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Hillary's Sunday sleigh ride
Towhall ^ | 12/10/03 | Brent Bozell

Posted on 12/10/2003 4:37:09 AM PST by Elkiejg

Last Sunday, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton did something she has never done before: appear on the three morning shows on ABC, CBS and NBC, all on the same Sunday. Once viewers could see the easy sleigh ride she was getting, they might ask: Why'd she wait until now?

Foolish people -- defined as those who expected Hillary to be grilled by the networks -- were surely not only disappointed, but disgusted. In one softball pitch, Mrs. Clinton was asked to defend herself against nebulous conservative charges that it was wrong of her to tell soldiers in war zones that while everyone loved them, many question Bush administration policies.

"I think that's reflective of the efforts by this administration to deny and divert attention from what everybody knows. I mean, it is like the old children's story, 'The Emperor Has No Clothes,'" Mrs. Clinton told Tim Russert.

Can we agree that unclothed-emperor analogies are a bad metaphor -- a laughable choice -- from Mrs. Clinton? But Russert didn't even stutter or blink. As the senator representing (if not "from") New York rained criticism on Team Bush for failing to level with the American people and waging war on a political timetable, the Sunday hosts acted like they were born yesterday.

Is there anything lamer than Hillary Clinton charging someone else with not "leveling" with the American people? Isn't she the one who screamed at George Stephanopoulos that she wouldn't tolerate any stinking independent counsel examining how the Clintons enabled their business partners, the McDougals, as they robbed millions from Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan? Did she "level" with the American people about her secret health care task force or her killing in cattle futures?

If there is anything lamer, it's Hillary Clinton charging that some president other than her husband timed their military adventures on a political calendar. Don't the network stars remember how Clinton hit positively nothing belonging to Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and hit a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan to divert attention from his Lewinsky grand jury testimony? Don't they recall how he bombed Iraq just as House Republicans began considering impeachment charges?

But the lamest part of these Sunday sessions came when all three wasted their precious hard-question time by asking the Fabulous Former First Lady if she would throw her combat helmet into the ring for the White House next year. CBS's John Roberts should win a prize for keeping the suck-ups short and perfunctory. ABC's George Stephanopoulos looked like he was still trying to gain new acceptance from the old boss, and NBC's Tim Russert turned his show into a five-minute, Hillary-you're-so-popular gigglefest. They clearly know that buffing this Democratic "superstar" image only builds her clout on Capitol Hill and across the country, and they delivered.

And these people are wondering if Chris Wallace can ask tough questions on Fox?

None of these fawners has so much as dipped a toe into political reality. Yes, Hillary beats the stuffing out of the Democrats currently in the race -- but only among Democrats . When the polls turn to the general public, she's incredibly weak and very divisive. Why don't they point that out?

Well-informed political junkies like these Sunday morning hosts know that in June, ABC News posted a poll that found that only four in 10 Americans said Hillary should "ever" run for president, while a majority, 53 percent, said she should "never" run. The numbers could be viewed through an even darker glass. There was no substantive difference between men and women in their distaste for Hillary, and 56 percent of whites, 60 percent of older Americans, and 76 percent of Republicans told ABC "never" to a President Hillary campaign.

But no one cited those numbers between Hillary giggles. In fact, on Monday morning, Stephanopoulos reprised the Hillary-as-rock-star stanza for ABC's "Good Morning America." Co-host Charles Gibson observed the obvious: "It seems like a lot of us can't take no for an answer." George then added that it's "fairly realistic" that Hillary will be pressed into service as the vice-presidential nominee, and "it'll be very tough for her to say no at that point." The closest ABC came to its own poll was suggesting she was a "polarizing figure."

Twelve years after her national debut, with reporters polishing her pumps as Loyal Spouse and Mother in addition to her reputation as a Policy Genius, the networks are still treating her like an American queen, a madame-president-in-waiting, a "secular saint" in a black pantsuit. But all these years of unpaid advertising still leave a majority of Americans cold. Their soft soap isn't washing Hillary clean.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: hildabeast; hillary
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Bozell hits one out of the park. So many quotable lines.
1 posted on 12/10/2003 4:37:09 AM PST by Elkiejg
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To: Elkiejg
I really liked it when Hillary complained that our troops are stretched too thin and we need more of them. Why didn't one of these talk show hosts ever ask her about how under the Clintons, the military was nearly cut in half...
2 posted on 12/10/2003 4:46:35 AM PST by 2banana
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To: Elkiejg
You mean noone asked about her Stalinist internship under Robert Treuhaft? Hard to believe!

