Hillary's Planted Question
By Nicole Belle Saturday Nov 10, 2007 9:02pm
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As you would expect, the right wing blogs are just foaming over the accusation and admission that Hillary Clinton took questions from a planted reporter on global warming in Iowa. But they might want to take their cue from the traditional media on this one and not play it up, echoing Cokie Roberts on This Week with George Stephanopoulis: "Who cares???"
Now, I personally find the whole notion of planting reporters ridiculously cowardly on either side of the aisle (and agreeing with Roberts, one of the least important issues facing us right now), but the hypocrisy of these right wingers kills me. After all, if the media starts to castigate Hillary for planted questions, then they'd really have to respond to their own complacency as far as loyalty oaths to attend Bush town hall meetings and that most famous of planted reporters: Jeff Gannon. Did any of those wingnut blogs find that as egregious?
By the way, speaking of planted reporters, do check out who was the first commenter over at PERRspectives. It looks like ol' Johnny Guckert is trying to use the netroots to sell himself as a legitimate journalist.
Update from Blue Gal: Sestakastan too. Gannon is Google Blog searching himself and leaving comments. Um, I have no comment.
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The whole Corporate Media press corps is planted. They are nothing but potted plants working for the beltway elite agenda.
Repugnant hypocrites. Check out Gray Hart's excellent blog about the Bush Administration not just planting questions, but planting the entire audience:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/a-president-of-all-the-pe_b_7137...
Stupid thing to do, not matter what. It would have been better if she asked the crowd...."does anyone want to hear my stance and ideas on global warming"?
Let us decide the questions, free from silly interference. We are not dumb.
This doesn't make me think less of Hillary because I already thought she's horrible.
If we DON'T want to be like the wingnuts, then we need to:
A. Do not point out that it is ok, or no big deal because bush did it too. (ala wingnuts bringing up Bill Clinton for every republican scandal)
B. Be just as disgusted and outraged as we were when discovering that republicans were planting questions... and reporters.
Though I'm sure ALL politicians do this, still it does point out Hillary's 'do anything' drive for power makes it conceivable that she will not be much different in governing than the current administration. In its power grabbing ways, not necessarily in its incompetence .
First I would like to know, how could the Clinton camp be so dumb? Where have they been over the past 7 yrs? Did they learn anything from the Bush/Cheney junta?
Armstrong Williams anyone?
Who cares? I do...
If I heard Bush or a GOP candidate, I wouldn't like it one bit. I didn't like the planted FEMA reporters, one bit.
So if -I- don't want to be a hypocrite, I can't like it if Hillary or any Democratic candidate did it, either. I'm not a Hillary supporter but if somoene I liked and respected like Obama or Kucinich did it - it'd still be wrong.
Let's have standards.
Filthy Harry @ 5:
Actually we should be more disgusted when the Democrats do it because we should be holding them to a higher standard. Other than that everything you said makes perfect sense. I don't really expect anything from the GOP at this point but for some reason I still have expectations of the Vichy Democrats. I know there's a few good ones but it seems like 9 out of every 10 is a Feinstein.
He's a whore. Who gives a shit what he thinks or what he does?
don't these people realize every time Dumbya appears before "the public" they're all pre-screened; i.e., the entire audience is planted?
Kyle @ 9:
Heh, well they are politicians. But yeah I agree. As far as expecting more from Dem, I'm afraid I think that Dems use liberals they same way Repubs use social conservative. No need to expect more.
Planting questions is horrible but where was the outcry when Bush was planting whole audiences. Shame on you Hilary but double same on the media.
On the subject of being a journalist, let me help you not to make a fool of yourself:
1. 500 articles as a White House correspondent over a period of two years that have never been successfully challenged for accuracy.
2. Personal attacks that have never been confirmed or proven.
3. Accepted into membership in the National Press Club in 2006.
4. Published book in September 2007.
5. Seated at head table at National Press Club luncheon featuring Lynne Cheney, joined by Vice President Dick Cheney in October 2007.
6. Book featured at National Press Club book fair in November 2007.
7. Accepted into membership in the Society of Professional Journalists in November 2007.
What's new in your life?
