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Today we begin with reporting by WNYC on Hillary’s response to the September 11 events of 15 years ago and what we learn about her devotion to public service and her tenacity.
Of all the varied chapters of Hillary Clinton’s tumultuous 30 years in public life, the story of her response to the Twin Towers attacks is one of the richest in terms of the clues it provides as to what to expect from a Clinton presidency….
“She really went out of her way to speak to the first responders on the site to reassure them. I never forgot it,” he said.
Alles was also struck by how Clinton quickly grasped the potential health risks of Ground Zero, and how doggedly she pursued treatment for those who suffered. “We all knew from the get-go that the air was contaminated, but we had a job to do so we kept on working. Sen. Clinton was at the forefront over dealing with it, she showed herself to be a fighter….”
Yet Gorman recalls being pleasantly surprised by Clinton’s commitment, both in terms of her mastery of policy detail and on a personal level. “She would call me on my cell phone to ask how I was doing, how my members were doing. One time I was pumping gas at a Texaco station, it was Christmas Eve, and she wanted to know how things were going. When a senator calls someone on my level, that’s impressive.”
This was joint reporting with the Guardian, whose story is here.
CNN also reported on the response to the tragedy, including an interview with Chris Cuomo.
After seeing the devastation, Clinton said, she felt a heavy burden of the task ahead. "There weren't that many survivors; the ones that did survive were grievously injured. The loss of life was overwhelming," she told Cuomo. "But it was also my job and the job of other officials to get our city and state and country what we needed."
In the days to come, Clinton, along with Schumer and others, would personally lobby President George W. Bush for funds to help the city rebuild. There were problems that lingered for New York residents well-past the immediate carnage of September 11, including health problems caused by the debris and toxic air that filled downtown, and victims who survived the attacks but were left with long-term injuries.
"I would meet these shattered lives of people where they were broken, but I saw so many of them strengthen and show such resilience. So I felt privileged," Clinton said. "It gave me an insight into the human spirit -- and I like to think the spirit of New York and America -- that I wish every American could understand."
Hillary attended the commemoration ceremony at Ground Zero in New York and left exhausted and dehydrated after 90 minutes. She recuperated in daughter Chelsea’s nearby apartment and then emerged some hours later looking fresh and telling the waiting press she felt great.
The campaign released as background a statement from her doctor that she had been bothered by allergies and then on Friday was diagnosed with pneumonia and treated with antibiotics. Much of her political opposition pounced on this episode to fan doubt about her health, but that is not the right lesson.
NBC reported how such infections are all too common and are typically treated, though the patient is left worn out and in need of some recovery time.
Hillary Clinton's wobbly incident Sunday is a near-textbook case of what can happen with "walking pneumonia" — patients don't feel great, but they're not sick enough to stay home in bed or to be hospitalized….
People often feel well enough to go about their business, especially once they start taking antibiotics. And once they've been taking antibiotics for a day or so, they are unlikely to infect anyone else.
But the infection can take a toll, making patients prone to getting tired and dehydrated. And since people often don't realize they have an infection, they can go for days or weeks before they seek treatment — all time for the infection to wear them out even more.
I also saw reasonable reporting by our British cousins at the Economist and the Guardian. Hillary had to cancel planned campaigning in California today and tomorrow to make more time to recuperate.
Blogger Charles Johnson also provided some perspective.
Hillary is a symbol of every woman and mother who’s ever gone to work with the flu, or gotten up before dawn to make their kids breakfast before school when they were exhausted from working long hours with the flu, or put up with a humiliating job when they were feeling terrible. This is what so many women do, every day, in this country and in the world; they carry on despite the pain and despite the sickness, and do what they know is the right thing.
This is why I’m with her.
Fellow Kossack Onomastic was compelled to write a diary cutting through much of the irresponsible reporting.
Slate author Siri Hustveldt wrote a follow up on the subtle misogyny of Matt Lauer’s interviewing from last week’s Commander in Chief town hall event.
No, I am interested in the far more subtle variation of the misogyny illness, the one that lurks behind phrases such as “even-handed” and “fair-minded,” that low-grade fever that caused Matt Lauer to continually interrupt Hillary Clinton’s sharp, specific answers to his questions in the Commander in Chief Forum on NBC (thank god Clinton stood up and ignored him), and which also prompted him to allow Donald Trump to ramble on in incoherent sentence fragments about secret plans for defeating ISIS in thirty days, as if such nonsense were serious political discourse. Would our “fair-minded” journalist have treated a male candidate the way he treated Hillary Clinton? I ask you to search your souls, men and women alike. My answer is no….
