thebigp

Behind Trump’s strong new push to attack Clinton as ‘weak’--58kh., b58
“She’ll do a couple of minutes in Iowa, meaning a short period of time. And then she goes home,” the GOP p**********l front-runner said in Davenport, Iowa, a few weeks ago, as his attention turned to those areas. “You don’t see her for five or six days. She goes home, goes to sleep. I’m telling you. She doesn’t have the strength. She doesn’t have the stamina.”Ever since — and increasingly in recent days — the magnate has lobbed a barrage of insults at Clinton from onstage at his campaign rallies, on television and online. The former secretary of state is “low-energy,” Trump says. She lacks stamina. She’s physically weak.
How Clinton’s age could affect her ability to serve.
The regularity of Trump’s attacks on Clinton’s alleged physical weakness suggest that the magnate thinks he has touched on a legitimate campaign failing. Speaking last month about an apparent bathroom break that delayed Clinton’s return to the stage during the Democratic debate sponsored by ABC News and the New Hampshire Union Leader, Trump looked to draw a sharp contrast.
In the first week of 2016, Clinton has three New Hampshire events, five Iowa events and two appearances in Nevada in the space of four days.Trump’s attacks have baffled some Clinton backers and angered others, with many of her supporters hearing more than a whiff of sexism in his words. For his part, Trump has accused Clinton of playing the “women’s card.”
Jennifer Lawless, a professor of government at American University who studies women in politics.“She seems like she’s been around forever, so it cues people to think more about her age than other candidates,” Lawless said. “That might be part of the reason she’s getting more attention than Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders for her age.”
At the last Democratic debate, former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, 52, broke into an exchange between Clinton and Sanders to ask: “May I offer a different generation’s perspective on this?”
Meanwhile, in conservative media, Clinton’s illness was discussed as a sign of frailty and a potential liability in her 2016 campaign.“This will be an issue in the 2016 race, whether she likes it or not,” Karl Rove, former deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, said in 2014, after suggesting that she might have a brain injury.
“In all honesty, I cannot remember a time when this came up as an issue,” said Ann Lewis, a longtime Clinton adviser. “Because her reputation even among people who have opposed her on issues is: This is someone who does the work, does the homework and is prepared to stay as long as it takes to get the job done.”
source--wash post, anne gearan, abby phillip, jennifer sanders, ann lewis