Nice try, Bulldog :D
that's the whole post right there. this ain't about tit for tat. this is about change. we NEED change. clinton ain't it.
Planted questions are ridiculous and cowardly, but at least it was addressing global warming, a subject that few on the other side of the aisle even acknowledge exists.
Bush and Clinton operating from the same playbook? I'm not surprised.
Does Hillary work for FEMA now?
Jeff Gannon @ 14:
Gosh, Jeff. Obviously you've mastered the copy and paste functions on your computer almost as well as you have mastered glossing over the truth of your "professional" life.
I can set a Google alert for my name too.
I wonder if you have the intellectual honesty or temerity to acknowledge response to your laundry list of bona fides (Really? Being seated next to Lynne Cheney makes you a "journalist"? That's a pretty lame C.V.). I'm pretty sure that we've addressed several of them on this blog over the years.
Good on you for figuring out the power of the liberal netroots to sell books, though. Valerie Plame's book is something like #6, due in no small part to the support we've shown her (and without Regnery Publishing's corporate welfare). Yours is what....somewhere down in the 1,000,000s? Buck up, Bulldog. Maybe our readers will throw you a bone or two (if you'll pardon the pun) and pick up one from the bargain bin.
Jeff Gannon @ 14:
And what did you do at the Whitehouse all those times you went there when there were no press briefings?
Ron Paul has ran a campaign of honesty, transparency, and honor.
He wouldn't plant prearranged questions in the audience.
Now who do you want with the reins of power?
i have to agree with the others. i think this post basically misses the point that hillary's tactics were unethical, not particularly politically savvy, and insulting to the general public. no reason not to hold her as accountable as we hold wingnuttia for similar debasements of public discourse. she is definitely not the change the country needs, and i'm kind of getting tired of posts going out of their way to defend her even when she deserves a healthy dose of criticism.
shubham @ 23:
Shubham, I think you missed my point. I'm not giving Hillary a pass by any stretch. I stated clearly it's cowardly and ridiculous.
The point is that right wing blogs are crazed that Hillary would dare to do this, yet they didn't blink an eye that Bush has spent the last 8 years of his presidency with planted audiences, not just reporters.
Everyone with a blog should mention Jeff Gannon ... he'll get so many google alerts he'll cream his pants.
lafin gas @ 21:
And who did you do it to?
Hill's taking a few pointers from the magician Frank Lunz and those VIP-only "townhall meetings."
poor Gannon's waiting for the Talon News relaunch
For what it's worth, Perrspectives' latest response to Gannon can be found in the Comments here.
*We're* the hypocrites if we don't denounce this behaviour.
3410 @ 29:
*I* did denounce it. That's the point. We DO denounce Democrats when they do wrong. The rightwing just makes excuses for them, or blames it on Clenis.
There's an entire cable news channel dedicated to softballing republicans...Fox News I think it's called.
Teh Rights hypocritical hysterics should just be considered a source of amusement - and trust me, if a democrat becomes President, it's gonna become their national pasttime.
Oh, and Gannon, I noticed how hard it was to join the Society of Professional Journalists...you think your 72 dollar fee had anything to do with your acceptance?
hillary is bush lite
eff her
Wow, don't I feel out of the loop about this Jeff Gannon person...but apparently he has a very nice dick.
Inexcusable, regardless of which party did it.
Finger pointing is silly. Yes, people may be hypocritical about this, but it doesn't matter. You fix your own problems before you point those same problems out in someone else.
Politicians and the folks who like to talk about them need to get this through their heads: Principles are important, and the people deserve respect.
Jeff Gannon @ 14:
Jeff you forgot the most important one. Being a mouth peice for the Republicans any time they need a shill. I call a spade a spade and people like yourself should be called out.
As far as what you've done, that doesn't matter half as much as what you are, and we all know what that is Bulldog.
motorfingaz @ 6:
Yes, and it's not good news for us. The DLC (Clinton's) just love that corporate-fascist big $$$ gravy train that the democrats are rolling in now. "Don't rock the boat". "Impeachment is off the table". Just take your suitcases down to K-street and "fill-er-up".
