Hillary Clinton Bested By Coughing Fit in Hanoi

By Dana Hughes | ABC OTUS News8 mins ago

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may seem to have the energy of a superhero as she flies around the world at what seems like the speed of light.

A quick look at her last five days finds the Secretary in Paris on Friday, Afghanistan on Saturday, Japan on Sunday, Mongolia on Monday and in Vietnam Tuesday. At each location Secretary Clinton has done pretty vigorous diplomatic work on the future of Syria, Afghanistan, and America's relationship with Asia.

But Clinton proved she was all too human at the end of her speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi on Tuesday, when she began coughing uncontrollably.

"So this scholarship program is exactly what we need. And I've been talking all day, so excuse me," she said smiling, as she stopped to take a drink of water.

It didn't help. So Clinton, who is known for her sense of humor, made a joke about the situation before ending her remarks slightly early.

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"We want to hear from all of you about what more we can do together. And at the risk of coughing any longer, I just want to say thank you, and let's get to work," Clinton said as the crowd laughed.

While it might be true that this trip has Secretary Clinton operating on too little sleep and too much time on an airplane, Deputy Spokesperson Patrick Ventrell assured reporters at the State Department briefing that Tuesday's coughing incident is nothing to worry about.

"She is in excellent health," Ventrell said.

Good thing. Clinton, 64, will need that stamina as she heads to Laos, Cambodia, Egypt and Israel all within the next week.

Ge t more pure politics at ABC News.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com

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