Clinton's health no game changer

Questions about Hillary Clinton's health surfaced earlier this month when she had a coughing spell at a Labor Day rally in Cleveland that made it difficult for her to finish her remarks. While her campaign said Clinton suffered from seasonal allergies, the episode immediately gained national attention and was seized by some in conservative circles who had already vented theories about Clinton's health status.

The announcement by Clinton's doctor that she suffers from pneumonia, revealed on Sunday after the Democratic candidate experienced what was described as a heat incident at the 9/11 commemoration, is bad news for Clinton. But it will not upend the race against Donald Trump where Clinton is still the frontrunner in the aggregate polls.

Unlikely to sway undecided voters

"I don't think it's a game changer," said James Davis, an American scholar of US and international politics at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

"As long as she gets back into the campaign in three or four days time, I can't see it being a game changer," said Iwan Morgan, head of the US studies program at London's University College.

The new health episodes won't make a difference to ardent Trump supporters or people who have already decided to vote against her, noted the experts. And the crucial group of people still sitting on the fence won't be swayed to vote against her solely based on these two incidents.

Crisis management problems

That presidential candidates fall sick during the course of a strenuous campaign that can last up to two years is not unusual. That's why more important than the actual health episodes in and of itself, argued the scholars, is how the Clinton campaign handles it and will continue to manage the fallout from the incidents. On that front – managing and communicating Clinton's health status – her campaign could have done a better job, said Davis:

"I just don't understand why they didn't announce this already on Friday when apparently she was diagnosed. If they had said she was sick and she was going to need some time off, this wouldn't have been a big issue."

The timing of the Clinton campaign's release of the pneumonia diagnosis, Davis added, "plays into the hands of those who would argue that the campaign is not very transparent."

That Clinton's health is now squarely on the agenda again is somewhat curious, said Morgan, since she underwent far more rigorous health examinations than Trump has.

Oldest candidates ever should release all records

To end the speculation about the health of the candidates – who are the oldest presidential contenders ever – Trump and Clinton should simply release their entire medical records, suggested Davis and Morgan.

"The American people have a right to know whether they are going to elect somebody who has the stamina and health to execute the office," said Davis.

This holds especially true since campaigns have not always been forthcoming about the real health status of their respective presidential candidate. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt ran for office most people did not know that he used a wheel chair most of the time, said Davis. And that John F. Kennedy had serious back problems and took strong painkillers was also not commonly known, noted Morgan.

Given those historical precedents whether Clinton's health episodes vanish or not, remain an election issue. How this issue is handled depends on the conduct of her campaign.

"The campaign needs to be open and transparent and [they need to] let the American people know what the diagnosis is and give an indication of what she is going to do to recover," said Davis. "And if they do this in and open and honest way this will pass."