Sep 15, 2016 7 min read

Wake Up To Politics - September 15, 2016

Thursday, September 15, 2016

11 Days until the first Presidential Debate (Sept. 26)

54 Days until Election Day 2016 + my 15th birthday (Nov. 8)
I'm Gabe Fleisher for Wake Up To Politics, and reporting from WUTP world HQ in my bedroom - Good morning: THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL!!!

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Need to Know

Clinton, Trump Release Medical Details Since Hillary Clinton was rushed out of a 9/11 memorial Sunday - for reasons initially not explained to the press, then characterized as due to "overheating," and then as due to a diagnoses with pneumonia from Friday - calls for both presidential nominees to release their health records have gotten louder, with the candidates' medical histories becoming a larger issue in the campaign.
Neither nominee has released full medical records, but both released some new details Wednesday. The Clinton campaign released an updated letter from Clinton's physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, who also released a letter on Clinton's health in July 2015. Bardack reports seeing Clinton "regularly this year for routine care," writing that "she has had recurrent blood testing for Coumadin dosing and adjustments," "relatively stable" blood levels, and "several allergy flares over the past year, which has been a typical pattern for most of her life."
The letter details Clinton's recent bout of pneumonia: she first visited Friday, September 2, when she had a temperature of 99.4 and was "advised to rest," although "over the next several days as she traveled, her congestion worsened and she developed a cough." Clinton returned to her office a week later, with a CT scan showing a diagnosis of "mild non-contagious bacterial pneumonia." After the 9/11 Memorial event, Bardack examined Clinton at her home and saw she was "recovering nicely."
Bardack lists her current medications, as well as her blood pressure (100/70), heart rate (70), temperature (97.8), and other vital signs from a Wednesday physical exam. "My overall impression is that Mrs. Clinton has remained healthy and has not developed new medical conditions this year other than a sinus and ear infection and her recently diagnosed pneumonia," Dr. Bardack concludes. "She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States."
Meanwhile, Donald Trump appeared on "The Dr. Oz Show" on Wednesday, revealing some results from his most recent physical with host Mehmet Oz, a trained cardiothoracic surgeon. Trump's staff has originally announced that Trump would speak about his medical records on air, then right before the taping, said he would not.
“Well, I really have no problem in doing it,” Trump said to Oz, as he pulled out two pieces of paper, his physical results, from his suit pocket and gave it to the host. “I have it right here. Should I do it? I don’t care. Should I do it?” The documents were not released, and until the full show airs today, only the audience knows the full details of what Trump offered.
However, a news release from "The Dr. Oz Show" said that Oz conducted a full review of Trump's systems "as all physicians do when seeing a patient for the first time," and reviewed history of "Alzheimer's or dementia, heat disease, [or] cancer" in his family. According to the New York Times, Dr. Oz declared Trump's 236 pounds to make him "slightly overweight."
The Clinton campaign also released a letter from the Attending Physician of the U.S. Congress, Dr. Brian Monahan, attesting to vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine's health. According to the letter, Kaine has an active "recreational lifestyle consisting of gymnasium workouts 3 times per week with cardiovascular training and calisthenics," he has "no history of tobacco use" and "modest" use of alcohol. The physician also recommended Kaine add a "daily vitamin D supplement" to his diet, to alleviate a local vitamin D level from the physical. The Trump campaign says that a medical report from VP nominee Mike Pence is forthcoming.
Donald Trump is 70 years old; Hillary Clinton is 68. If Trump is elected, he would be the oldest president in U.S. history; Clinton would bt h

Politics Planner

All times Eastern.

