Hillary caught for 2nd time planting questions

[R.R.]

Clinton Campaign Accused for the Second Time of Planting a Question at a Public Appearance
Saturday, November 10, 2007

By Major Garrett

Fox News

SIOUX CITY, Iowa ?  For the second time in as many days, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has had to deal with accusations of planting questions during public appearances, FOX News has learned.

In a telephone interview Saturday, Geoffrey Mitchell, 32, said he was approached by Clinton campaign worker Chris Hayler to ask a question about how she was standing up to President Bush on the question on funding the Iraq war and a troop withdrawal timeline.

The encounter happened before an event hosted by Iowa State Sen. Gene Frais on a farm outside Fort Madison, Iowa.

Clinton's Iowa campaign confirmed to Fox News that one of its staff discussed questions with Mitchell before her April 2 event, but denied attempting to plant a pro-Clinton question.

Mo Elliethee, spokesman for Clinton's campaign in Iowa, told Fox that Hayler and Mitchell "had a previous relationship" and that a discussion about Clinton arose out of a normal conversation between two people who knew each other well.

"They had a previous relationship and were talking before the event and the topic of the senator's position on Iraq came up and Geoffrey said he had some questions," Elliethee said. "Chris suggested Geoffrey ask a question."

Mitchell, however, said that he and Hayler did not know each other personally before the event.

"I had no previous relationship with him," said Mitchell. "I knew his name and by name only as some who worked for Sen. Evan Bayh. But we didn't know each other and I had never met him before this event."

Mitchell told Fox the Clinton campaign wanted to contrast Clinton to Sen. Barack Obama who had recently said the president would probably prevail in the Iraq funding battle with Congress.

Mithell said he refused to ask the question.

"I told Chris I had other issues I wanted to raise with Sen. Clinton," Mitchell said.

Asked what those were, Mitchell said, "I wanted to ask her why she voted for the Iraq war and why she didn't consider that a mistake."

Mitchell told FOX News, for that Hayler, the Clinton campaign worker, was unhappy and moved on to others.

"I know he tried to have others ask that question," Mitchell said.

Asked if the Clinton campaign denied Mitchell's unequivocal assertion that Hayler tried to plant a question about Clinton trying to stand up to Bush on Iraq war funding, Elliethee declined.

"I'm not going to comment on what he said," said Elleithee said, referring to Mitchell. "I'm going to discuss what our interpretation is. They had a previous relationship, the subject came up and there's nothing more to it tha that. It's not newsworthy. It's innocent. It's not yesterday."

That was a reference to Clinton's campaign admitting, first to FOX News, that it planted a question on global warming at a Newton, Iowa, event on Tuesday.

Click here to read a report on the Iowa incident.

Ultimately, Clinton took no questions from the crowd at the Fort Madison event that Mitchell attended. Elliethee said the campaign ran out of time to take questions.

Mitchell told Fox News he is an Obama supporter but cannot participate in the Iowa caucus.

Mitchell is a minister in Hamilton and said he was reluctant to come forward because of the scrutiny he and his congregation might receive.

"But I thought this was important to get out and I want people to know what happened."

When contacted by FOX News and read Clinton's interpretation of events, Mitchell said: "I stand by my story. Completely."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,310417,00.html

[Stray Pooch]

This is just another example of the Clintonian Dynasty's arrogance.  But frankly, I doubt that this sort of thing should come as a surprise coming from any campaign.  No major candidate is likely to deal with any real debates or actual one-on-one questioning because it takes very little to become a non-entity.  Howard Dean did something mildly foolish after the Iowa campaign and lost all credibility.  He was, even if you disagree with his politics, a pretty intelligent, perfectly viable candidate.   Dan Quayle got grief for misspelling "potato" even though many a candidate has had a similar faux pas without it becoming a major issue.  Bush is constantly dogged out for his grammatical lapses, and Letterman's "Great Moments in Presidential Speechs" has taken advantage of this by highlighting simple pauses and stutters - which many a candidate and President have done without it being an issue.  (Indeed, I am surprised some of the "Porky Pig is bigotry" crowd haven't filed a lawsuit for this sort of thing.) 

Anything you do in front of a camera can come back to haunt you.  I view everything a politician does on a campaign as an attempt to look larger than life without it backfiring.  Kerry's infamous "botched joke" instantly killed whatever credibility he had left as a candidate.  Gore got slammed over the macarena and in some corners for kissing his wife.  Muskie caught hell for crying in public over an insult to his wife.  Dukakis tried riding in a tank.  Bush on the aircraft carrier has become a leftwing icon.  It's all nonsense.

OTOH, think of Reagan saying "I paid for this microphone."  Consider Bush's "We hear you - The WORLD hears you."  Even  Lloyd Bentsen's "You are no Jack Kennedy" which unlike those first two was probably a prepared response he was waiting to spring with (and of course, didn't ultimately win him election).   When sound bites decide elections, you are sure going to try to control the sounds.   

So yeah, HIllary is trying to control her image, but in that she is no different from other idiots out there.

[R.R.]

Good post there Pooch. I would also add Cheney's line about Edwards at their debate about never meeting Edwards before that day as one of the best.

I'd be interested to hear the opinion of Layna and some of the other left wingers about this issue (Hillary plainting questions), seeing that they made such a big deal about FEMA employees planting questions to a spokesman the other day.

[Stray Pooch]

Good post there Pooch.

Thanks. 

I'd be interested to hear the opinion of Layna and some of the other left wingers about this issue (Hillary plainting questions), seeing that they made such a big deal about FEMA employees planting questions to a spokesman the other day.

I think you are likely to hear nothing more than the sound of crickets from the left side of the saloon . . .

[Xavier_Onassis]

I don't think planting questions is illegal. Not for Hillary, not for FEMA, not for anyone.

Why should a candidate NOT have a chance to express her/his views? Isn't that what campaigning is all about?

Reagan babbling about how "I PAID for thin microphone, Mr Breen!" was not one I think brought any prestige to the ancient Geezer. I could give a sh*t about what he paid for with some fatcat's money. It wasn't his money, and ye he sounded so outraged. Just like an actor reading a script.


I was rather fond of Joe Biden's comment that every sentence of Giulani contains a subject, a verb, and a reference to 9-11.

[Brassmask]

Just following the playbook that worked so well for Hillary and Bush's little cabal for so long.