back since Arkansas. Hell, if all she has is the occasional coughing fit after three-dozen years of running a male gauntlet of boos and hisses (with a generous portion of catty rancor from a throaty ((jealous)) female chorus), not only is she the most qualified presidential candidate in history, she's put most of her storied (male) rivals deep in the shade. Let's see: She has a husband with a reputation for, ah, "stepping out"? Check. In the kitchen baking oatmeal cookies? Check. A stunning loss in 2008 to an unknown who'd become her boss? Check. "Damned emails?" Acing the Benghazi Inquisition? Check. It says here that, in her life, she's kicked some butts, most of them men's, I might add.
You know what Donald Trump looks like to me? A tomato that's been out too long in the sun. He doesn't look (to me, anyway) fresh and robust and healthily fit. I'd love to see him do a couple of Jack Palance one-armed push-ups like the old circus and B-movie gladiator did the night he won his Oscar for City Slickers. When he was pushing 80. Donald?
I'm saying here that Donald Trump isn't half the woman Hillary Clinton is.
Mrs. Clinton has been wearing a bulls-eye on her back since Arkansas. Hell, if all she has is the occasional coughing fit after three-dozen years of running a male gauntlet of boos and hisses (with a generous portion of catty rancor from a throaty ((jealous)) female chorus), not only is she the most qualified presidential candidate in history, she's put most of her storied (male) rivals deep in the shade. Let's see: She has a husband with a reputation for, ah, "stepping out"? Check. In the kitchen baking oatmeal cookies? Check. A stunning loss in 2008 to an unknown who'd become her boss? Check. "Damned emails?" Acing the Benghazi Inquisition? Check. It says here that, in her life, she's kicked some butts, most of them men's, I might add.
You know what Donald Trump looks like to me? A tomato that's been out too long in the sun. He doesn't look (to me, anyway) fresh and robust and healthily fit. I'd love to see him do a couple of Jack Palance one-armed push-ups like the old circus and B-movie gladiator did the night he won his Oscar for City Slickers. When he was pushing 80. Donald?
I'm saying here that Donald Trump isn't half the woman Hillary Clinton is.
Dear Mr. Bruni,
You question the candidates' sanity in passing because of their masochistic schedules. However, Trump's sanity is questionable per se. Any number of experts have been weighing in on Mrs. Clinton's health, including the esteemed Dr. Giuliani, and diagnosing everything from Parkinson's to dead woman walking based on remote TV observations. For Trump on the other hand, we have mountains of evidence that he does not know right from wrong, truth from lies, honesty from deceit, applause from achievement. Why isn't the American Psychiatric Association giving us his mental health report card? He may well be right when he says he could shoot someone on Fifth Ave and not be found guilty. He would be innocent by reason of insanity.
Far more than Clinton, it is Trump's health and mental derangement we need to focus on.
You question the candidates' sanity in passing because of their masochistic schedules. However, Trump's sanity is questionable per se. Any number of experts have been weighing in on Mrs. Clinton's health, including the esteemed Dr. Giuliani, and diagnosing everything from Parkinson's to dead woman walking based on remote TV observations. For Trump on the other hand, we have mountains of evidence that he does not know right from wrong, truth from lies, honesty from deceit, applause from achievement. Why isn't the American Psychiatric Association giving us his mental health report card? He may well be right when he says he could shoot someone on Fifth Ave and not be found guilty. He would be innocent by reason of insanity.
Far more than Clinton, it is Trump's health and mental derangement we need to focus on.
74
She could shortchange us on the additional medical records that she has rightly pledged to share...
I’m sorry she did this, it just feeds the frenzy. She has already offered a comprehensive summary of her current health. A bout of something anyone could catch has no real relation to her general health. No matter what she releases, it will not be enough for her critics.
I would be in favor of establishing a requirement for all candidates to undergo a general physical at a government facility that would generate a summary of their health, physical and mental, but only in summary. Even candidates are entitled to some privacy and are also entitled to HIPPA protection. It is not necessary for the averege citizen--or journalist--to pore over medical records that are only meaningful to trained medical personnel.