Campaign 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton returns to the campaign trail today, holding her first public event since announcing her diagnosis with pneumonia Sunday. Clinton will speak at a 3:45pm rally at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro to "discuss her vision for an America that is stronger together," according to her campaign.
Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine will hold two events in New Hampshire today: a 11:30am coffee discussion in Portsmouth "with young professionals about expanding opportunity for young Granite Staters by making college more affordable, creating new, good-paying jobs, and making it easier to start a business in New Hampshire," where he will be joined by leaders of Stay Work Play, an "an organization that encourages '20 and 30 'somethings' to stay in, come to, or 'boomerang' back to New Hampshire.'"
At 12:30pm, Kaine will address an organizing event in Exeter to " lay out the stakes of November's election and urge Granite Staters to support his and Hillary Clinton's vision of an America that is stronger together."
Green Party vice-presidential nominee Ajamu Baraka holds a 5pm meet and greet in Madison, Wisconsin, and attends a 7pm fundraiser in Madison.
White House At 11:05am, President Obama will head over to the State Department building in Foggy Bottom to address the 2016 Our Ocean Conference, a two-day summit "focus[ed] on the key ocean issues of our time - marine protected areas, sutainable fisheries, marine pollution, and climate-related impacts on the ocean." Other speakers at the conference include officials from Seychelles, Madagascar, Ghana, Asutralia, Norway, the Federated States of Micronesia, the United Kingdom, Morocco, Ecuador, Mauritius, New Zealand, The Bahamas, Chile, Senegal, Indonesia, Panama, Sri Lanka; as well as Secretary of State John Kerry, actor Leonardo DiCaprio, Prince Charles of Wales, and U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), among others.
In his speech at the conference, the President will announce the designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, the first marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean. The designation will protect 4,913 square miles of ocean, covering an undersea canyon range southeast of Cape Cod.
At 7:55pm, Obama will address the 39th Annual Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Conference and Annual Awards Gala in Washington. To coincide with the gala, the President has proclaimed that National Hispanic Heritage Month begins today and lasts until October 15.

Today's Trivia

Wednesday's Answer Yesterday's trivia question asked for the single state Gary Johnson did NOT get on the ballot in during his first campaign as the Libertarian presidential nominee, in 2012 (he announced Wednesday that he had gained access to all 50 states for this year). The answer...is a little complicated. He was actually on the ballot in 48 states, not 49 as I wrote yesterday: both Michigan and Oklahoma did not list him on the presidential line of their ballots, although Michigan did grant him write-in access.
This year, the Libertarian ticket is now on the ballot in all 50 sates plus the District of Columbia; Great Party nominee Jill Stein is on the ballot in 43 states plus DC (with write-in access in three other states). Johnson and Stein are the only third parties with access to over 270 electoral votes (the amount needed for victory), although Constitution Party nominee Darrell Castle has ballot or write-in access to 301 electoral votes. In our interview last week, Stein said she was "not familiar with those numbers to show that [Castle] actually has write-in access for 270 electoral votes," when I pointed out the Constitution Party in response to her call for the Commission on Presidential Debates to include all four candidates with access to 270+.
GREAT JOB...Ellen Turongian, Ryan Moser, and Sheryl Sharp (who answered Oklahoma); Garrett Cohn and @ATribbeCalled_J (who answered Michigan), and Joe Bookman (who answered both Oklahoma and Michigan).
Monday's Answer I also haven't yet answered Monday's question, on the last Executive Branch official (not counting the President) to be impeached - relating to the House Freedom Caucus' attempts to impeach IRS commissioner John Koskinen. Only 19 federal officials have ever been impeached by the House; fifteen were judges, one was a U.S. Senator, two were U.S. Presidents - leaving one presidential Executive Branch appointee who has been impeached in U.S. history (Koskinen would be the second).
The answer...William Belknap, who served as Secretary of War under President Ulysses S. Grant. He was impeached in March 1876 for trading away War Department contracts in exchange for kickback payments, and resigned the same day. The Senate voted in May 1876 that Belknap's impeachment could still be tried, even though he had vacated the office and was by then a private citizen; however, the fact that he did resign is believed to have affected the Senate's August vote to acquit Belknap.
No one answered this question correctly.