Hillary dissolves into coughing fits twice, wrecking her media strategy

The health issue is starting to gain prominence in voters’ minds, as Hillary’s low-key schedule, need for pillows to prop her up and help climbing stairs, and occasional coughing fits create the impression of fragility. Yesterday’s debut of Hillary Clinton’s new campaign plane, a B-737 capable of holding media in the back, was intended to unveil a new, more accessible, and healthy-looking Hillary. But unfortunately for the Democrats’ nominee, the heavy makeup and arts of coiffure failed in their mission of projecting health and vigor. Instead, yesterday can only intensify concerns for her health.

First she had a nearly two-minute long hacking and coughing incident in Cleveland. She attempted humor, saying, “Every time I think of Trump, I get allergic.” That sounds like a line pre-planned as a method of diverting attention; the level of allergens in the air in Cleveland was not high yesterday. Then she got on her new 737 campaign plane with media in the back and came to the media section and answered questions for roughly 25 minutes, fielding such tough queries as “How was your Labor Day?” That enabled her to break the 270-plus days of unavailability and ensured that television audiences would have a nearly impossible time understanding any of the questions, which were overwhelmed by airplane noise in the absence of microphones available to the media. That session also ended in a coughing disaster: If Hillary is unable to make it through her first debate without a serious coughing fit and the need for a break, this issue will skyrocket in public awareness.