I’m sorry she did this, it just feeds the frenzy. She has already offered a comprehensive summary of her current health. A bout of something anyone could catch has no real relation to her general health. No matter what she releases, it will not be enough for her critics.
I would be in favor of establishing a requirement for all candidates to undergo a general physical at a government facility that would generate a summary of their health, physical and mental, but only in summary. Even candidates are entitled to some privacy and are also entitled to HIPPA protection. It is not necessary for the averege citizen--or journalist--to pore over medical records that are only meaningful to trained medical personnel.
25
@Janet: I like your suggestion in the second paragraph. Hillary has had documented serious health issues of which she was very forthcoming. As bad as McCain's in '08? Probably open to debate, but he did give access to over a thousand pages of his medical records and my guess is his critics (I was one of them) were still apprehensive about a 72 year old taking on the rigors of the office.
You are correct many people will never be satisfied no matter what she releases--look at the birthers with Obama--but transparency is always better than not.
She is not trying to satisfy the conspiratorial nuts, but those of us who have a legitimate interest in knowing the health of BOTH candidates.
You are correct many people will never be satisfied no matter what she releases--look at the birthers with Obama--but transparency is always better than not.
She is not trying to satisfy the conspiratorial nuts, but those of us who have a legitimate interest in knowing the health of BOTH candidates.
1
Janet,
While Hillarie's health is an issue, it isn't the issue. The issue is how Hillary dealt with adverse situations or situations which might effect her adversely. There is a reason that a majority of Americans don't trust Hillary. How she deals with her health issues are yet more reasons not to trust her judgment.
Leading is a difficult job. Those that do it well are often not nice people. The important quality in a leader is to make the best choices for those who follow them. Living in damage control mode to CYA is not the best indicator of good leadership.. If how Hillary dealt with her health was different from how Hillary dealt publicly with any of her past problems it might be illuminating. It's not so that fact is illuminating!
I wonder how Bernie Sanders would have done!
While Hillarie's health is an issue, it isn't the issue. The issue is how Hillary dealt with adverse situations or situations which might effect her adversely. There is a reason that a majority of Americans don't trust Hillary. How she deals with her health issues are yet more reasons not to trust her judgment.
Leading is a difficult job. Those that do it well are often not nice people. The important quality in a leader is to make the best choices for those who follow them. Living in damage control mode to CYA is not the best indicator of good leadership.. If how Hillary dealt with her health was different from how Hillary dealt publicly with any of her past problems it might be illuminating. It's not so that fact is illuminating!
I wonder how Bernie Sanders would have done!
5
There are a couple of things that bother me about Clinton's illness:
1. The description of the September 11 event in the Times' news ledes and in this column by Frank Bruni. Clinton did not merely "stumble", "sway", "struggle to maintain her balance" or, as Bruni quaintly puts it (cue the Victorian fainting couch) "swoon". Clinton collapsed or, at minimum, appeared to collapse. And we can see it on video. Trivializing the event feeds the concern that the public is being manipulated by the Clinton campaign and the media, to Clinton's detriment.
2. What the collapse or seeming collapse says about the judgment of Clinton and her aides. While I'm sympathetic to Clinton's desire to appear strong and indefatigable, it is foolhardy not to rest sufficiently after a pneumonia diagnosis, and even worse to try to hide that diagnosis under close public scrutiny. As was the case in the email controversy, Clinton and her aides made a bad judgment call and compounded the error by attempting to cover it up. Sadly, that's vintage Clinton.
Yes, I'll vote for Clinton because her opponent is unacceptable. But the illness that I'm afflicted with is Clinton fatigue, and it's not even November yet. If most Americans feel similarly, we're in for some tough sledding after HRC takes the oath of office. Granted, a Trump presidency would be far worse.