Furthermore, seems like Billy is pretty "tight" with the Bush family crime-syndicate. But then again, the DLC has a lot in common with these clowns; being the repuke-lite version of corporate a#*-kissers that they are.
We are soooo-screeeeeewed!
You're surprised that Hillary's people plant questions? Why? She's just an empty suit like Duhbya. I certainly wasn't surprised to hear that her public appearances are stage managed. With the media, it's all about constructing a cult of personality, and Hillary's handlers are more than eager to go along. Fuck her!
If the question was relevant what was the difference. Besides did Hillary go around and hunt out a reporter to plant the question or did some one on the staff do it.
And besides I bet more than a dollar all the candidates have done it and they didn't get caught...Course cause it is connected to Hillary and Obama supporters get to bash her even more...whoop de doo doo....
NoGWBpolicyleftinplace @ 36:
Not if you vote for Ron Paul.
He is the only one who would restore any semblance of checks and balances to the government. He's the only one who would UNDO what the last 7 years has been stuffed down our throats.
Until you think radically different, you will just get the same BS good-cop vs bad cop scam of a political system.
You have to go a 180 course change from what the MSM and the political elite want you to go for. And that is RON PAUL.
Truth Be Told @ 22:
Then why won't he own up to being a friend of hatemonger groups and racists?
Google Ron Paul. Find out the truth about the false idol of the easily-duped.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! Two wrongs don't make a right. The old left-right paradigm is strangling our nation. We are in for a bumpy ride.
I can't abide that woman because of her co-sponsoring of bills to put nutritional supplements out of my reach. Google it.
This was a swarthy move from the Clinton camp. I'm not surprised by what the Clintons will do to win. I have no problem with this being a criticism of the Clintons, however, the GOP are complete hypocrites on an issue like this. It's always creepy -- right or left.
Then compare Ron Paul, he stands up to the nazi pharma cartel.
Damian @ 41:
excuse me, how come none of the minority groups that Dr. Paul has appeared has asked him of these allegations? How come the media hasn't ask him these damning accusations? How come none of his fellow republicans have raised it - after all, wouldn't it be in their interest to get rid of this pesty Texas Republican who can out fundraise them?
Your allegations are baseless, and at best, they political dirty tricks by an opposing campaign from the past - that Dr. Paul has defeated. Paul has disavowed those claims.
I didn't like it when Bush did it with Gannon, I didn't like it when FEMA did it using employees and I like it even less when HRC did it, because she is representing herself as being above that sort of thing. In each case, it is an act of cynical lying and a calculated attempt at manipulation. I can neve,r and will never, trust a person who can justify such a thing. HRC will never have my vote.
Damian @ 41:
I googled the PR firm of your idol Hillary Clinton and it doesn't look good. I googled the "friendship between Bill Clinton and older Bush" over the course of W's presidency and I simply can't help but admire the sameness of the families and their dynastic ambitions. I googled a lot about Hillary Clinton and forgive me for saying that but the easily-duped ones are among your friends and allies, not among Ron Paul's fans, decent, Constitution loving and respecting Americans. Ron Paul has received tens of thousands of donations from individual people and the number is growing every f*****g goddamn minute, Clinton got her donations from the corporations, Rupert Murdoch, the idol of the left, among others. Individual people? Hundreds of thousands as Ron Paul? I don't think so. When he'll get to a hundred thousands on November 16, that will make a substantial percent of the country, the people's country, and I expect you that very day to have at least some decency to admit that this would be a substantial achievement. Let me know when Hillary hits ten thousands. Go along with the corporations that care for you so much indeed. I'm sure you will love the change Hillary has planned specially for you.
Re, Ron Paul:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=mozclient&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&q=site...
If Ron Paul has no truck with the American nazis, White supremicists and racists, he needs to speak out forcefully against them and their ideologies, do it loudly and often and return the money that is donated to him from members of such organizations as Stormfront.
Hillary the idol of the left? Hardly. If C&L commentors are any indication, she's in 5th or 6th place.
Paul @ 49:
Oh, I suppose that donations now come with ID tags that specify their givers viewpoints now?
That is such a phony argument that you raise.
