Health

When asked yesterday about allegedly being sidelined by the White House, Secretary Clinton put the issue to rest, responding wittily:

"I broke my elbow, not my larynx," she said, referring to the fractured elbow that kept her out of the limelight for a month.

Speaking with reporters at the State Department after meetings with the foreign ministers of Canada and Mexico [in above photo], Clinton delivered the line with a straight face, seeming miffed at widespread speculation that she has lost influence in the Obama administration.

"I have been consistantly involved in the shaping and implementation of our foreign policy and I am off to India and Thailand tonight," Clinton said stonily.

For more about this issue, check out The Cable for the details from Laura Rozen's exclusive talk with Secretary Clinton herself.

Photo: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Clinton is a tough woman not just mentally, but physically. Due to her fractured elbow -- which is being held together with wires and pins -- she is in nonstop pain, reports the New York Times. She is in intense physical therapy five times daily. Part of the treatment includes squeezing a gelatinous ball over and over again.

Watching her major speech yesterday, you never would have known it. During the question-and-answer session she was freely gesturing with her right arm. (And, yes, she probably declined the painkillers that Rush Limbaugh sent over.)

Well, now we know how she might be passing some of her time on her long flight to India tonight (besides reading stacks of fat policy memos).

On top of it all, she could be facing jet lag from the 9.5-hour time difference.

Photo: iStockphoto

Unfortunately, due to her broken elbow, Secretary Clinton won't be traveling to Russia next week with President Obama. Last week she was unable to go to Greece and Italy as planned. Her late-July trip to India still seems to be in place, though.

This fractured elbow must be quite painful -- and more serious than originally thought. On the day after Clinton's fall, Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley told reporters, "[M]y impression is it was a fairly simple, straightforward fracture."

On Tuesday, however, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters, "She had a very serious break in her elbow. … She's energetic, she's fully engaged, but we need to make sure that she heals and then can get back to a full schedule where she can come in every day."

Since her June 17 fall, Clinton has worked from home a lot and has had six days with no public appointments on her schedule. Yesterday, though, was an exception. Shaking with her left hand, she met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, as seen above. Additionally, at yesterday's swearing-in ceremony for U.S. ambassador to Ireland, Daniel Rooney (owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers), she joked, "I came off the injured reserve list in order to officiate at this ceremony."

Please send healing thoughts in the direction of Clinton's right elbow!

Photo: TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images

At her press briefing yesterday, Secretary Clinton thanked everyone who has sent her get-well flowers, and she joked, "I'm engaged in a different form of arms control, I think. Quite challenging."

Here's what her arm looked like as of yesterday:

Above, Clinton speaks with Denis McDonough, deputy national security advisor for strategic communications.

Above, Clinton listens as President Obama meets with Colombian President Álvaro Uribe.

Above, a close-up of the sling, which appears to be this product from Corflex.

Photos, top to bottom: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images, SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images, Alex Wong/Getty Images

London's Sunday Times ran an article this weekend saying that Democratic insiders are worried that U.S. first lady Michelle Obama might end up with a "Hillary Clinton-style debacle" as she ventures out of her White House vegetable garden "in search of a meatier political role."

From the article (with my emphasis in bold):

Despite denials from White House officials that Michelle Obama is suffering from "Hillary-itis" -- a burning desire to help her husband run the country -- her long-running interest in healthcare has raised painful memories of 1994, when Hillary Clinton presided over a political debacle as her health reform proposals collapsed in Congress.

Healthcare reform is badly needed in the United States, so whatever the first lady -- a former hospital administrator -- might attempt, I hope it leads to outcomes that help the uninsured and underinsured get the healthcare they need at prices they can afford. Meanwhile, at least she's pushing the veggies.

Photo: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton is still on the mend from her fall two weeks ago, but her spokesman on Friday said she has "resumed an aggressive schedule," though she is doing a "significant amount" of her work from home, including phone calls to government officials in other countries. The spokesman also said, "[S]he is fast working her way back to integrating herself into the daily activity of the bureau."

On Friday, Clinton did manage to get out of her home and make it to Foggy Bottom for a meeting with Sheikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, the crown prince of Bahrain, left.

And Clinton will be venturing out of her home today to meet with the Colombian president:

10:15 a.m. Secure Video Conference with Ambassador to Iraq Chris Hill
 
2:45 p.m. Attend the President's expanded bilateral and joint press availability with His Excellency Alvaro Uribe, President of the Republic of Colombia

Photo: U.S. State Department

Following four weekdays without any public appointments on her schedule after breaking her right elbow, Secretary Clinton is back in business today! With her arm in a cast, she's back to bilateraling, though shaking hands and taking notes will probably be limited.

10:00 a.m. Bilateral with His Excellency Rashid Meredov, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan

FP's image uploader is not functioning right now, unfortunately. Otherwise, I would be posting photos of Secretary Clinton in her cast. A couple of images are available here and here, though.

Due to all the Web-site problems, I'm just posting a couple of quick tidbits of Hillary news this afternoon. I regret not being able to post more today.

--Secretary Clinton has canceled her trips to Greece and Italy.

--Late-night humor (obtained from The Frontrunner via Nexis):

David Letterman:

President Barack Obama's approval rating of 61 percent, which I thought was staggeringly high, has now dropped to 56 percent. ... So don't kid yourselves. Hillary could still win this thing.

Did you hear this? Hillary Clinton busted her elbow. Apparently, she slipped and hit the floor when she … went home to her husband early, unannounced.

Jimmy Fallon:

Hillary Clinton is expected to make a full recovery after having surgery to repair her broken right elbow. ... Yeah, doctors say she'll be able to point and crazy smile at people in no time.