Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as
For a good time at 3 a.m. call Hillaryand at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Henry L. Stimson...
was riding high. Then Anthony
Carlos DangerWeiner
...aka
Hot Dog Tony, the remarkably offensive sex maniac six-term New York congressman who resigned in 2011, then decided everybody had forgotten by 2013, when he decided to run for mayor of New York City...
resurfaced.
A string of strong swing state polls, an expanding battleground map and the end of the presidential debates had Clinton -- and her aides -- feeling good about the final days of the campaign. The normally careful candidate was dancing on television, celebrating her birthday with gifts of tequila and seemingly having fun during a campaign that, at times, seemed to be a slog for her.
Then her nagging email controversy roared back.
News broke on the flight between New York and Iowa that the FBI was reviewing new emails related to Clinton's personal server, bringing an issue they had assumed was behind them back into the campaign.
Later in the day, those same aides learned the emails being examined are part of an investigation into Weiner, the estranged husband of Clinton's longtime aide Huma Abedin. The two separated over the summer after a sexting incident.
Dumbfounded looks
Clinton's flying campaign headquarters, though, kept the nominee, her top aides and the press cordoned off from the outside world. The plane's unreliable WiFi wasn't functioning at all on Friday, making it impossible for journalists to know what was going on outside their tube in the sky 30,000 feet over the Midwest.
Before the news broke, Clinton's top aides spoke to news hounds in flight, touting the fact that their candidate planned to visit Arizona, a traditionally red state, and early voting that proved their base of women, minority and young voters were turning out in record numbers.
After news hounds peppered the aides with questions, the conversation ended and news hounds went to write their stories about a confident Clinton going to Arizona.
Then the wireless flashed on for a mere minute and phones buzzed.
Reporters informed Clinton's top aides traveling on the plane about the FBI's updated investigation, news that was met with dumbfounded looks from Clinton's staffers who quickly retreated to huddle in the front of the plane.