The VRWC Strikes Again

Have no fear right wingers, Secretary Clinton is apparently fine and dandy and will return to work next week, according to a note from the Dept of State sent to "The Cable", Foreign Policy Magazine's blog.

Outrage over the charge that Clinton has been misleading the American public about her illness extends well past Washington. The NFL Players Association, apparently concerned about the seeming trivialization of similar injuries, felt compelled to weigh in and admonish those who would downplay the secretary's ordeal.

Now wait, the 'outrage', such that it was, consisted mainly of mere curiosity based a dearth of information.  Despite writer Josh Rogin's best attempts to make this into something from the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (VRWC) it really wasn't anything more than a person named Clinton suddenly coming down with a mystery stomach bug and concussion just when it was time to testify under oath about an event that could put a dent in her long-term chances to become president.   Some remember the last time the VRWC defense was evoked.

Besides, Mr. Rogin (formerly of the Brookings Institution) is deceptively vague with his timeline. Since he says Mrs Clinton will be returning to work next week one assumes she's fit for duty (another consideration).  She was scheduled to take this holiday week off anyway so when did she actually become fit for duty?  Last week?  Right now?  What's the latest doctor's assessment?  Rogin mentions her team of doctors announced on December 15 that..

Bolton's accusation came three days after Clinton's doctors, Lisa Bardack of the Mt. Kisco Medical Group and Gigi El-Bayoumi of the George Washington University, issued a detailed statement about the secretary's injuries. "Secretary Clinton developed a stomach virus, leading to extreme dehydration, and subsequently fainted. Over the course of this week we evaluated her and ultimately determined she had also sustained a concussion. We recommended that the Secretary continue to rest and avoid any strenuous activity, and strongly advised her to cancel all work events for the coming week," they said.

He says she 'fell ill' on December 7; was that when the fall occurred or the stomach flu first started?  He says she was on an IV drip--when did it start and stop?  Why wasn't she in the hospital?  Did she have medical personnel in the home?  When did they leave?  According to the above quote her doctors--on Saturday the 15th (a strange day for an official announcement and coincidentally the day after the Newtown shooting), 'strongly advised her to cancel all work events for the coming week', which presumably was the week of December 17-21.  One assumes the concussion event occurred on December 7.  According to Rogin's ABC link from the 17th:

A U.S. official tells ABC News that Clinton is feeling more “like herself” and would like to go back to work, but doctors have advised it may take several weeks and want the secretary to rest. That is standard for concussion treatment.

An intrepid reporter unafraid of offending government officials might ask the State Department press spokesperson about all of this during their semi-daily briefing but they've apparently taken the week off, too, which also means nobody can ask about the status of the four employees mentioned as being sacked over the Benghazi report (which came out on the 19th, a day before Mrs Clinton was scheduled to testify).

According to the NY Post (one of those flaming right wing sites mentioned by Rogin) those State employees really haven't technically been sacked at all, merely reshuffled.  Surely the NY Times would like to know seeing as how they reported on them as four firings.   But none other than Josh Rogin himself has already partially answered that question (1:25 mark)--only one has 'resigned' and the others are on administrative leave. The Post is saying the one who resigned only resigned a portfolio but not his job at State, we await confirmation.   

Anywho, it looks like Mrs. Clinton will have a full plate during the three workdays next week.  The Senate has vowed not to vote on confirming Kerry until Clinton testifies, so presumably she will announce the dates and clear up these other loose ends before bidding adieu.   

MORE  12/28/12

Captain Ed sums up the situation at Hot Air, including some of the backstory before Mrs. Clinton came down with her stomach ailment.

More interesting is the speculation over what might occur if several GOP Senators stand behind their threat to hold John Kerry's confirmation hearing until she testifies.   The Captain rightly points out that this might cause a problem for Kerry pals John McCain and Lindsey Graham--remember, Hillary was somewhat a part of that little friendly group when she was a senator.   So Obama/Clinton might try to play that angle to pressure other GOP senators into backing down, which might include testimony limited to certain questions or other niceties.

But if the other senators play hardball Obama can always make hay with the crisis, going on TV to chastise the Republican Party as a pack of wild-eyed obstructionists, all of which would be greatly magnified if we go off the fiscal precipice.

Matter of fact, perhaps this Clinton deal is the best harbinger yet of what might happen on the cliff.  If they want to protect Hillary and her future chances--go off the cliff.  That will suck all the air out of any other Washington story, rendering the chances of seeing a hearing anytime soon about the same as seeing a report from the two US Attorneys about administration leaking over Yemen and Iran.