On Web, Voters Question Clinton Directly

New York Times ^ | 01/23/2007 | PATRICK HEALY

[GWB00]

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton strived for an Oprah moment yesterday night, the third of her presidential campaign, by sitting in a fake living-room set and fielding questions on a live video Webcast about her vote for the Iraq war (if she had known then), universal health care (still wants it) and her favorite movies (“The Wizard of Oz,” “Casablanca” and “Out of Africa”). But will she attain Oprah Winfrey’s ratings? Advisers could not say how many people watched and took Mrs. Clinton’s measure during the appearance — or whether any of them were anyone other than her diehard lovers and her diehard haters. Mrs. Clinton’s advisers say the Webcast demonstrates her determination to speak directly to voters, in as many ways as new technology allows, instead of dealing only with news media that have sometimes been intensely skeptical of her actions and motives. The questions e-mailed from Linda in Pensacola, Fla., and other visitors to the Web site were vetted by Mrs. Clinton’s staff and offered or elicited few surprises. Mrs. Clinton sat on a sofa in front of a bookcase looking relaxed as a young aide read questions from a monitor. Her answers suggested various personas that she wants to convey to voters: a hometown girl, a mother, a moviegoer, a churchgoer, a standard-bearer for women and a critic of the war. She said she was rooting for the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl, recalling that she grew up in Illinois (a crucial electoral state and the home of Senator Barack Obama, a rival). She spoke lovingly about her daughter, Chelsea.

[GWB00]

Okay Freepers, the part about watching Casablanca over and over again is being ripped apart over at Lucianne.com and Hugh Hewitt.

The movie was not released on VHS or Laserdisk until 1991 according to some.

[Gay State Conservative]

The questions e-mailed from Linda in Pensacola, Fla., and other visitors to the Web site were vetted by Mrs. Clinton’s staff and offered or elicited few surprises.

Translation....questions about Vince Foster,Webb Hubbell and Presidential pardons needn't be submitted.

[bondjamesbond]

The New York Times accepts at face value Hillary!'s assertion that this was a direct interaction between herself and "voters". The chance of this being true is vanishingly small.

[mewzilla]

The paper's motto when it comes to all things Hillie: Don't ask, don't tell.

[Screamname]

and her favorite movies (“The Wizard of Oz,” “Casablanca” and “Out of Africa”)

Come on!! Everyone knows it`s only "Triumph of the will" for her!

[TomGuy]

It was warm and gushy and so staged that it didn't even look real.

Hillary read teleprompter scripted responses to pre-planted scripted questions.

The best or worst part was her constant head bopping and flailing of hands and use of "you know"'s peppered throughout.

Yeh, it was a real chat with America. [Statement typed with sarcasm.]

[Gay State Conservative]

Okay Freepers, the part about watching Casablanca over and over again is being ripped apart over at Lucianne.com and Hugh Hewitt.The movie was not released on VHS or Laserdisc until 1991 according to some.

And in the announcement video of her candidacy,which is supposed to have been filmed last week,one can see flowers in bloom outside the window.

But then...she's never bothered to explain her "Sir Edmund Hillary" claim either,so......

[yankeedame]

On Web, Voters Question Clinton Directly

O, give me strength. We all know these questions were about as spontaneous as a Swiss watch, and as improv as a 19th c. Russian ballet class.

[Muzzle_em]

Does ANYONE REALLY BELIEVE that her highness took time out of her day to answer questions from the "little people?"

[Miss Didi]

The Wizard of Oz??? Can she relate? "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" (cue Miss Gulch bicycle music...)

[boxerblues]

A quick google search shows a release date of Nov 1999



Humphrey Bogart

Release Date: 11/2/1999
Format: VHS
Category: Dramas

[DuncanWaring]

For government-school graduates:

Triumph of the Will

[Mannaggia l'America]

Boxers or briefs?

[savedbygrace]

Isn't 'casa blanca' literally 'white house'?

Hmmmmmmmm . . . .

[TomGuy]

Okay Freepers, the part about watching Casablanca over and over again is being ripped apart over at Lucianne.com and Hugh Hewitt.The movie was not released on VHS or Laserdisc until 1991 according to some.

IIRC, she said Casablanca was a teen/college years favorite.

Having lived through a similar number of decades, I would say it is possible. Many local TV stations during that time period ran movies on weekends and late nights. Yes, there was a period of time that late night TV was NOT dominated by infomercials. Casablanca was a frequent late night venue.

[Screamname]

I wouldn`t be suprised in the least if she makes her own "Triumph of the will" just for this election. cBS will probably air it every day.

[sr4402]

I don't have to put up with the questions of the American People. I am above the Riff-Raff and certainly above the likes of you. I will do to you what I have done to my husband Bill.

/Sarcasm OFF

[rollo tomasi]

It was warm and gushy and so staged that it didn't even look real. Hillary read teleprompter scripted responses to pre-planted scripted questions. The best or worst part was her constant head bopping and flailing of hands and use of "you know"'s peppered throughout. Yeh, it was a real chat with America. [Statement typed with sarcasm.]

This would have been the NYT story with the headline: 'On Web, Republican Answers Pre-Scripted Questions' if a Repub did this. Looking the other way = dishonest reporting and just bad journalism.

[beekay]

This this willingness to correspond with voters is interesting. As New York's senator she is the only representative that regularly does not respond to letters sent to her. This is just a repackaging of her "listening tour" when she first ran for the Senate.

[SueRae]

I'm not surprised she liked Wizard of Oz. She is after all, the Wicked Witch of the West