Paul @ 49:
A single donation made by the Fox News owner, Rupert Murdoch, surpasses in its significance and consequence, the American nazis, White supremicists, racists and hundreds of other radical organization you can edit up and splice on a YouTube video clip, because Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation (this no Bull Sh*t name says it all in a typical Fox News style, you've got to love it, geez) As I said, there is a real contender in the race so be so kind and simply respect this fact until the end. If the Democrat affiliated crown doesn't mind support from the creator of a neo-nazi propaganda tool responsible for the deaths of 1 million people in a matter of 6 years, directly causing the national debt to reach 9 trillion and generally understood national fu*k up and nearing bankruptcy, I do as I please, protest, and go with Ron Paul this time around.
I would suggest that "Jiffy-Lube Jeff" Gannon is divorced from reality (remember that famous phrase?), but I sincerely doubt he's even had a passing acquaintance with it.
Fake News, Fake Reporter:
http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/02/10/gannon_affair/index.html
Ron Paul unites people because of shared human values. That is why extremists can support him, because ultimately we are human, even disgusting bigots and nice gay people like me. It's not Ron Paul's fault if certain shared basic american values overlap with those held by stupid, repugnant racists.
“IT’S NEWS TO ME,” SAYS SHE
Hillary Clinton declines to speak to the issues - or at least provide real answers to real questions, while opting for the more PC Global Warming ones - even if she has to script them herself. Of which she currently claims, “It’s news to me.” How else could the Clinton staged media have reported Hillary’s remarkable comeback, after the Illegal Alien Driver’s License (Gotcha) debacle?
But like a good many Americans (and many good Americans), I don’t want that duo back in the White House. With the Clintons, what is past is prologue. Hillary will come back swinging. Then there’s the incidence of Al Qaeda flight students, trained at the University of Bill Clinton. Why does this remain a non-issue? Albert Einstein said, “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it:” http://theseedsof9-11.com
Hillary Clinton: Positively Pandering, Definitely Duplicitous, Ultimately Unelectable.
It is slowly but surely getting harder and harder to bash George Bush whilst defending Hillary Clinton.
Everybody talks about Gannon, Hasn't anybody heard of Matt Sanchez??
These pundits are so out of touch that I am tempted to demand "term-limits for pundits." Experience in Washington some how leaves these folks in a parallel universe wholly unlike the one we live in where honesty and forthrightness matter. It's not a game, that's why we care Cokie. You may play a journalist on TV, try playing one in real life.
sorry if i missed your point. what made me wonder with this post is that you start off by advising wingnuttia to take a pointer from the MSM and not to care about what i think many of the commenters are calling a very unethical practice. i think many of us are saying that we should all care whenever someone who purports to represent us debases the level of political discourse in this way. when you then went on only to call the "notion" of it cowardly, rather than call hillary out specifically for it, and then spend the rest of the post highlighting rightwing hypocrisy on the matter (which no one here would dispute, of course), it did seem to give her, relatively speaking, a pass. of course, what she did is nothing by comparison with the tactics of a party that literally steals elections by hook or by crook, but that's the thing: the unbelievable intentional deception on the right shouldn't be the standard against which we compare ourselves. anyway, perhaps it comes down to a matter of style, since i doubt we disagree about any of this.
Sorry but she is screwed between the question planting, triangualtion,victimhood, lobbyists, now dispariging young voters, thanks to Penn--it goes on and on.If we as progressives are this divided about this candidate think of how fun it will be in the general not to mention the actually winning. This will give us a lovely 4 more years of the same crap , just not quite as bad except for the media, I could go on with this but you get the point and I am tired of Clinton to my bones already.
And what is up with the hubby lunching with Scaife and the vast right wing conspiracy.? Oh that's right they are the candidates for change(you don't get one without the other-it's the power baby)
Hillary continues to be her own worst enemy. The truth hurts her.
These folks are very worried they are going to have to face that black man. Oh lord have Mercy on them when that time bomb hits them right in their bigot faces.
Nicole Belle @ 31:
True, you did denounce it, but at the same time you advocate a "who cares?" policy, which somehow seems at odds with how a Republican candidate might be treated for pulling a similar stunt.
