Inside the Beltway: Hillary Clinton’s campaign: ‘Nothing short of a disaster’

NEWS AND OPINION:

The repercussions just keep rolling in: Hillary Clinton‘s recent decision to call Donald Trump‘s fans a “basketful of deplorables” has turned into “nothing short of a crisis” for the Democratic presidential nominee, says veteran pollster John Zogby. Ah, but it gets worse. “The entire fainting and pneumonia issue is nothing short of a disaster,” he continues, noting that the distress and drama of Mrs. Clinton’s health challenges have prompted voters to ask visceral questions about her truthfulness and judgment.

“This has all been badly done. New polls have come out that show Clinton down 5 points in Ohio, down in Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada and Iowa — and none of these polls reflect more than just one day’s sample. A new CBS Tracking Poll now shows her leading Trump 42 percent to 40 percent. I probably shouldn’t speculate, but I suspect she will lose a few more points,” Mr. Zogby continues.

“But the real crisis here is how she gets back on track. She will most likely have a good debate performance on Sept. 26. But then she still has to deal with the ‘deplorables’ thing because of what it reveals about her and her supporters. And then the release of her emails in October. She is in a tough spot.”

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YOU MAY BE DEPLORABLE IF —

A round of applause for Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr, who reaches out to those who support Donald Trump, otherwise known as “deplorables” these days. But how do you know if you’re a proud deplorable? A partial list of Mr. Carr’s suggestions:

“You may be a deplorable if you stand for the National Anthem. Or if you know all the words to the Pledge of Allegiance, especially, ‘under God.’ If you’re deployable, you’re definitely deplorable. Saying Merry Christmas — Deplorable with a capital D!” writes Mr. Carr.

“You may be a deplorable if you wouldn’t mind showing some ID at the local precinct before you vote. You are most assuredly a deplorable if you have more than one job,” he continues.

“Nothing says deplorable like the National Rifle Association. You may be a deplorable if you don’t think you should have to press one for English. Or if you believe that good fences make good neighbors. You’re most definitely a deplorable if you have an American flag flying in your front yard. You are a deplorable if you believe All Lives Matter. If you’ve never needed a ‘safe space,’ or heeded a ‘trigger warning’ — you’re deplorable.”

WEEKEND CANDIDATE TRACKER

An energized, industrious Donald Trump has a hefty schedule: appearances at his newly opened hotel in the nation’s capital, a jumbo public rally in Miami, a private luncheon in Houston; a rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado; then it’s back to Fort Meyers, Florida, for yet another rally. This is all by Monday. Running mate Gov. Mike Pence will campaign in The Villages, Florida.

Hillary Clinton is back on the campaign trail, more or less. She appeared at an event in North Carolina on Thursday, and was set to appear Thursday night with President Obama at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala and again Friday at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awards dinner — both in Washington. Meanwhile, Sens. Bernard Sanders and Elizabeth Warren campaign for Mrs. Clinton at multiple events in Ohio throughout the weekend.

And Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson? He appears at a rally Saturday with running mate Bill Weld in Seattle — billing themselves as “the sane, electable choices for president and vice president.”

LIBERTARIANS PUSH BACK

They are upping the campaign ante: The Libertarian Party has formally requested that the General Services Administration designate the aforementioned Gary Johnson and Bill Weld as “eligible candidates” under the Presidential Transition Act of 1963. The designation would entitle the pair to receive national security briefings, among other things. The Libertarians maintain in a letter to the federal agency that both Mr. Johnson and Mr. Weld have met requirements specified in the Constitution for their offices.

“The old party candidates have had access to security briefings for weeks now. Gary Johnson is a major party candidate, on every American’s ballot, and he needs access to the same information as his challengers so the American people can hear his take on a level playing field,” says Libertarian National Committee Chairman Nicholas Sarwark. “I hope this was just an oversight.”

TRULY HOMELESS

“Nearly 1 in 100 people worldwide are now displaced from their homes, the highest share of the world’s population that has been forcibly displaced since the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees began collecting data on displaced persons in 1951,” according to a report released Thursday by Pew Research Center analysts Phillip Connor and Jens Manuel Krogstad. This is the highest number of displaced persons since World War II.

WEEKEND REAL ESTATE

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POLL DU JOUR

• 80 percent of Americans are closely following the presidential election; 85 percent of Republicans, 82 percent of independents and 80 percent of Democrats agree.

• 69 percent overall are “absolutely certain” they will vote; 81 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of independents and 71 percent of Democrats agree.

• 63 percent of Americans overall are confident that votes for president in 2016 will be accurately counted; 53 percent of Republicans, 59 percent of independents and 78 percent of Democrats agree.

• 46 percent overall think “voter fraud” happens in the U.S. “often”; 61 percent of Republicans, 48 percent of independents and 30 percent of Democrats agree.

• 32 percent overall say “average people can influence the federal government”; 22 percent of Republicans, 27 percent of independents and 44 percent of Democrats agree.

Source: A Washington Post/ABC News poll of 1,002 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 5 to 8.

Indignant squawks, polite suggestions to jharper@washingtimes.com