1. The description of the September 11 event in the Times' news ledes and in this column by Frank Bruni. Clinton did not merely "stumble", "sway", "struggle to maintain her balance" or, as Bruni quaintly puts it (cue the Victorian fainting couch) "swoon". Clinton collapsed or, at minimum, appeared to collapse. And we can see it on video. Trivializing the event feeds the concern that the public is being manipulated by the Clinton campaign and the media, to Clinton's detriment.
2. What the collapse or seeming collapse says about the judgment of Clinton and her aides. While I'm sympathetic to Clinton's desire to appear strong and indefatigable, it is foolhardy not to rest sufficiently after a pneumonia diagnosis, and even worse to try to hide that diagnosis under close public scrutiny. As was the case in the email controversy, Clinton and her aides made a bad judgment call and compounded the error by attempting to cover it up. Sadly, that's vintage Clinton.
Yes, I'll vote for Clinton because her opponent is unacceptable. But the illness that I'm afflicted with is Clinton fatigue, and it's not even November yet. If most Americans feel similarly, we're in for some tough sledding after HRC takes the oath of office. Granted, a Trump presidency would be far worse.
17
You've never been there? Dehydrated, a hot day, pneumonia. she fainted. Not real unusual in those circumstances.
11
I understand your point, but look at it this way - she misses 911 ceremony - she would have never heard the end of it.
6
If you don't have your health you don't have anything....it was very bad decision on Hilary Clinton's part to ignore her illness and not respect her physical body. Personally I don't want a leader who lacks common sense.....what sort of role model is that? I do not think people should be encouraged to "power through" illness, they take longer to get better and sharing a virus is not helpful to others or general productivity. It's selfish behavior and as far as I know they do not give out "martyr of the year awards." Can we have leaders who consider health & fitness as essential? JFK certainly did. I think most kids today would fail the President's Fitness Test from those JFK days.
2
What worries me about Hilary is not the pneumonia, but the FACT she felt compelled to hide it from most of her staff and the public. We don't trust her and she doesn't trust us. That is not a good relationship and speaks poorly of what we have to look forward to when she is elected in November.
Lack of transparency in politics is already an infectious disease. We saw it most recently with the private email server which was Hillary's quest to avoid public disclosure of her public documents. She sought advice from Powell who had the same disease and after leaving office sent the server with all of those PUBLIC documents out West for "safe keeping." Only after being caught was she forthcoming.
The same thing happened on Sunday. Once the video got out she was forced to disclose her illness. Otherwise, she would have never told us.
And yes, there is lots of precedent from other Presidents for keeping information secret and lying to the public about their health issues. But that does not make it right, nor does Trump's awful candidacy justify lowering our standards from what we should expect from a President.
The biggest problem is not Hillary, who like every politician, only wants us to hear the positive message. The problem is the enablers who come up with excuses justifying secrecy. An excuse with which politicians will happily comply.
Anyone but Trump is not a valid justification for secrecy. And in the end, Trump will win if Hillary is not more forthcoming.
Lack of transparency in politics is already an infectious disease. We saw it most recently with the private email server which was Hillary's quest to avoid public disclosure of her public documents. She sought advice from Powell who had the same disease and after leaving office sent the server with all of those PUBLIC documents out West for "safe keeping." Only after being caught was she forthcoming.
The same thing happened on Sunday. Once the video got out she was forced to disclose her illness. Otherwise, she would have never told us.
And yes, there is lots of precedent from other Presidents for keeping information secret and lying to the public about their health issues. But that does not make it right, nor does Trump's awful candidacy justify lowering our standards from what we should expect from a President.
The biggest problem is not Hillary, who like every politician, only wants us to hear the positive message. The problem is the enablers who come up with excuses justifying secrecy. An excuse with which politicians will happily comply.
Anyone but Trump is not a valid justification for secrecy. And in the end, Trump will win if Hillary is not more forthcoming.
21
If she had recovered without the video being out there, why would she have had to tell us of her illness? Pneumonia (especially the mild form she has) is treatable and not usually serious if treated. Shall we just attach a camera to her 24/7 and measure her food intake and bodily output for the sake of “transparency”?
