Nothing to Sneeze At

Comments from doctors on viewing the Hillary Clinton 911 video:

“What you saw yesterday was very, very serious, and people better start taking this seriously,” Eric said. “This is big time now. This is really, really big time, so I hope that somebody really gets after this.”

“What you saw was not even remotely close to pneumonia,” Eric said firmly.

“I told my wife last night, I said I won’t be surprised if I wake up today and find that Hillary Clinton has passed away,” James said.

“There’s clearly something that’s drastically wrong, and I think that some people are overlooking that.”

The fact that the Clinton camp are still seemingly lying about what it is, and have not yet released her medical records, suggests we are wise to assume the worst. If she is not serioudly ill, releasing her records would be the way to put the rumours to rest. Whatever is there must be worse for her than the speculation is.

Their claim that she was diagnosed with pneumonia, but nothing was said about it until sme hours after this incident, also suggests we should assume the worst. Had pneumonia really been the problem, why keep it secret until it was forced out? Why not announce it immediately? Why not pre-empt the risk of such a public incident? It might well have only gained her sympathy.

No, they needed time to come up with this, pneumonia, as a plausible cover story, now required, for something more serious—serious enough that, if it were known, it would disqualify her in at least some eyes---more likely in many eyes--for the presidency.

The biggest worry in the Trump camp should be that she steps down as a candidate. Almost anyone else, at this point, would be harder to beat.

Nevada

I have just about lost interest now in the US presidential race. Nevada has made both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump look close to inevitable. It is too depressing. To think: the Republicans at least produced the best field in a generation, and it boils down to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump? After Obama, I'm not sure the US can survive this with its preeminence intact.

For the Dems, South Carolina will tell the tale. But Nevada was a better shot for Bernie than South Carolina; the SC vote is heavily black and the black vote prefers Clinton. It is not fair; Sanders spent his youth fighting for civil rights, and Clinton came late to the game. The problem is apparently that blacks do not identify with Sanders culturally. He is too white. But Clinton has the advantage of a large black vote throughout the SEC primary to come as well. By there time that it over, Sanders may have lost all momentum.

As for the Republicans, the big problem is that Trump's vote has not just grown, it is now bigger than the next two candidates, Rubio and Cruz, combined. If this holds, it suggests he cannot be overtaken even in a two-man race. And Rubio and Cruz are so close in their vote that it is hard to see either dropping out. If you add Carson's and Kasich's vote to either Rubio or Cruz, it would hardly make a difference.

I can only hope that Nevada is some odd anomaly, like a rogue poll.

The Vision Thing

A woman of (partial) vision.

Pols say Hillary Clinton's campaign is struggling in part because it is failing to articulate a vision, a reason for a Clinton presidency. They need a slogan, kind of like Obama's “Hope and Change.”

Problem is, it has to resonate with the persona of the candidate.

A few suggestions:

Hope against hope. 

Real policies for real people. 

My village wants your children. 

It's my turn to have interns! 

Because I said so. 

“Retro” is the new “change.” 

Nice country you got there. Pity if something was to happen to it. 

The nineties called. They want their foreign policy back. 

I need the money. We've been broke since we left the White House. 

Why should North Korea be the only country whose leader wears pantsuits? 

Vision? I've still got perfect vision in one eye. 

What difference, at this point, does it make? 

You're so welcome, Democrats. Happy, in return, to accept the post of press secretary.