Coming on the heels (no Larry Craig reference intended) of her being exposed in the latest Dem debate, this is just awful for her campaign. Her secret cloak of inevitability is staring to fray at the seams. Good.
...echoing Cokie Roberts on This Week with George Stephanopoulis: “Who cares???”...
uhm,
Nicole,
you've misspelled Stephanopoulos...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who cares? Let's face it....Iraq, our screwed economy, impeachment, torture...these are the subjects that are most likely to come up, again and again and again.
I see nothing wrong with a planted question to touch on the subject. I think we are going a bit overboard on "sin" here.
Damn, she got caught!
Let's all vote for Huckabee instead!
This is a very simple issue. Hillary's plant was dishonest. She won't admit her War vote was a major mistake. She waits until the last minute to cast controversial votes where leadership is needed up front. She trys to hold more than one position on issues to reflect how the polls are leaning. All of these things tell me she is not my candidate! She is not a leader. She is a manipulator. And last, her negatives are so high that she hurts the chances of getting a Democrat in the White House. What more do the Democrats that want change and say they want change need to know. The Democratic Party needs new leadership. No more Bushs or Clintons.
3410 @ 62:
Her point was that the republicans and the "Librul Media" did advocate a "who cares?" policy for the last 7 years as Bush not only planted questioners but planted whole audiences for his town hall meetings. For them to get all hot and bothered about it now is hypocritical, but that's nothing new either. So, in summary, it is a bad thing to do, but the Repubs and the MSM have no credibility if they go after Clinton for it but continue to give Bush a pass when he did it way more than Clinton did.
What can you expect when Madam Clinton models her campaign on George Bush's, and uses Karl Rove as a campaign advisor?
Well I truly hope that this admission makes people realize that there are evils in BOTH parties. Thus, being a "Centrist" politically is superior to being either a lying democrat or a lying republican.
What I am really really really really relishing right now is the amusing site of all the apologetics coming out the woodwork, and who are using every excuse in the books in order to discount this latest faux pas by Hillary.
"Oh, but the republicans do it too!"
"Oh, but at least it was about global warming"
"Oh, but this shouldn't really matter because this is about the MSM and not my beloved democrat Hillary!"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Woah, this is funny...
ABH!
Tshober @ 68:
The media did NOT advocate a "who cares" policy over the last 7 years. They reported it. What more do you want from them? It is up to the viewer to decide what to make of it. The media is not supposed to spread political views as news. So in this sense, (for once), the media succeeded.
And I don't think anyone is "missing the point" if they call Hillary a lying hypocrite. The point is that she is a lying hypocrite. The point is NOT that the republicans did the same thing. To proclaim this is to evade the truth by any means possible and deflect attention away from the fundamental facts of what she did. There are many NON-republicans who say she is a lying hypocrite, there are many honest Americans who have no strong political affiliations who think she is a lying hypocrite.
Do you mean to tell me that THESE people are "missing the point"?, and that they need you to educate them on this? I think that is quite arrogant. I think people can make up their own minds and don't need to be told they are "missing the point" simply because they focus on the facts instead of who said them. So what if the right wing blogosphere and the right wing political hacks are "foaming" at the mouth like some rabid dogs at this revelation? It doesn't make the truth any less true.
I can't believe our standards have sunk so low (because of the neo-con republicans) that if any bad thing should be done by the democrats, it is not as bad as it would be if the republicans didn't do the same thing! It's like this country has turned into a battleground for who can screw up the most. It's like the lower we set our standards, then the better one party seems to be because the other party is doing other bad things. This is terrible. We should stop the "well the other party does it too!" bullshit. It is so destructive of the efforts of making this country a BETTER place, not simply a place to blame blame blame.
I mean, why is it so difficult for both democrats and republicans to say anything bad about their own party? Truth goes BEYOND party politics. For this Hillary revelation, it's like Hillary supporters are passing a fottball through their colon just to admit that she messed up huge. It's like calling people out on their hypocrisy is a taboo!!! How screwed up is that?!?!? Just look at how it was said:
"Now, I personally find the whole notion of planting reporters ridiculously cowardly on either side of the aisle"
See how the "other side" just had to be brought in here? Even a confession of seeing the hypocrisy is impossible without bringing the other side in for the ride. Why can't we just say Hillary is a hypocrite and then move on? Why can't we just say what occurs and move on? Isn't that what news reporting should be? Just report and move on?
