All things are relative in politics. The subplots, the polls. Week to week. Day to day. Hillary Clinton’s “deplorables” gaffe–now being compared to Mitt Romney’s “47 percent” zinger–doesn’t look so bad contrasted with the awful optics of a sick woman stumbling into a van.
The “deplorables” remark, while acknowledged by Clinton as “grossly generalistic,” was aimed at the “half” of Trump supporters who are “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic–you name it.” Clinton shouldn’t have said it. It’s not helpful–but it’s not exactly untrue. You couldn’t cull a more off-putting following if you were doing a casting call for Deliverance II. It’s also probably more than half.
As to the health issue, this is all transparent hands on board. The electorate is more understanding of pneumonia than campaign subterfuge–especially for a candidate with trust issues.
Antibiotics can address pneumonia. But they are of no use in combating campaign-staff brain cramps. The release of more medical records is mandatory–yesterday. The public has the right to know, categorically, if Clinton, 68, is healthy enough for the world’s most taxing job. Moreover, it then turns the focus to Trump, 70, the epitome of opaque–from tax returns and detailed health records to specifics for improving the economy, defeating ISIS and paying for “the wall.”