By: Hrafnkell HaraldssonDec. 19th, 2012more from Hrafnkell Haraldsson

Hilary Clinton was scheduled to go overseas for a week to visit North Africa and the Middle East, but the Associated Press reported on December 10th that she had been laid low by a stomach virus. The AP reported that “Clinton’s deputy, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, will take her place in Morocco, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.”

Philippe Reines, Clinton’s spokesperson, said simply, “Since she’s still under the weather, we’ll be staying put this week instead of heading to North Africa and the Middle East as originally planned.”

A simple problem availing itself of an easy solution. But it didn’t end there. As often happens with these sorts of illnesses, Clinton became dehydrated, and then fainted, suffering a concussion.

Dehydration has happened to me (I ended up in the hospital when I fell out of my chair at work). I am sure it has happened to you or to somebody you know. And in fact, it’s happened to Clinton before, as The Hill reports: “Clinton also fainted while giving a speech in 2005 in Buffalo, N.Y., after complaining of a stomach virus.”

As ABC News reported Monday,

She was home sick with a stomach virus after a long trip overseas. She apparently was so dehydrated she fainted and when that happened, you obviously don’t brace yourself for the fall so she hit her head hard. Chef was not taken to the hospital, but when she exhibited many of the signs of concussion, dizziness, headache, she was given all the appropriate tests to rule out anything more serious.

I am told she was on an IV drip for a period of time and had someone looking after her for those first few days. Also told the secretary is frustrated by this and would love to get back to work, but when you get a concussion, you need to rest your brain. She will also be unable to testify about Benghazi this week, although she will likely do that at some point in the future.

Again, none of this is all that surprising. Many people get sick, dehydrated, and even end up in the hospital. But the Republicans want a note from Clinton’s doctor. They think she’s dodging answering to their inquisition.

According to the New York Post, Clinton’s illness is “one of the most transparent dodges in the history of diplomacy.”

Clinton’s story beggars belief: While traveling in Europe, she contracted a stomach virus . . . which made her dehydrated . . . which made her faint at home . . . which caused her to fall and hit her head . . . which gave her a nasty concussion.

They think this is a bizarre story – that a stomach virus leads to dehydration - but that we should all believe trickle-down economics works and that rich people create jobs when y0u don’t make them pay taxes?

Really? REALLY?

There is nothing inherently improbable about going overseas and getting sick. Happens all the time. Hell, a trip to the supermarket can do you in. You don’t have to go all the way to Europe.

Jim Treacher, writing for the Daily Caller, asked Tuesday, “Where’s Hilary Clinton’s medical report?” He says, ” We’re told she collapsed and hit her head and got a concussion, and that’s why she can’t testify about Benghazi this week. And we’re supposed to just take her word for it. ”

What’s that you say? You don’t think that’s fair? All the paranoid wingnuts should shut up? Oh, I’m sure you’d say the same thing if this had happened between 2001-2009, and Colin Powell or Condoleeza Rice kept putting off testifying about it. You wouldn’t demand a doctor’s note then, right?

Right.

P.S. If you demanded Romney’s tax returns but you think it’s paranoid to ask for Hillary Clinton’s medical report, #YouMightBeALiberal.

Also from the Daily Caller: Neil Munro writes that “Clinton calls in sick again, inoculating possible 2016 run against Obama Middle East policy.”

Fox News, being all “fair and balanced,” where Benghazi is concerned, was all over it, of course, sporting Republican strategist Alice Stewart and deadbeat ambassador John Bolton. Stewart opined, “I certainly hope Hillary Clinton has a good note from her doctor.” A good note? What’s a good note? I never knew to ask for a “good” note from my doctor when I missed work…maybe Alice knows something I don’t. I’ll tuck that one away for future reference.

Alice Stewart, you might remember, was a spokesperson for Rick Santorum, who is now shilling pabulum for the ignorant masses on World Net Daily, and said at one point that Obama that he encouraged ”radical Islamic policies” and that his agenda was driven by “phony theology.”

Speaking of phony, Bolton - who’s very existence beggars belief (let alone anything he says) - said: “You know, every foreign service officer in every foreign ministry in the world knows the phrase I am about to use. When you don’t want to go to a meeting or conference, or an event, you have a ‘diplomatic illness.’ And this is a diplomatic illness to beat the band.”

Since UN-phobia afflicted Bolton thinks President Obama is planning to protect Islam with blasphemy laws, he obviously suffers from some untreated conditions of his own, and his smarminess and general dishonesty is hardly a surprise.

And if Hilary Clinton really had faked an illness to get out of appearing before the Inquisition, who could blame her? Any Republican committee you care to name, and in fact the entire U.S. House of Representatives, is a giant kangaroo court. But there is no reason to assume she is lying about this. The Republicans are simply projecting again, making a Democrat guilty of something they themselves have done or would do under similar circumstances. I mean, c’mon: President Bush essentially called in sick for his entire presidency.

I said “kangaroo court”: the verdict was in before the evidence was heard. The New York Post says that Clinton was supposed to appear “before the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday to explain the State Department’s failures.”

Not congressional failures – to be specific, HOUSE failures – to budget for the security of our embassies. From the very beginning this circus has been designed to deflect blame from where it belongs – the Republicans who refused to spend money to protect our State Department personnel overseas – and attach it to the Democrats who pleaded with them to spend it.

So to recap: the Republican-controlled House fails to provide adequately for the funding of embassy security; embassy is attacked, ambassador and others killed; House Republicans accuse administration of malfeasance and initiate witch-hunt to prosecute president and appropriately high-level Democrats in the administration; Republicans go all clown-show on America when Hilary Clinton unable to testify due to illness, thus depriving them of the fun of treating her like a criminal for a crime for which they themselves are guilty.

Yeah…you can kind of see where they’re coming from, can’t you? No wonder they’re stomping their feet now.

Get better, Hilary. The country needs you. And the House’s unsavory circle jerk will take care of itself. It always does. I just hope their wankies fall off.