160
@Janet Camp: but the video is out there, and relatively little can be hidden successfully in the era of video-equipped smart phones and You Tube. The penchant for controlling the narrative and misleading the public backfired in the Bill Clinton White House and continues to backfire in Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Is there any wonder that a majority of the American people don't consider Clinton trustworthy?
Is there any wonder that a majority of the American people don't consider Clinton trustworthy?
15
@Janet Camp: What makes you conclude it was a "mild form" of pneumonia? According to an article in the NYT's on Sunday: "Dr. Bardack did not indicate what sort of pneumonia Mrs. Clinton had or elaborate on the nature of the examination last week, whether Mrs. Clinton had a fever today, or a host of other issues that could offer more precise insights about her condition."
I have not seen any follow up statement from the Doctor, have you? And herein lies the problem. Are we supposed to believe what her staff tells us--the same staff that was not even told about her illness. Or what Hillary tells us?
If you have more information from her doctor, please provide the link.
I have not seen any follow up statement from the Doctor, have you? And herein lies the problem. Are we supposed to believe what her staff tells us--the same staff that was not even told about her illness. Or what Hillary tells us?
If you have more information from her doctor, please provide the link.
11
It is 100 per cent certain that a senior citizen will occupy the white house this time,whoever wins, that is a good news for senior citizens in this country but is it good for the country? Donald Trump is 70, If he gets elected,, Trump would become the oldest person to assume the presidency; he would be older than Ronald Reagan by about seven months. Hillary is 68. Neither of these candidates has provided the voters their complete medical reports. Even if they provide their complete medical reports, advancing age is still a risk. American presidency is the toughest job in the world. Age matters but unfortunately American voters have no choice this time in this matter, they have to choose a senior citizen for the most grueling job in the world.
A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 53 percent of voters are comfortable with a president over the age of 65, and only 26 percent have reservations. The real concern should be health, not age, according to their doctors. I hope that is true.Will they mentally and physically stay acute in the coming years? Who can predict?
A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 53 percent of voters are comfortable with a president over the age of 65, and only 26 percent have reservations. The real concern should be health, not age, according to their doctors. I hope that is true.Will they mentally and physically stay acute in the coming years? Who can predict?
15
You also can't predict years of good health for younger people either so this isn't a legitimate argument. At age 46, looking in the best of health, my husband was diagnosed with colon cancer found during a routine exam provided by his employer because my husband was an executive at the firm. Fortunately for us -- and we thank God each day -- it was caught early, had surgery, and is alive and well 22 years late.
And he is not unusual, younger men and women encounter unforeseen health problems too. No one can predict what awaits us on the health front -- young or old.
And he is not unusual, younger men and women encounter unforeseen health problems too. No one can predict what awaits us on the health front -- young or old.
8
Frankly, I believe the health scare is a distraction – actually SERVING as president is a TON less grueling than RUNNING for the job. Ask Barack Obama’s nine-iron.
But Frank’s excusatorium doesn’t detract from the sorry image of a wobbly Hillary juxtaposed with a Trump (older by two years) running around the country with gusto and putting on highly energetic performances at every stop. I could provide all kinds of humor related to THOSE competing images, but defending Hillary is Frank’s job, not mine (and he’s not doing a good job of it).
It’s getting thin. Hillary wobbles while Trump break-dances – so “stamina” isn’t really an issue in a president. Our politics have been frozen solid for years because what have become establishment Democrats and Republicans can’t get off the dime, but the poster-gal for the establishment is preferable to a cowboy who could rock the boat. Trump is inexperienced, yet all of Hillary’s “experience” missed Arab Spring, allowed Syria to devolve into a nightmare and gave us Libya. She wants to serve Obama’s third term, yet millions of Americans can’t see any value in the FIRST two.
All that this column offers is that Frank doesn’t like Trump. Quelle surprise.
