"Announcement on Senator John Kerry is delayed; Other national security team picks are factor" by Glen Johnson | Globe Staff, December 16, 2012
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was bedridden with a virus that forced her to cancel a planned trip to the Middle East and North Africa.
On Saturday, her spokeswoman said Clinton had a concussion after fainting because of her illness and would work at home next week.
Related: Sunday Globe Special: Field of Dreams
Related: Sunday Globe Special: Field of Dreams
I'm wondering if maybe that wasn't it at all.
She had been slated to testify before Congress on Thursday about the circumstances of the Sept. 11 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
She had been slated to testify before Congress on Thursday about the circumstances of the Sept. 11 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
That testimony has been postponed, though the White House official said Clinton’s illness was not affecting the timing of any successor announcement.
Public attention has also been focused on the mass shooting on Friday in Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 elementary school students and six adults in their school.....
The newspaper is throwing that around so much it is really calling into question what really happened there.
The newspaper is throwing that around so much it is really calling into question what really happened there.
"Hillary Clinton in NY hospital with blood clot" by Matthew Lee | Associated Press, December 31, 2012
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, 65, fell and suffered a concussion while at home in mid-December as she recovered from a stomach virus that left her severely dehydrated, her aides said. The concussion was diagnosed Dec. 13 and Clinton was forced to cancel a trip to North Africa and the Middle East.
Clinton was forced to cancel Dec. 20 testimony before Congress about a scathing report into the Sept. 11 attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
The report found that serious failures of leadership and management in two State Department bureaus were to blame for insufficient security at the facility.
Clinton took responsibility for the attack before the report was released, but she was not blamed.
Some conservative commentators suggested Clinton was faking the seriousness of her illness and concussion to avoid testifying, although State Department officials vehemently denied that was the case.
I'm not suggesting that, although I wouldn't put it beyond the realm of possibility, either.
I'm not suggesting that, although I wouldn't put it beyond the realm of possibility, either.
Lawmakers at the hearings — including Senator John Kerry, who has been nominated by President Obama to succeed Clinton — offered her their best wishes.
The former first lady and senator, who had always planned to step down as America’s top diplomat in January, is known for her grueling travel schedule.
How much is that costing us taxpayers in this time of austerity?
That's all that print gave me.
That's all that print gave me.
Web expanded:
Clots in the legs are a common risk after someone has been bedridden, as Clinton may have been for a time after her concussion. Those are ‘‘no big deal’’ and are treated with six months of blood thinners to allow them to dissolve on their own and to prevent further clots from forming, he said.
A clot in a lung or the brain is more serious. Lung clots, called pulmonary embolisms, can be deadly, and a clot in the brain can cause a stroke, Motamedi said.
Keeping Clinton in the hospital for a couple of days could allow doctors to perform more tests to determine why the clot formed and to rule out a heart problem or other condition that may have led to it, he said.
Dr. Larry Goldstein, a neurologist who is director of Duke University’s stroke center, said blood can pool on the surface of the brain or in other areas of the brain after a concussion, but those would not be treated with blood thinners, as Clinton’s aide described.
Last Thursday, before the discovery of the blood clot, Reines said Clinton was expected to return to work this week.
She is the most traveled secretary of state in history, having visited 112 countries while in the job.
Clinton is considered a front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, although she has not announced plans to run.
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Oh, so it IS serious!
"Hillary Clinton still hospitalized for blood clot; Doctors trying to determine right drug dose" Associated Press, January 02, 2013
"Hillary Clinton still hospitalized for blood clot; Doctors trying to determine right drug dose" Associated Press, January 02, 2013
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton continues to recover in a New York hospital where she is being treated for a blood clot in her head.
Her doctors said blood thinners are being used to dissolve the clot and they are confident she will make a full recovery. Clinton didn’t suffer a stroke or neurological damage from the clot, which formed after she suffered a concussion during a fainting spell at her home in early December, doctors said in a statement Monday.
Clinton, 65, was admitted to New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday when the clot turned up on a follow-up exam on the concussion, Clinton spokesman Phillipe Reines said. The clot is located in the vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear. She will be released once the medication dose for the blood thinners has been established, the doctors said.
In their statement, Dr. Lisa Bardack of the Mount Kisco Medical Group and Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi of George Washington University said Clinton was making excellent progress and was in good spirits.
Clinton’s complication ‘‘certainly isn’t the most common thing to happen after a concussion’’ and is one of the few types of blood clots in the skull or head that are treated with blood thinners, said Dr. Larry Goldstein, a neurologist who is director of Duke University’s stroke center. He is not involved in Clinton’s care.
The area where Clinton’s clot developed is ‘‘a drainage channel, the equivalent of a big vein inside the skull. It’s how the blood gets back to the heart,’’ Goldstein said.
Blood thinners usually are enough to treat the clot and it should have no long-term consequences if her doctors are saying she has suffered no neurological damage, he said.