NOT!

3 posted on 12/10/2003 4:49:13 AM PST by Ed_in_NJ
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To: 2banana
Why didn't one of these talk show hosts ever ask her about how under the Clintons, the military was nearly cut in half...

I was on the computer when I heard that Sunday and immediately emailed Russert the same question. Good grief, the whole interview was more like a coronation.

4 posted on 12/10/2003 4:50:47 AM PST by Lacey
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To: Elkiejg
"Don't the network stars remember how Clinton hit positively nothing belonging to Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and hit a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan to divert attention from his Lewinsky grand jury testimony? Don't they recall how he bombed Iraq just as House Republicans began considering impeachment charges?"

I still contend that Monica Lewinski was the best thing that ever happened to the president. The liberal press used the entire tawdry, "all about sex" fiasco to hide the all too treasonous Chinagate scandal.

5 posted on 12/10/2003 4:59:12 AM PST by Hatteras (Some mornings, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps...)
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To: 2banana
Does it really matter? who doesn't know that Hillary won't go on talk shows unless she controls the questions? I know of no one.

Look at the big picture, every politician, (almost every) that the Clintons back or promote gets crushed. Clark is their latest pick. This Clark guy looks like a deer in headlights, is campaign has gone no where. Look at the two guys in NY who ran for governor, one was Italian, and the other a black, (as you can see I forgot their names) they got destroyed. Janet Reno, destroyed, Ickes crushed.

The other night Hillary attended an affair where Bill Mahr was at. He trashed her husband right in front of her. How do you think she felt? Do you realize if and when Hillary runs for president the jokes and the humiliation she will have to put up with.

Lets her have her way cause the clintons are going no where. Her husband has ruined everything.

View Hillary as an entertainer cause that is all she will ever be.

Remember she won NY cause, Lazio had a lousy campaign and her husband released a bunch of terrorist.

The Clintons are a joke, but they are all the demorats have
6 posted on 12/10/2003 5:00:00 AM PST by hapy
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To: Ed_in_NJ
'lest we forget

Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton

by Authors: Barbara Olson
Released: November, 1999
ISBN: 0895262746
Hardcover

Sales Rank: 43,579
List price: $27.95
Our price: $19.57 (You save: $8.38)

Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton Customer Reviews:

Average Customer Rating:

Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton Customer Review #1:

--------------------------------------- Heaven Help America if she is President

What an incredibly revealing and well written book by someone who had her finger on Hillary Clintons pulse.Some of the things Barbara Olson reveals is Hillarys support for Bobby Seales Black Panthers Trial to make sure he got a fair deal even though the Panthers justified the rape of white women by black men as a political act of protest against white oppression.She also interned in California one summer for Robert Treuhaft who was married to Jessica Mitford.Treuhaft "left the Communist party in 1958(Northern California Chapter)because the lack of membership made running it no longer viable".His wife,Mitford once called the Hungarian Freedom Fighters tossing molotov cocktails at Soviet tanks"grasping neo-fascist types".Hillary has never repudiated her connection with the Communist movement or explained her connection to two of its hardliners.Hillary wrote her thesis while at Wellesley and the interesting thing is neither she nor Wellesley will reveal what it is about.That,to me,is very frightening.Would revealing it show us that she is perhaps an avowed Communist or Socialist?This book shows Hillary will not answer hard questions about her past which we need to know,if in fact,one day,she runs for President.Barbara Olson,unfortunately,will not be able to keep us informed about Hillary any longer,she was onboard the plane that Terrorists flew into the Pentagon on 9-1-1

7 posted on 12/10/2003 5:02:04 AM PST by knarf (A place where anyone can learn anything ... especially that which promotes clear thinking.)
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To: Elkiejg
This says it all!!


