I wasn’t going to say anything, but then Chuck Schumer confessed: A few weeks ago, he was diagnosed with pneumonia. He’s fine now, but still… as an Associated Press report somberly reminded us: “Schumer is in line to be the top Senate Democrat in January with the retirement of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.”
So the public has a right to know, right? This time, it’s pneumonia. Who knows what might happen next? And Schumer is the future top dog of Democrats in the US Senate.
When the big news broke about Hillary Clinton having pneumonia, I didn’t think about going public myself. My first reaction was simply personal: a bit of empathy – even a bit of pride. Hillary has it, too! Welcome to the club!
But if Chuck Schumer feels an obligation to inform the public, I should, too. So here goes: I had pneumonia this summer. In healthy people, with proper treatment, it’s not a big deal. Truly. My doctor’s reaction as my symptoms persisted and an intestinal virus joined in: “Bummer.”
It was indeed. And I’ll match my coughing fits against Hillary Clinton’s anytime. Antibiotics are the remedy, if the pneumonia is caused by bacteria. Antibiotics and rest.
Pneumonia is a stubborn thing, though. If you don’t rest and get treatment, you can get really, really sick. Clinton got dehydrated, stumbled as she left the 9/11 commemoration on Sunday, and the Secret Service folks had to help her into the car. I might’ve stumbled around too, except that most days, I could hardly get out of bed.
Bummer.
Donald Trump – worried, I guess, about competition from someone who is younger than he is and, worse, someone who is a woman – has been gleefully sowing rumors about Clinton’s health for months. So of course all Clinton has to do is sneeze, and his campaign can say, “See? See? Something’s going on!”
And Clinton did much more than sneeze. Coughing fit! Overheating! (I’m surprised Trump didn’t seize on that to make yet another crack about a woman’s bodily functions; maybe all of his wives have been too young to have hot flashes.)
OK. In a perfect world – well, in any presidential campaign but this one – Clinton should have taken a few days off to rest. And when she didn’t, maybe she should have fessed up.
But seriously: can we blame Clinton if she figured that would be like stepping in front of a firing line? So she did what a lot of us do when we have too much to do and we get what we think is a simple, aggravating malady: she sucked it up and plowed on.
The media have way overplayed this story, and I’ve been appalled by some of the coverage. Usually credible reporters were pouting that Clinton wouldn’t let them tag along as she left the 9/11 service and headed to her daughter’s home to get out of the heat and the crowds. We must ferret out the truth!
For pity heaven’s sake. Clinton is a human being, subject to the same common illnesses the rest of us are (Donald Trump being an astonishingly wonderful, healthiest person ever to run for president exception, of course). And she has been campaigning for over a year. Long days. Long nights. Long flights. Shaking hands. All over the country. Stuff happens.
There are plenty of legitimate reasons – behavioral issues, policy issues – to criticize Clinton. And her recent “basket of deplorables” attack on Trump supporters was wrong, insulting, and politically stupid. But pneumonia? Being reluctant to say you have it and feed the conspiracy theories?
Many Americans say they don’t trust Clinton. Many Democrats say they don’t trust her. She herself has contributed to the distrust, but the biggest source is the constant drumbeat, over the years, from Republicans who have fabricated stories about her. Repeat a lie often enough….
This has been an abysmal presidential campaign. The furor about Clinton’s pneumonia shows that things won’t get any better before Election Day.
This article appears in Sep 14-20, 2016.
It’s a mistake to view this as an isolated incident. She has a several year history of fainting and in 2012 received a concussion and a blood clot from one of them. She told the FBI that she had an extended period of memory loss after the concussion.
The coughing , who knows? The problem is that 2/3 of Americans do not believe Hillary and are not willing to accept her word without verifiable corroboration, not just a note from her personal physician .
I think it is reasonable to question whether someone who is 68 with a history of fainting and falls should be taking on one of the worlds most demanding jobs for the next 4-8 years.
I think there are many 68 year olds who are able to continue at their jobs long after retirement age. But from my experience most are not and exhibit health problems similar to hers.
Hillary has Trump making a huge issue of her health. Hillary finds out she has pneumonia. Hiding this fact gives fuel to the fire that Trump lit. So why on Earth would Hillary keep this secret?
It would seem the explanatio n might be to prove Trump wrong, Hillary’s true health status must be covered up. Hillary gambled. She’s on antibiotics and with luck, no one would know about the pneumonia. She gambled and lost. Making a very public departure from a very significant event and having the collapse into a van available on video is the worst case scenario.
Later, the headlines read “Hillary’s campaign made mistakes handling health issue”. I love how “the campaign” is treated like some foreign entity that is far removed from Hillary herself. The campaign begins and ends with Hillary Clinton. If she can’t handle making the right decision in this case, how will she be able to handle more complex issues?
What’s most significant here is the obvious indication that truth and transparency are not second nature for Hillary or “the campaign”. That is extremely troublesome.
Mrs. Towler, You might be interested in a similar Me, too, commentary from the NYTimes, today. One the right side you will find my own comments.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/14/insider/…
(I think part of the problem with Hillary is her speaking ability. Perhaps if she gets feedback after every speech, she will improve, and knock out the Donald in the debates)
Look, Mrs. Towler, I think you are missing something. Yes, Clinton has a medical problem. But Trump has a MENTAL problem, which he is hiding from the public. We know about his lying. What about his learning problem, his LEARNING DISABILITY problem?
Yes, I am speaking about LD, learning disability. Do we want a president whose judgment is impaired because of a learning problem? Maybe that is discrimination, but it might make sense to consider it.
LD, learning disability might help to explain Trump’s bizarre behavior over the years. Why the defensiveness and the lying and the endless personal attacks on people’s character?
(Now, Clinton may also have LD problems, but at least she has a lifetime of experience in government and a law degree. And she has a former president by her side to help her out)
Take your pick. Do we really want someone in the White House for the next four years who can’t think straight, because he has a learning disability he won’t admit to?
FYI – Here is a speculation on what a President Trump might do, from the New Yorker Magazine:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/…