Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski wants it both ways. The extended coughing jag suffered by Hillary Clinton during a campaign appearance in Cleveland on Labor Day was, to Brzezinski's discerning eye, merely a "cough."
But no sooner had she tut-tutted away the latest example of Clinton showing she's hardly the picture of good health did Brzezinski excoriate Clinton's running mate, Virginia senator Tim Kaine, seated behind Clinton on that stage in Ohio, for not galloping to Clinton's rescue.
That this is a potentially damaging issue to Clinton as the campaign swings into its final stretch -- and with a new CNN/ORC poll showing Trump leading Clinton nationally -- was obvious today when it was the first issue tackled by the Morning Joe crew at the start of its three-hour slog.
Brzezinski did not help her argument by contradicting herself as soon she she weighed in --
BRZEZINSKI: We have a lot to get to this morning. I'm just going to start with what Trump is leading with. Trump is going to make it look like, uh, Hillary Clinton is sick or something because she coughed. I just want to know, where Tim Kaine was when he was clapping behind her for two minutes like this. If we, if I (gesturing toward co-host Joe Scarborough) had a coughing fit on the air, what would you do?
Notice how what happened to Clinton abruptly went from a "cough" to a "coughing fit" during Brzezinski's retelling --
BRZEZINSKI: You'd probably take over and help out (Scarborough mock-clapping). Tim Kaine, c'mon! What are you doing?! What are you doing?!
SCARBOROUGH: He probably could have 'cept her of the mic (?) 'cause you do that .. you know, when someone's coughing or whatever.
BRZEZINSKI: Step up! Take the mic! Get a drink of water!SCARBOROUGH: ... you know, when somebody's coughing or whatever.
PANELIST MARK HALPERIN: It was a little awkward.
BRZEZINSKI: What?!
SCARBOROUGH: We have all the conspiracy theories and somebody was asking ... oh, is this proof ...
BRZEZINSKI: It happens ...
SCARBOROUGH: ... is this proof ...
BRZEZINSKI: You help out!SCARBOROUGH: It's a tough schedule (pause for effect). It's a really rough schedule and sometimes, you know, you cough and do stuff like that.
PANELIST STEVE RATTNER (belatedly defending Clinton): Look, if she had a health issue, do you think she would have been on the road 360 days a year for the last ...
BRZEZINSKI: No, she doesn't! That's just BS. She doesn't. That's silly.
Scarborough, joining in the consensus that Clinton is in excellent health despite that chronic cough she can't seem to shake, then showed a clip of the episode in question over Brzezinski's objection --
BRZEZINSKI (petulantly): I don't like, I don't want to show it.
SCARBOROUGH (in exasperation): I thought you wanted to! I wasn't even going to bring it up! (only a few seconds of the clip shown). All right, this goes on for two minutes and Tim Kaine ...
BRZEZINSKI: And he just sits there!
SCARBOROUGH: ... look at him, he's just sitting back there, going, so anyway ...
BRZEZINSKI: Grab the mic!
SCARBOROUGH: ... I was playing Parcheesi last night with my kids ...
BRZEZINSKI: Yeah.
SCARBOROUGH: All right, let's get off of that.
BRZEZINSKI: Get off. She's awesome. Not sick. Just ...
HALPERIN: He kept waiting for her to kind of stop.
BRZEZINSKI: No, pick up the mic, get her a drink of water -- isn't she awesome? (stated in guise of Kaine addressing rally in Cleveland). Crowd goes crazy. Oh, Trump's going to jump on this one, isn't he? Crowd goes crazy. Like, guys! Campaign! Please help.
It was Halperin who was most accurate -- Kaine "kept waiting for her to kind of stop," as is clear to anyone watching the entire clip. About a minute in, after it became obvious that Clinton's cough was not getting better, Kaine rose and reached into his pocket for a lozenge or stick of gum, just as a person off-camera handed one to Clinton. At no point did Clinton signal to Kaine that she wanted or needed his help, as would be expected had she been in genuine distress.
Talk about a man damned if he didn't or damned if he did -- imagine Brzezinski's outrage if Kaine had grabbed the mic from Clinton. He'd not be applauded as chivalrous, he'd be condemned as sexist. Instead of praising Kaine for helping Clinton, Brzezinski would slam him for contributing to the growing perception that Clinton is not healthy.