But Frank’s excusatorium doesn’t detract from the sorry image of a wobbly Hillary juxtaposed with a Trump (older by two years) running around the country with gusto and putting on highly energetic performances at every stop. I could provide all kinds of humor related to THOSE competing images, but defending Hillary is Frank’s job, not mine (and he’s not doing a good job of it).
It’s getting thin. Hillary wobbles while Trump break-dances – so “stamina” isn’t really an issue in a president. Our politics have been frozen solid for years because what have become establishment Democrats and Republicans can’t get off the dime, but the poster-gal for the establishment is preferable to a cowboy who could rock the boat. Trump is inexperienced, yet all of Hillary’s “experience” missed Arab Spring, allowed Syria to devolve into a nightmare and gave us Libya. She wants to serve Obama’s third term, yet millions of Americans can’t see any value in the FIRST two.
All that this column offers is that Frank doesn’t like Trump. Quelle surprise.
127
“... yet millions of Americans can’t see any value in the FIRST two.”
Yet millions more voted for him both times. Whatever is your point Richard?
Yet millions more voted for him both times. Whatever is your point Richard?
116
There you go again.
If being president is so easy, then why do most recent presidents age so quickly?
The exception being Reagan, who delegated most of his activities and was in bed by 8 after napping during the afternoon.
All your comment offers is what you have been ranting since June: that the frozen politics caused by the GOP stonewalling Obama for the past 8 years should result in electing an unqualified buffoon reviled by most of us who will somehow magically pass effective legislation.
Please...you are fooling nobody in here with a clue.
If being president is so easy, then why do most recent presidents age so quickly?
The exception being Reagan, who delegated most of his activities and was in bed by 8 after napping during the afternoon.
All your comment offers is what you have been ranting since June: that the frozen politics caused by the GOP stonewalling Obama for the past 8 years should result in electing an unqualified buffoon reviled by most of us who will somehow magically pass effective legislation.
Please...you are fooling nobody in here with a clue.
205
Janet:
About five million more people voted for Obama than Romney, out of almost 128 million who voted. I think that qualifies as "millions of people" who can't see any value in the first two terms. Without his rant on the "47%", Romney might have pulled more than those five million to his side and won. Who knows what affect Mrs. Clinton's riff on the "deplorables" will have.
About five million more people voted for Obama than Romney, out of almost 128 million who voted. I think that qualifies as "millions of people" who can't see any value in the first two terms. Without his rant on the "47%", Romney might have pulled more than those five million to his side and won. Who knows what affect Mrs. Clinton's riff on the "deplorables" will have.
1
Not too hard to understand the self protective tendency toward secrecy in a public life under continuous political attack for a quarter century. I guess what was acceptable for most presidents, but especially the health challenges of FDR, Kennedy and Reagan, who all served in times of great stress, is yet another cause for criticism of HRC.
My guess is that HRC was knocked down by the same virus going around here in August and took me out for two weeks with similar symptoms, a rarity for me.
It's too bad we have to endure more weeks of this media feeding frenzy. I cannot listen any longer to the daily nonsense spewing from Trump, like the Founders of ISIS or the Putin bromance stuff. Respected news organizations are giving over their lead story to this garbage every day, as if nothing else was going on in the world of such weight as the babblings of a narcissist billionaire.
There are some other stories going on, the crushing of ISIS, North Korea's nuclear program, the changing US labor market, the downward spiral of the petrostates, the collapse of the taxpayer funded for-profit diploma mill industry, predatory pricing of pharmaceuticals, the impacts and mitigation of climate change and a lot more.
Maybe the editorial columnists could set an example by not leading with the Donald every day. Just a thought.
My guess is that HRC was knocked down by the same virus going around here in August and took me out for two weeks with similar symptoms, a rarity for me.
It's too bad we have to endure more weeks of this media feeding frenzy. I cannot listen any longer to the daily nonsense spewing from Trump, like the Founders of ISIS or the Putin bromance stuff. Respected news organizations are giving over their lead story to this garbage every day, as if nothing else was going on in the world of such weight as the babblings of a narcissist billionaire.