It fascinates me that although few Democrats would deny that deep-seated prejudices against women exist in our culture, the sexism that has dogged Hillary Clinton her entire career, the absurd scrutiny of her hair and clothing and cleavage, has not elicited the outrage one might expect in the popular media, despite the fact that feminist sites on the Internet have kept a scrupulous record of the ongoing petty assaults on Secretary Clinton. Matt Lauer has done the country a service, and I thank him for it. Interrupting women, treating them with condescension and disdain are symptoms of the low-grade infection caused by the virus that has afflicted millions of people in the United States, and not only in red states. Watching it play out on national television caused countless women and men to express justifiable fury.
Former Cuban prisoner Alan Gross endorsed Hillary for her wealth of international experience and being by far the more qualified candidate.
As individuals and as a nation, we have realized our greatest accomplishments in the face of adversity. We are at our best not when we shrink from challenges in the world – hiding behind our borders and lashing out – but when we stand up, find a better path and lead. We face major challenges today. But we can meet these if we embrace the kind of smart, tough, and experienced leadership that Hillary exemplifies.
This is precisely why I am voting for Hillary. She does not make shallow, knee-jerk decisions. She studies alternatives and finds the right path, drawing upon substantial experience as a lawyer and advocate, in the White House, in the Senate, and in the State Department….
Having worked in 54 countries, I know how important it is for the US to be seen as the leader of the free world. Our president must command respect and be cognizant of circumstances in other countries. Hillary is no novice to world conditions and how these intersect with our economic and physical security at home. She knows the value of building bridges, not walls.
On Saturday, Tim Kaine gave the keynote at the Human Rights Campaign’s 2016 National Dinner. Peter Rosenstein wrote about the event in Huffington Post, and you can watch the video.
What came through in Senator Kaine’s speech is what all who know him already knew. Senator Kaine is a smart, decent man and one the country will be proud to call Vice-President.
Senator Kaine always manages to speak to issues relating them to his life in a way people can easily understand and identify with. He spoke of how as a Catholic, despite some of the church’s positions, he has come to understand and support what the full scope of equality means; whether it is civil rights, women’s rights, the rights of immigrants or LGBTQ rights. Today he is a proud catholic who supports marriage-equality and is a sponsor of the Equality Act. He spoke of his support for sensible gun control and how his experience with the Virginia Tech shootings made such an indelible impression on him. He is married to Anne Holton, a successful person in her own right and the former Virginia Secretary of Education, and the daughter of A. Linwood Holton, Jr. a Republican Virginia Governor who fought to desegregate Virginia schools. Senator Kaine spoke of the opening of the military to gay and transgender persons and recognized Eric Fanning, the Secretary of the Army who was at the dinner, reminding all how far we have come when an incredibly qualified man who happens to be gay can be confirmed by the Senate.
Finally, I saw a very nice piece by Mini Tammaraju at Medium from last week on how Women for Hillary is helping drive Hillary’s campaign forward.
As someone who has traveled from state to state for Hillary, I can tell you first-hand — beyond just the numbers — that this is a campaign driven by younger women and older women; straight women and gay women; women of every race and immigration status. They’re our staff, they’re our fellows, and they’re our volunteers. They power this campaign.
They are women like my mom, a first-generation Indian American Hillary supporter who wants to play a part in electing the first woman president. In 2008, my mom was hard at work as a volunteer in Texas, and her passionate support for Hillary inspired me to get in the fight this time around….
As much as we’ve already done, our work is more important now than it’s ever been before — because we still have one more giant glass ceiling left to break.
This work isn’t easy: It’s exhausting to keep standing up to a bully like Donald Trump. And so many of us know first-hand the feeling of being a highly qualified woman competing for a role against a less qualified man — it’s infuriating!
Later today Tim Kaine will campaign in Dayton, OH.
Anne Holton will also appear at stops in Florida.
A planned appearance by President Barack Obama is scheduled in Philadelphia on Tuesday. I can’ wait for this one!
Bonus Tweets:
Have a terrific day, everyone!
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Crossposted at HillaryHQ, an independent, progressive blog committed to the electing Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States.