WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will head back to work today, a month after suffering a concussion that led to a blood clot near her brain.
According to her State Department schedule, she’s set to first huddle with aides in DC, likely in preparation for meetings later in the week with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and National Security Adviser Tom Donilon.
She is then expected to host Afghan President Hamid Karzai at a formal State Department dinner Thursday.
But while Clinton is hitting the ground running after her high-profile hospital stint, analysts say she’ll still have to go through some rehab — at least politically — if she’s eyeing a 2016 run for the White House.
They said the once-tireless secretary of state will need to prove she’s physically fit for the office.
“Her health will be an issue if she decides [to run]” said former Republican Sen. Al D’Amato of New York, who used to regularly have lunch with Clinton when she was in the Senate.
“If, indeed, she has made a full recovery, she will be a person who’ll be very formidable,” he added.
Clinton emerged from Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital last week (inset) looking pale and frail after being treated for the blood clot following her concussion. But she still has a reputation for toughness and for logging some of the longest hours of anyone in government.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) said, “If she’s healthy for the next three years, she has an active schedule and people see it, she’s going to be fine.
“If this looks fine and she has a complete recovery, I don’t think it’ll be a political issue.”
But there are still concerns, said Baruch College political-science professor Douglas Muzzio.
“Presumably, she’s got a clean bill of health . . . [But] there’s got to be some residual feeling out there . . . [that] it’s her mental state,” he said.
Clinton’s longtime friend, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch — no stranger to health issues — provided advice.
“She just has to do what she normally does,” he said.
“Whatever is going to happen to you has already been decided, and there’s nothing you can do to change it, so ignore it.”