“She doesn’t have the stamina,” alleged the man standing across from Hillary Clinton at Monday’s presidential debate. “To be president of this country, you need tremendous stamina.”
This charge, levied by a sniffling, obese septuagenarian against a life-long civil servant and two-time presidential candidate, is obviously false. It was an attempt to distract from moderator Lester Holt’s reference to a previous claim, rooted in raw sexism, that Hillary Clinton did not have a “presidential look.” It was a blatant reminder that the current Republican nominee is faithful to neither the truth nor conventional notions of civic decency.
But the significance of Donald Trump’s hollow jab is not limited to its fallacy, sexism and rudeness. His remark also serves as a pointed reminder of just how much “stamina” Mrs. Clinton actually has.
Hillary Clinton is one of the most tenacious leaders in recent memory. She has been a feature of American political life since her husband’s tenure as governor of Arkansas. She was a trailblazing feminist icon during her years as First Lady. She served as a Senator from New York, winning nearly seven million votes over two elections. She travelled the world as Secretary of State, racking up almost a million miles. And now, at a spritely 68 years old, she is running for president for the second time and winning. Even her opponent acknowledged this illustrious career in public service, noting, “She’s been doing this for 30 years.” This is dispositive proof of her “stamina” in and of itself.
Mrs. Clinton’s tenacity is not limited to the decades she has spent in the public spotlight in a plethora of high-powered political positions—this virtue also manifests in her consistent commitment to the issues about which she cares deeply. As First Lady, she fought for universal healthcare, failed, and promptly worked to implement a program to insure indigent children. As a senator she backed a bill that funded health monitoring for 9/11 first responders. And she has made healthcare central to her current presidential bid. She has cared about and fought vigorously for the same causes for her many years in the public eye. She does not merely have “stamina”—she channels it unwaveringly.
In a more abstract sense, Hillary Clinton’s story has been one of perseverance, of the “stamina” to keep going. She has been cheated on by her husband, hounded by a “vast right wing conspiracy,” beaten in a brutally close presidential primary and subjected to the most intense scrutiny imaginable through it all. She has outworked and outlasted those who have stood in her way.
Monday night’s debate was a snapshot of all that Hillary Clinton had to endure in her march to the cusp of becoming America’s first female president. She stood on stage, calm and resolute, while a shouting, incoherent man interrupted her—51 times, by one count. She withstood repeated attacks on her character, honesty, strength and, of course, “stamina.”
For 90 minutes, Mrs. Clinton was the picture of a president. Through her composure during the debate and the lifetime of tenacity that led up to it, she evinced the very strength her opponent sought to deny. There was—there is—nothing weak about her. In the most important debate of her career, Hillary Clinton showed America what true “stamina” looks like.