8 posted on 12/10/2003 5:09:40 AM PST by Conspiracy Guy (Ignorance can be corrected with knowledge. Stupid is permanent.)
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To: hapy
View Hillary as an entertainer cause that is all she will ever be.

Absolutely. All this vivid fawning over her by the dems and some here thinking she is going to run in '04 to "save" the dems from disaster is ludicrous...

Heck, even among dems only 4 out of 10 want her to run for Prez anyway!

I think your synopsis is excellent and Hil is quickly becoming a nobody...

9 posted on 12/10/2003 5:13:48 AM PST by sirchtruth
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To: knarf
"Barbara Olson,unfortunately,will not be able to keep us informed about Hillary any longer,she was onboard the plane that Terrorists flew into the Pentagon on 9-1-1"

bump.

10 posted on 12/10/2003 5:17:53 AM PST by proud American in Canada
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To: Elkiejg
I'm glad to see someone going after the TV anchors who kow-tow to Hitliary with their softball questions.

Rush had a great take on this the other day as well: his theory is that when she shows up on these pointless "news" programs, she puts the anchor's testicles in a box. If they behave while she is on, they get their testicles back when the show is over.

If they DON'T behave . . . well, we may never know. So far, it appears that everyone of them has gotten their testicles back.
11 posted on 12/10/2003 5:21:28 AM PST by DustyMoment
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To: Elkiejg
Hillary's "sleigh" ride? Didn't he mean to say "broom"?
12 posted on 12/10/2003 5:30:54 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
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To: Elkiejg
"Foolish people -- defined as those who expected Hillary to be grilled by the networks -- were surely not only disappointed, but disgusted."

Bingo! I watched only long enough to see what she was wearing...the usual pink, to make herself appear softer. (Remember the pink cardigan/sweater set that she wore when she did the press conference back in the 90's...I think it was when she was defensing against the Whitewater stuff.)




"defensing" - because I like that version, that's why.
13 posted on 12/10/2003 5:31:59 AM PST by Maria S ("…the end is near…this time, Americans are serious; Bush is not like Clinton." Uday Hussein 4/9/03)
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To: Elkiejg
Hillary got a tip that Gore was going to steal the limelight from her with his Dean endorsement. That's why she had to have so much face time on TV Sunday.
14 posted on 12/10/2003 5:37:34 AM PST by randita
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To: sirchtruth
I think your synopsis is excellent and Hil is quickly becoming a nobody...

I can't write her off that easily. I believe that she has assessed that Bush can not be beaten in 2004 and will put her efforts into securing the White House in 2008. I, for one, won't rest easy until that time because the gullibility of a large percentage of the American electorate, coupled with the mainstream media's love affair with Hillary!, will not let me.

15 posted on 12/10/2003 5:42:03 AM PST by PBRSTREETGANG
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To: randita
I think you're on to something.
16 posted on 12/10/2003 5:44:51 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: DustyMoment
"...she puts the anchor's testicles in a (very small) box"
17 posted on 12/10/2003 6:05:54 AM PST by HangThemHigh (America is inching toward the metric system.)
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To: Hatteras
I still contend that Monica Lewinski was the best thing that ever happened to the president. The liberal press used the entire tawdry, "all about sex" fiasco to hide the all too treasonous Chinagate scandal.

I agree with you! I have been saying for years that El Reno managed to thwart the investigations of the Klintoons' real criminal behavior by throwing Monica in the way.

18 posted on 12/10/2003 6:13:17 AM PST by RebelBanker (Deo Vindice)
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To: Elkiejg
Wonder how the "rock star" ratings were? I watched for 2 mins and between the laughing and begging her to run...I ran. It's fun to watch PravdABCBS wallow in the tarpits!

Pray for W and The Election

19 posted on 12/10/2003 6:34:23 AM PST by bray (The Wicked Witch of NY is pure evil!)
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To: knarf
Also in the "lest we forget" category:

Jerome Zeifman, her 'supervisor' during the Nixon investigation (and a bigtime Democrat), said afterward that she should "never hold any office of public trust."
20 posted on 12/10/2003 7:42:36 AM PST by Ed_in_NJ
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