HILLARY’S HEALTH: KARL DID HER A SOLID

DATELINE: NothingToHideville, May 19 –  What was it that Karl Rove said ten days ago about Hillary’s health that still has so many up in arms? Three things: (1) she suffered a serious health episode; (2) she was hospitalized for 30 days and (3) she covered up the extent of her condition.

According to early reports, Clinton fell in her home and struck her head. Initially diagnosed as a concussion, doctors later discovered a blood clot behind her right ear between her brain and her skull. She spent three days in the hospital. She returned to work about one month after her fall. For several months thereafter, she wore Fresnel prism glasses.

Without any question, Rove’s claim that Hillary spent one month in the hospital was in error by a factor of 10. Shame on Karl. But, he was right about the rest of it.

None other than Bill Clinton, looking and sounding decrepit himself, validated Rove’s assessment of Hillary’s injury. Last Wednesday, during a Washington appearance, he described it as “a terrible concussion that required six months of very serious work to get over.” And the former President is right. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury.

According to ophthalmologists, Hillary’s Fresnel prism glasses correct double vision, which can be the result of severe head trauma. She certainly wouldn’t wear the glasses as a fashion statement. The double vision was the result of pressure on an optic nerve caused, in all likelihood, by the blood clot.

Anyway it’s sliced, Hillary’s true condition was a far cry from the State Department update issued one month after she sustained the concussion. A Department representative erroneously reported that Hillary “seems to be fully recovered”. Even if the State Department can be excused for the misstatement, Clinton cannot.

Hillary knew the truth of her condition and allowed the fallacy of her recovery to go uncorrected. As Rove stated, she hid the truth behind the bad information that went out on the news wires from her own Department. Good for Karl, he got that one right.

But, the truth or falsity of Rove’s claims is not the reason for the story’s longevity. The real hot button issue is that he dared to bring up the topic of Hillary’s health at all. Yesterday, he explained that his remarks were made in the context of whether Clinton’s health would influence her decision to run for president in 2016.

That’s a very lame claim. Karl’s spiel was clearly aimed at questioning Hillary’s fitness to serve as commander-in-chief. Even so, such health inquiries are legitimate. For almost 35 years, the New York Times has interviewed presidential candidates and those running for other offices about their health histories.

At least since the 1990’s candidates have released their medical histories. Voters now view it as SOP to the extent that refusal to disclose would be viewed with a great deal of skepticism. This is especially true where potential health issues are public knowledge.

The outrage over Rove’s statement is a designed attempt to neutralize voter skepticism about Hillary’s health. The louder and more vociferous the outcry, the more sympathetic Hillary appears and the less the pressure for her to release her records becomes.

As it turns out, Clinton did not release any information on her health during the 2008 campaign. Maybe she would have if she had survived the primaries. Maybe not. Maybe she doesn’t want to release her records this time around, either. The worse Rove can be made to look, the better she will look in keeping them from scrutiny.

But, in today’s climate of voter disgust with so many cover-ups and scandals, the smart money says she won’t have a choice. She’ll have to release the records. There’s just too much to question. Feigned outrage did not work for her in the matter of the Benghazi murders. And it won’t work for her on this one.

In the light of that reality, Rove did Hillary a favor. He raised her health as an issue two years before the presidential campaign begins in earnest. For her, the timing could not be better. In fact, she’s been given a golden two-fer.

If she has nothing to hide, as her supporters insist, all she has to do is disclose her medical records. The whole thing will blow over before it can become an election year scuffle and Rove will look even more foolish.

Karl has served up a softball. Hillary can hit it out of the park. But, will she take this opportunity to smash an early round-tripper or simply whiff?