There are some other stories going on, the crushing of ISIS, North Korea's nuclear program, the changing US labor market, the downward spiral of the petrostates, the collapse of the taxpayer funded for-profit diploma mill industry, predatory pricing of pharmaceuticals, the impacts and mitigation of climate change and a lot more.
Maybe the editorial columnists could set an example by not leading with the Donald every day. Just a thought.
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Gratuitous comments about a preeminent surgeon who, to the despair of many, has abandoned his practice for media stardom aren't particularly helpful.
2
I don't even want to count up the number of articles and columns in the New York Times alone on Hillary Clinton's common illness across the past three days. None on Trump's taxes, his foundation, his lies, and the stories you mention. Constant barrage against the female candidate. I am now having to go to the Washington Post for more equal coverage.
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Any excuse to attack Hillary is SERIOUS stuff for the media and the GOP!
But, her persistent cough could simply be a reaction to a blood pressure medication. I had a similar experience at about the same age. My Dr prescribed an ACE inhibitor and after a year of uncontrollable coughing fits I looked on the web and found that the fits were one of the possible side effects. Had to switch medication.
Family and friends were alarmed.
But, her persistent cough could simply be a reaction to a blood pressure medication. I had a similar experience at about the same age. My Dr prescribed an ACE inhibitor and after a year of uncontrollable coughing fits I looked on the web and found that the fits were one of the possible side effects. Had to switch medication.
Family and friends were alarmed.
5
Health is definitely an issue in this election, but it has little to do with the benign physical ailments of the candidates. It’s the mental health of the country that we should be worried about. Even in Hillary Clinton’s weakened condition she was able to take the pulse of the electorate and diagnose the problem: a serious lack of discernment afflicting a deplorably high fraction of likely voters.
What else explains the lemming-like behavior of voters who can’t tell the difference between Hillary’s benign penchant for secrecy and Trump’s psychotic narcissism? Let’s see: Hillary hides her cough. Trump's views are incompatible with reality. Gimme some Trump! cries the crowd. Where does one even stick a thermometer to diagnose the disconnect?
One symptom of the current American psychopathy is memory loss. It’s not as though we’ve forgotten the past. We’ve forgotten the present. We have no memory of Barack Obama pulling us out of the morass left by the last Republican. We can’t recall what a decent, honorable and measured man has done for the country, and what a shambles Republicans have made it.
No, some of us have vague resentments about something or other, so we'd like an egomaniacal emotionally fragile septuagenarian man-child to take the helm. It's hard to imagine him steering the ship of state while he’s looking in a mirror, but they're willing to risk it.
What else explains the lemming-like behavior of voters who can’t tell the difference between Hillary’s benign penchant for secrecy and Trump’s psychotic narcissism? Let’s see: Hillary hides her cough. Trump's views are incompatible with reality. Gimme some Trump! cries the crowd. Where does one even stick a thermometer to diagnose the disconnect?
One symptom of the current American psychopathy is memory loss. It’s not as though we’ve forgotten the past. We’ve forgotten the present. We have no memory of Barack Obama pulling us out of the morass left by the last Republican. We can’t recall what a decent, honorable and measured man has done for the country, and what a shambles Republicans have made it.
No, some of us have vague resentments about something or other, so we'd like an egomaniacal emotionally fragile septuagenarian man-child to take the helm. It's hard to imagine him steering the ship of state while he’s looking in a mirror, but they're willing to risk it.
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The improving economy and the increase in household income are proof positive to many that the country is on the wrong track.
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Bravo!
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It wasn't that egomaniacal emotionally fragile septuagenarian man-child who collapsed Sunday then tried to lie their way out of it re the heat (70 deg).
I would bet the farm Hillary still lying about her illness. Lying is what Hillary does best.
I would bet the farm Hillary still lying about her illness. Lying is what Hillary does best.
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