Posted on 11/01/2007 1:21:16 PM PDT by .cnI redruM
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s performance at the Democrat Primary Debate this Tuesday in Philadelphia did not lend support to her coronation. This has led to a certain amount of predictable fall-out. Media stories like this one, this one, and this one, now question the inevitability of “She Who Must Not Be Seriously Challenged In The Primary Campaign™”
It seems that fans of “She Who Must Not Be Called Degrading Nicknames™” feel slighted by how Tim Russert and Brian Williams moderated the recent Democratic Debate. One caller to a campaign conference call suggested that Tim Russert should be shot.
Tim Russert is usually more loyal a Democrat than he was Tuesday night. This overstates the situation, no matter how vexing Hillary Clinton finds being asked legitimately difficult and topical questions during a campaign debate.
The campaign’s designated Mouth of Sauron, Mark Penn, quickly took a truncheon of his own to Tim Russert. Penn had the following criticisms of Russert’s debate moderation.
“Russert made it appear that President Clinton had done something new or unusual,” Penn said, before adding that it “is, in fact, an extremely confusing situation … I think there will be further clarification.”
Penn went on to imply that the questions were unfairly stacked against Hillary Clinton.
Penn turned again to Russert. “The other candidates were asked questions like, ‘Is there life in outer space?’ ”
Penn fails to mention that similar lines of inquiry had actually elicited gaffes from two of Senator Clinton’s opponents. According to Sam Stein of the Huffington Post, asking Dennis Kucinich about UFOs will actually produce a noteworthy water cooler topic. Bill Richardson also still questions the official story on the 1947 UFO sighting in Roswell, NM. I’ll give Tim Russert credit; the truth is out there somewhere.
So Russert actually played a certain amount of “gotcha” with other candidates in the debate as well. Of course, when your candidate commands huge leads nationwide, in every major Democratic Primary Poll, she can expect the questions to go up in difficulty. Russert honored the unwritten rule of political debate moderation. “Thou shalt at least try and make the frontrunner stumble.”
Having succeeded in presenting Hillary with a serious grilling at the debate, Russert also accomplished something else on behalf of the American people. Hillary is stuck with a dangerous straddle on the immigration issue. She depends on the financial and activist support of a large number of people who don’t want America’s laws against illegal immigration to be enforceable any more. She depends even more on the votes of people who demand that these laws receive immediate attention and enforcement. Thus, a straight, hard question on whether she agrees with Governor Spitzer’s decision to grant illegals legal driver’s licenses is not a query she wants to field at present.
Russert also accomplished something even more important by getting tough on Senator Clinton at the debate. This is the first time during the entire Democratic Primary season that it has even remotely looked like Hillary Rodham Clinton was going to have to face the same challenges as other presidential candidates this cycle. For once, Tim Russert deserves commendation for being a professional journalist. For once it actually looked like the fix wasn’t in.
What about Dingell-Norwood?
Russert is capable of being a journalist first and a dem second -- not all the time, but often enough to be impressive...
Still waiting for someone to ask about her Chinese financing.
Russert is smart enough to not want to look like Tweety. Good piece. I want to remind everyone to click on all negative Hillary stories to boost their ratings. Several links were provided in this post. Click on all of them if you have time.
She’ll pull the race card out on that one.
ping
Russert will go back to Lap Dog status since he’s been taken to the WOODSHED by the Clintons.
The Witch has never before been challenged in a serious interview, campaign, or debate. It happened this time and she couldn’t take it. If the pubbies don’t “respect her as a woman,” go after her on ideological and personal grounds, and thump her like a piñata, we’ll win. If we pull our punches out of fake respect for her apparent gender or former status as history’s most corrupt First Lady, we’ll lose.
The only outcome from the debate will be.....
hillary was asked tough questions and she answered them.
I say ... hillary is a liar, a cheat, power hungry, dishonest, calculating, conniving and dangerous woman!
She has the power to make or break people. Russert amongst them. So however I may think Russert did, and yes some questions were good questions, it will be used to her advantage or JUST FORGOTTEN!!!!! Down deep I think the whole evening was staged.
I also feel, unless we stick together and show a united front instead of eating each other up there will be another clinton administration.
dangerous straddle - beware the “wide stance” from this one...
Down deep I think the whole evening was staged
Staged, and telegraphed days in advance.
It makes me laugh when her staffers whine.
Monica Lewinski’s boyfriend’s wife ought to be able to manage a tough question or two about national policy. If she can’t, then she’s obviously not going to be able to handle the job.
She’s micromanaging here, when she ought to be able to take what she dishes out so freely on the stump.
I think that this “ganging up on Hillary” was all a ruse, and Russert made out to be the “fall guy” for it so that, in the future, the MSM will have an excuse for treating her with kid gloves. As I recall, this is exactly the modus operandi used for Bill Clinton’s re-election after troopergate, etc.
LOVE THAT!!! LOL
It’s the CLASSIC BULLY story!! Stand up to the BULLY and they COLLAPSE!!! We need to KICK her while she’s down...NO ONE has EVER asked her a big question before Tim the Toad!! AMAZING.
Well said. Girl bullies are especially disgusting.
My guess is that Russert will amend his wayward ways very quickly, probably on the phone right now, apologizing and groveling and begging forgiveness for his thoughtless presumption to ask an actual question of the leftist queen-to-be.
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