Clinton returned to the United States from a trip to Europe, then fell ill with a stomach virus in early December that left her dehydrated and forced her to cancel a trip to North Africa and the Middle East. Until then, she had canceled only two scheduled overseas trips, one to Europe after breaking her elbow in 2009 and one to Asia after the February 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Her condition worsened when she fainted, fell, and suffered a concussion while at home alone in mid-December as she recovered from the virus.
This isn’t the first time Clinton has suffered a blood clot. In 1998, midway through her husband’s second term as president, Clinton was in New York fund-raising for the midterm elections when a swollen right foot led her doctor to diagnose a clot in her knee.
Clinton had planned to step down as secretary of state at the beginning of President Obama’s second term. Whether she will return to work before she resigns remains a question.
Democrats are privately if not publicly speculating about how her illness might affect a decision about running for president in 2016.
After decades in politics, Clinton says she plans to spend the next year resting. She has long insisted she had no intention of mounting a second campaign for the White House. But the door is not entirely closed, and she would probably emerge as the Democrat to beat if she decided to give in to calls to run again.
Her age — and thereby health — would probably be a factor under consideration, given that Clinton would be 69 when sworn in, if she were elected in 2016. That might become even more of an issue in the early jockeying for 2016 if what started as a bad stomach bug becomes a prolonged bout with more serious infirmity.
Not that Democrats are willing to talk openly about the political implications of a long illness, choosing to keep any discussions about her condition behind closed doors. Publicly, Democrats reject the notion that a blood clot could hinder her political prospects.
‘‘Some of those concerns could be borderline sexist,’’ said Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist who worked for Clinton when she was a senator. ‘‘Dick Cheney had significant heart problems when he was vice president, and people joked about it. He took the time he needed to get better, and it wasn’t a problem.’’
Related: Closing the Book on Dick Cheney
Related: Closing the Book on Dick Cheney
Maybe we should throw it at him before he dies.
It isn’t uncommon for candidates’ health — and age — to be an issue. In 2000 and 2008, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona., had to rebut concerns that he was too old to be president or that his skin cancer could recur.
It isn’t uncommon for candidates’ health — and age — to be an issue. In 2000 and 2008, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona., had to rebut concerns that he was too old to be president or that his skin cancer could recur.
Beyond talk of future politics, Clinton’s three-week absence from the State Department has raised eyebrows among some conservative commentators who questioned the seriousness of her ailment after she canceled planned Dec. 20 testimony before Congress on the deadly attack on the US diplomatic mission in Libya.
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Clinton defends US response to Libya attack
Better check to see if that clot has cleared.
Yeah, if we were lied to what difference does it make? Who cares if there were warnings, or that the embassy was begging for additional security? She took responsibility without taking responsibility, so case closed. Everyone got their talking points, and Hillary saw things clearly right from the start. You just never mind the lies we were told.
WASHINGTON — ‘‘You guys in the press are incorrigible,’’ Obama said when pressed on another Clinton presidency. ‘‘I was literally inaugurated four days ago. And you’re talking about elections four years from now.’’
I do agree with that. The six years of blogging has convinced me.
The possibility of a presidential campaign for Vice President Joe Biden did not come up during the interview, taped Friday at the White House....
Related: Obama's Opposite
And we should be just about ready for him in 2016.
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Better check to see if that clot has cleared.
Yeah, if we were lied to what difference does it make? Who cares if there were warnings, or that the embassy was begging for additional security? She took responsibility without taking responsibility, so case closed. Everyone got their talking points, and Hillary saw things clearly right from the start. You just never mind the lies we were told.
What took so long, Globe?
That's their story and their stickin' to it!
Yeah, they'll get to the bottom of it (pffft).
At least she is retreating.
"President Obama praises work of Hillary Clinton; Interview fuels 2016 speculation" by Philip Elliott | Associated Press, January 28, 2013
WASHINGTON — ‘‘You guys in the press are incorrigible,’’ Obama said when pressed on another Clinton presidency. ‘‘I was literally inaugurated four days ago. And you’re talking about elections four years from now.’’
I do agree with that. The six years of blogging has convinced me.
The possibility of a presidential campaign for Vice President Joe Biden did not come up during the interview, taped Friday at the White House....
Related: Obama's Opposite
And we should be just about ready for him in 2016.
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Let me shut it for you:
In the heat of a presidential election year, the scene was a gripping reminder of the daily danger facing Americans in diplomatic and military service and of the turmoil in an incendiary region of the world that continues to test the president’s leadership.
US officials are investigating whether the assault was a coordinated terrorist attack that took advantage of protests in the Arab world over a film. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s voice broke as she spoke before Obama, and she appeared to be fighting tears as she listened to him."
She did the same when she finally testilied, 'er, testified in front of Congress.
Yeah, officials are investigating when they already know.
And you wonder why I don't believe my mouthpiece media anymore?
