Hillary Clinton’s collapse into a van on September 11 -- somehow "overheated" on a mild New York morning -- overturned the liberal media elite’s dismissal of any questioning of her health or stamina. They disdained all that as a Donald Trump series of insults and conspiracy theories. There were no apologies or admissions that perhaps they were wrong.
Take Washington Post political editor Chris Cillizza. On September 6, he pleaded, “Can We Just Stop Talking About Hillary Clinton’s Health Now?” Five days later, it was “Hillary Clinton’s Health Just Became a Real Issue in the Presidential Campaign.”
This man perfectly symbolized the media reaction – no apologies, just the sad realization that her collapse would “catapult questions about her health from the ranks of conservative conspiracy theory to perhaps the central debate in the presidential race.”
The “conspiracy theory” was that Hillary Clinton’s campaign was concealing health problems. The collapse proved the theory, along with the Clinton admission that she was diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier, and didn’t tell anyone in the press.
Liberal reporters could disdain Trump for this stamina tactic. He constantly mocked Jeb Bush as “low energy,” and Bush never collapsed into a van. But it’s also easy to disdain the press, which is terrible at covering (instead of covering up or swooning over) Hillary’s health and stamina.
Their treatment of Hillary's blood clot at the end of 2012 demonstrated they had no real interest in pressing her on health issues -- even as she used them to delay testifying on Benghazi for weeks.
Rewind to Secretary Clinton’s return to work at the State Department on January 7. 2013, after a head injury that kept her from testifying about the Benghazi debacle. New York Times reporter Mark Landler extolled Clinton as a "role model" for her "indomitable stamina" and "herculean work habits," expressing concern about the “heavy toll” she’s paid with her dedication.
The networks treated her like a superhero. On NBC, Andrea Mitchell asked "Will Clinton's health scare slow her down?" She turned to liberal Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, who gushed: "Slowing down for Hillary Clinton is not like slowing down for normal people. It is stopping a crazy-killer schedule, and perhaps just going to what for normal people would be a very, very full schedule."
After Mrs. Clinton testified, she and President Obama were treated to a syrupy 60 Minutes interview with Steve Kroft, which was hailed across the networks as a “lovefest” between the president and...the next president. Late in the segment, Kroft touched on Hillary’s health with this softball on her "What difference does it make?" testimony: “You had a very long day. Also, how is your health?”
That's precisely the same amount of journalistic pressure you would get from your barista.
She replied: "Oh, it's great. It's great. Now, you know, I still have some lingering effects from falling on my head and having the blood clot. But, you know, the doctors tell me that that will all recede. And so thankfully I'm, you know, looking forward to being at full speed."
As usual, the networks were all about the setting the table for her eventual presidential campaign. Kroft's interview was a journalistic palate cleanser, meant to remove whatever bad feelings came from her failures at State. CBS host John Dickerson oozed the 60 Minutes piece was "a good way after that tough hearing on Benghazi... a good image for Hillary to end her tenure with."
