The following podcast contains explicit language.

Hello and welcome to the Slate political gab fest for September 15th, 2016, the edition.

I'm David Plotz of Atlas Obscura.

John Dickerson of Face the Nation is here in the D.C. studio. Hello, John. Hi, David. That's going to be hell for the transcriber. I know. I don't know if that's just parence hacking cough or whether you just you write those letters out. I don't know. And Emily Bazelon is yonder and beyond. I don't know where Emily is. Who cares? I know where she is. I had breakfast with her yesterday. It was so lovely. I had breakfast with her and Paul up in New Haven when I took my little jaunt up there to speak to speak to the Politic magazine. And we had breakfast together. It was like there wasn't an election going on. And then I had free to actual free time. It was a real little window. She's doing well by all appearances. Okay, but she's not here today, but that doesn't matter because we have from the Washington Post Deputy Editorial page editor Ruth the Truth, Marcus. Hi, guys. Thanks for having me. Do you think that coughing is like yawning? And when somebody coughs, you have the urge to cough along with them because I was just having that, but I'm not going to indulge it. Yes, I did. Maybe that's because you're a woman in a weak health and probably not fit for the presidency. Yeah, I don't have the stamina for the presidency. I can tell you that. Or the strength. Probably not.

On the other hand, you don't weigh 267 pounds. But the Gap Fest listeners might not know that.

On this week's Gap Fest, Hillary Clinton has a dreadful week, which was worse for her hidden pneumonia or her overt gaffs.

Then Donald Trump's charitable foundation turns out to be much, much worse than we previously knew.

And then is the economy improving as much as the census says it is?

Plus, we will have cocktail chatter.

And in Slate Plus, why are Americans so scared of terrorism 15 years after 9-11?

If you're not yet a Slate Plus member, you can get it by going to slate.com slash gabfest plus. There has never been a better time, in fact, to get a Slate Plus membership for Slate's 20th anniversary. For a limited time, there's a 30% off deal. You can get a year of Slate Plus for just $35. That's bonus segments from us and all the other great Slate podcasts, lots of extra bonus content.

$35 for a year.

That is no money, nothing at all.

Pocket change.

Maybe it's not pocket change.

It's money.

But, you know, that's a great deal.

Also, Boston, do not forget, we're coming to see you October 26th, Wednesday at 7.30 p.m. at the Wilbur Theater. We have a live show right before the election. John,

Emily, and I are really looking forward to it. It's going to be amazing. You can go to slate.com

slash live for tickets there. It's going very fast. So I would get tickets quickly if you're going to get tickets. And I advise you to get tickets because it can be a great show. It's a beautiful theater. Wednesday, October 26th, Slate.com slash live. Slates founding under Mike Inslee, who weirdly enough is sitting outside our studio at this very moment, but I didn't know that when I thought to say this. Slates founding editor, Mike Inslee, who weirdly enough is sitting outside our studio at this very moment, but I didn't know that when I thought to say this.

Slate's founding editor Mike Inslee famously said that in politics a gaff is when you accidentally tell the truth.

By that standard, Ruth Marcus is what Hillary Clinton said about Donald Trump supporters at a fundraiser in New York City that they were, that half of them were a, quote,

...