Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/726387
ByLauranNeergaard The Associated Press WASHINGTON Anybody — no matter their age or how healthy they are — can de- velop pneumonia. And it's possible the campaign trail's grueling schedule, with its germy hand-shaking and selfie-taking, increased Hill- ary Clinton's risk. Clinton's illness appears mild, but it is fueling the question of what else vot- ers need to know about whether she and Donald Trump are fit enough to be president. Yet the reality: There's not much of a crys- tal ball to predict things like a common infection. Clinton so far has re- vealed more medical in- formation than Trump but both promise to release ad- ditional details. Until then, some doctors say watching a candidate in action can reveal one key qualification — cognitive function. "In an ideal world, both candidates would be more transparent so there wouldn't be questions about these problems that any of us could face," said Dr. Mark Gladwin of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "Normal healthy people get these pneumonias." But, "the most important factor we want to know is cognitive performance, and we can assess that" by, for example, how nimble can- didates are during debates, he added. Releasing at least some health information is an election-year ritual but there's no rule about how much the public needs to know — candidates have rights to medical privacy, too. Then there's the ques- tion of whether health in- formation really affects how people vote. Clinton, 68, and Trump, 70, each had their own doc- tor write a letter last year attesting they're in excel- lent health. Clinton's in- ternist wrote nearly two pages and included stan- dard lab test results show- ing good heart health and a fairly detailed discussion of some previous problems — a concussion after a fall in 2012, and some blood clots that have her taking a blood thinner as a precaution. Trump's letter was four paragraphs with few details beyond good blood pres- sure. His doctor, a gastroen- terologist, said Trump "has had no significant medical problems" and would "be the healthiest individual ever elected." Still, it's a far cry from 2008 when Republican Sen. John McCain, then 71, allowed reporters to briefly review more than a thou- sand pages of medical re- cords to show he was can- cer-free and fit to serve as president. Releasing more informa- tion up-front opened Clin- ton to more questions about her medical history than Trump. Still, "women live longer than men," Gladwin noted. "In general women tend to be healthier." Clinton's campaign hasn't revealed many de- tails of her pneumonia, which was diagnosed Fri- day. She didn't immediately cancel campaign events; her illness came to light Sunday after she abruptly left a 9/11 memorial event and was seen stumbling while getting into a van. She emerged later to wave to supporters and was at home Monday, all signs that it's not a severe case. While Clinton is taking antibiotics, both viruses and bacteria can cause pneumonia — it just takes the bad luck of the wrong bug lodging in someone's lung. Certain kinds are deadly for the frail. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says at least 2 million people a year get mild "walking pneumonia" that easily clears up, often without treatment. Clinton had attributed an earlier coughing fit to allergies; it's not clear if that really was an early pneumonia symp- tom. 2016 CAMPAIGN Clinton's pneumonia fuels debate about candidate health data By Jill Colvin The Associated Press WASHINGTON For nearly 24 hours, Donald Trump was quiet. As Hillary Clinton waded through the most perilous stretch of her campaign to date, the GOP presidential nominee held his tongue, allowing am- ateur footage of his foe stumbling after falling ill to play over and over on TV without his commen- tary. The episode under- scored a new political real- ity: After more than a year of off-the-cuff comments and chaotic cleanup, Trump's campaign seems to have found its footing. Over the past four weeks, with a new lead- ership team in place, Trump has largely done away with his free-wheel- ing rallies, replacing them with teleprompter-guided speeches. While he is by no means a typical candidate — he derisively referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren as "Pocahontas" and ques- tioned the integrity of the FBI and Department of Justice during a morning show call-in on Monday — he has nonetheless refined many of his campaign's rougher edges. He's try- ing to broaden his appeal and win over the moder- ate and independent vot- ers he'll need if he hopes to win. Gone are the endless at- tacks on his former GOP rivals and his aversion to more intimate campaign events. He has even lifted his extraordinary ban on credentialing particular news outlets he's deemed unfair. And on the worst week- end of Hillary Clinton's year, Trump stayed largely silent and let her problems make the headlines. Trump's team had al- ready imposed a day of silence order for Sept. 11, asking supporters to re- frain from news inter- views and suspending out- right campaigning as the nation marked the anni- versary of the attacks on the Twin Towers and Pen- tagon. But Team Trump even kept quiet Sunday as the news dripped out about Clinton — confusion about where she'd gone after feeling "overheated," video of her needing assis- tance and then stumbling while entering a van, her campaign's eventual reve- lation that she'd been di- agnosed with pneumonia. There were no gloating tweets, no "told-you-so's" from supporters who've been pushing conspiracy theories about her health. W hen Trump re- emerged, in a pair of early- morning phone interviews with friendly TV stations, he was restrained and re- served, at least on the topic of Clinton's health. "Something's going on," he said on "Fox and Friends, "but I just hope she gets well and gets back on the trail and we'll be seeing her at the de- bate." Trump's tone surprised even long-time supporters like Barry Bennett, a for- mer adviser to his cam- paign. "That's the most re- markable thing I've seen out of the Trump cam- paign so far," said Ben- nett, adding that, "the old Donald Trump would have gone straight to Twitter." "He's frankly a much better candidate," Ben- nett said, making the case that, if Trump can stay on message for the next seven weeks, he can win in No- vember. Jason Miller, Trump's senior communications adviser, credited the dis- cipline to Trump himself, saying that, after months of campaigning, the polit- ical novice has seen what works. "What he's finding now are the best ways to articu- late and implement his vi- sion," Miller said, describ- ing the strategy as "letting Trump be Trump — but with discipline." The new message con- trol follows the campaign's latest leadership shake-up, including the promotion of Kellyanne Conway to cam- paign manager. 2016 CAMPAIGN Qu ie t fo r on ce : Tr um p re st ra in t de mo ns tr at es n ew d is ci pl in e EVANVUCCI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to the National Guard Association of the United States on Monday in Baltimore. ANDREW HARNIK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gets into a van as she leaves an apartment building Sunday in New York. TEHAMA DISTRICT FAIR Publishing5Days Wednesday, Sept. 21 Thursday, Sept. 22 Friday, Sept. 23 Saturday, Sept. 24 & Tuesday, Sept. 27 SPECIALFAIR"WRAP UP" EDITION! Deadline: Monday, Sept. 19, 10 am DAILY COVERAGE EDITIONS 5-DayAd"Flight"Packages start at $ 238 28 ! (6 column inch minimum ad size) "…that's equivalent to just $ 7 95 per published column inch!" Buy Wed.-Sat. & Get Tues. FREE 96 TH ANNUAL ADD FULL COLOR Only 20% of space cost! Contact your advertising representative to place your ad today! SEPTEMBER 22-25, 2016 3-5 Fresh Daily Pages of Features & Photos! NOW INCLUDED! daily publication on our online digital page-turn edition at www.redbluffdailynews.com 2,000+ online visitors daily! Gayla Eckels: (530) 737-5044 geckels@redbluffdailynews.com Suzy Noble: (530) 737-5056 snoble@redbluffdailynews.com TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B