Stay tuned after the debate

If Hillary Clinton has to negotiate a few steps to get to her limo in the underground VIP parking garage at UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center, the real drama may come after the debate. Watch what happened following the October 9 debate. As Dr. Ted Noel points out, Hillary is both being supported by her husband and is using the railing. She continues to cling tightly to the railing after Bill releases her. While she may not have had a “Parkinson’s freeze,” as Dr. Noel suggests, the video (from the ABC affiliate in Phoenix) reveals what we’ve known for a long time: going up and down steps is a hazardous task for the candidate.

This may be the last glimpse you’ll have of Hillary in public. She’s gone into hiding, though you’d never know this from her media allies. As I pointed out on Oct. 8, apart from two events the day after the second debate, the candidate would be MIA from the campaign trail between Oct. 4 and the 23rd, which was as far out as her schedule went at that point. Now the schedule has been extended to Oct. 30, and Hillary is still in seclusion. There are no events featuring her, apart from tonight’s debate, not even a fundraiser. The few passing references to her “light schedule” in the NY Times, CNN, and the Boston Globe are followed by a litany of excuses and, of course, attacks on Trump. The Globe story discusses her campaign events going back to August 1 and appears to include those by surrogates. Yet it is absolutely unprecedented for a candidate to disappear in October. Even FDR, gravely ill, confined to his wheelchair, hit the trail with gusto in 1944. Clearly, Hillary feels that being on camera – apart from the 90-minute debate tonight – could jeopardize her chances. The networks are no doubt under pressure not to record Madame Secretary’s departure from the Las Vegas venue. But stay tuned after the debate. If ABC cameras, at least, are in the garage, this may be your last chance to see Hillary live before November 8. Jay Michaels (as Josh Michaels) is the author of the novel Outlaws.