There's clearly a double standard when it comes to Democrats and Republicans. It's amazing what Bush constantly gets away with from his hand picked audiences, to planted reporters, to horrendous gaffes. It was the same way with Reagan. That's why they called him the teflon president. The Republican Noise machine jumps swiftly into action whenever a Dem does anything they think they can make hay out of. And if a Dem hasn't done anything, then by gosh, they'll just make crap up.
Jeff Gannon @ 14:
Aren't you that hooker guy? Anyway, I hope you had a hot soapy shower after #5-- yick!! And, you sound kinda full of yourself (whoever you are).
Spicegal @ 71:
That's the nature of TABLOID AMERICA anymore. No one cares about the truth, they want sensational stories. Would you rather read, Martha Stewart Innocent: All a Big Mistake Folks or Homemaker Queen Sent to the Slammer; NO Parole??? I know which paper most Americans would buy. You could just make up any (shocking) news you want; no journalism required. Wait a minute...
PS and the Republicans have spent years building their NOISE MACHINE to trumpet out the "news". The Dems are still in "we should play nice" mode. (Which I usually agree with, but there's a fascist junta to fight right now, and the world is teetering on the brink.)
oh my god, they are calling out Hillary!
You never cease to amaze me. Why are you still defending Hillary? Why?
You still don't know that both sides of the isle are corrupt?
Or that only criticism can come from the right wing?
You still believe that there is a right and left at the highest levels of political office?
jeff gannon actually showed up here?Wow...will wonders never cease.In reference to planted reporters......it's cheating.No matter who does it.But Jeff Gannon has to be the biggest plant of all time.And a hooker too.LOLThanks for nuthin Jeff.....couldn't of happened to a nicer guy.What gets me is You being a gay man and a hooker....how can you sell your integrity so cheaply?The GOP stands against all you are...and yet you sold your integrity for what?.....oh thats right....your in sales.
This will cost HC more ground.As she has been losing ground all week,and it's just as well.I'm not to fond of her anyway.I guess one could say...she's just more of the same.And I'd have to agree with them.
Jeff Gannon @ 14:
WRT #1 & #2 - It's clear you need to change the dosage of your meds - your reality testing isn't so good right now
#3 & #7 - Pretty much just takes a valid credit card
#6 - Yeah, but for me it's a close call between "Television Tightrope: How I Escaped Hitler, Survived CBC and Fathered Viacom" or "Texas Cowboy Cooking"
Thanks for pointing out the hypocrisy of the GOPS and their stooges vis-a-vis Hillary and Jeff Gannon. The neocons and cryptos almost always succumb to a double standing in these matters. It reminds me of the bumper stickers comparing the fibs of Bill Clinton to those of George Bush concluding with the memorable couplet, "Bush lied/thousands died." One obvious difference is that Hillary is running for president and planted a question in a rally, while the Bushies planted a fake reporter in a White House press conference. Sheesh! BTW, I never watch the ABC Sunday program because I dislike Stephanoplous for abandoning Clinton when the chips were down and because I despise George Will for publishing a mean-spirited obituary of Allen Ginsberg in which Will claimed that the Beats were a bunch of no-count layabouts who contributed nothing of value to American culture. Guess whose green eyes were showing? Ginsberg will be remembered in 3007 while Will will be forgotten within a decade of his passing.
dmhlt @ 78:
I think this is a big deal, regardless of what the useless cokie roberts says. She's never right on anything anyway. And saying "the pugs do it more" is a very.... republican style defense, and of course hypocritical, given the outrage over the FEMA debacle and Bush's staged appearances.
Planting questions during a so-called Democratic process to nominate a president is pathetic, disgusting, dishonest, and shameless.
I would like someone to ask her directly whether or not she knew of the plan beforehand, or if it was simply her staff.
Boy, she sure is tough. If you want someone who can stand up to the Republican attack machine,
'She's your girl'.
Even ascendant Dems wary of 'liberal' label
Don't call me a liberal, Hillary says.