Clinton's Planting Story Grows

The allegations that Hillary Clinton's campaign planted fake questions at public events has now grown into a major dispute in the Democratic race, drawing pointed attacks from the leading candidates.

On Monday afternoon, Barack Obama contrasted his freewheeling New Hampshire town halls to Clinton events that are "concocted by the candidate's staff." John Edwards said the practice reveals how Clinton is like George W. Bush, a message that hit home with Iowa voters in a blunt Des Moines Register headline "Edwards equates Clinton, Bush." Running a typical frontrunner strategy, the Clinton Campaign typically avoids singling out her rivals by name, but Edwards hit a nerve. The Clinton Campaign sent the attack right back at him, dispatching two spokespersons to accuse him of channeling Bush by dividing the country and attacking Democrats.

The traveling press corps initially missed the entire plant story, which was broken by college reporter Patrick Caldwell, but the press is digging into it now. The veteran AP scribe Mike Glover questioned Clinton about fake questions on Monday, the Washington Post's Shailagh Murray now says "the 'question' won't go away," and CNN's most viewed political video online is Clinton's "Planted question controversy." (For overall news videos, it still trails way behind "Sex offender decapitated.") And in the predictable rhythm of a media feeding frenzy, MSNBC has now dubbed this story "Plant-Gate."

But compared to the big issues, does any of this matter?

Yes. This kind of critique, like lots of media criticism, reflects real concerns about our public discourse. As a "process" complaint, sure, it ranks lower than public policy. But how candidates relate to voters -- just like how they deal with the press or disclose information -- affects the electorate's ability to appraise them. To her credit, Clinton has personally promised that fake questions will "certainly not be tolerated." A source close to the campaign says she was surprised and outraged by the practice. But primary voters may not feel completely assured until they see her take more tough questions on the road.

NEWS UPDATE: Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, one of the Grinnell students who asked a staged question from the Clinton Campaign, spoke to CNN today about the incident. In the interview, she explains how a Clinton operative showed her a list of "typed out questions" with one planned specifically for a college student. Gallo-Chasanoff told me on Saturday that the media attention had "just been an awful experience" and she wanted "nothing else to do with it." She added that she "officially hate[s] press people now, all kinds."

Comments (21)

1. I think what HRC meant to say was that getting caught planting stories won't be tolerated!

   Posted by leftofcenter at 11/13/2007 @ 07:34am

2. Bush-lite.

   she should just cut to the core and go ahead and hire some prostitutes to act as press. Next up, a fake turkey for the troops and some made up intel about Iran.

   Posted by crabwalk at 11/13/2007 @ 07:38am

3. Such as:

   "Recent intelligence out of Iraq suggests that BLT's are coming over the Iranian border, supported by the Iranian Secret Police. "

   Posted by crabwalk at 11/13/2007 @ 07:40am

4. BAGHDAD, Nov. 11 -- An Iraqi taxi driver was shot and killed on Saturday by a guard with DynCorp International, a private security company hired to protect American diplomats here, when a DynCorp convoy rolled past a knot of traffic on an exit ramp in Baghdad, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said Sunday.

   Three witnesses said the taxi had posed no threat to the convoy, and one of them, an Iraqi Army sergeant who inspected the car afterward, said it contained no weapons or explosive devices.

   "They just killed a man and drove away," Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said in his office on Sunday afternoon. He added later, "We have opened an investigation, and we have contacted the company and told them about our accusations, and we are still waiting for their response."

   Hearts and minds, hearts and minds. Whatever happened to that slogan?

   Posted by crabwalk at 11/13/2007 @ 07:50am

5. if only they could catch the rest of them playing the same game.................

   Posted by frosty zoom at 11/13/2007 @ 08:22am

6. Hmmm? I wonder what FRANKGRITS, HELENDAO, and CCORBELL will say?

   I wonder if it'll be ANYWHERE close to what they said about....

   James "Jeff Gannon" Guckert?!??!?!

   heheh

   Posted by Mask at 11/13/2007 @ 09:09am

7. This is Clinton's idea and promise of transparency? Only thing that is transparent is her represensible attempts to promote herself at the expense of truth. Staged press conference of Homeland Security comes to mind. Bush dressed in drag. How many nails in the coffin is it going to take before voters wise up?

   Posted by OneVote at 11/13/2007 @ 09:27am

8. Posted by MASK 11/13/2007 @ 09:09am

   i wonder if she's hired the Lincoln Group? [sourcewatch.org]

   Posted by frosty zoom at 11/13/2007 @ 09:30am

9. Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 11/13/2007 @ 09:30am

   Well, I think we ALL know where FRANKG is going to come down on this....he's said this (and similar things) so many times--

   "Hey, it's working. The idea is to get elected."----Posted by FRANKGRITS 11/02/2007 @ 12:20pm----CRITICIZE HILLARY: YOU'RE SEXIST!----Posted by Ari Berman at 11/02/2007 @ 11:53am

   Posted by Mask at 11/13/2007 @ 09:44am

10. The comparisons are bogus to Bush...the plant was used as a means to steer question to global warming, to a topic she wished to discuss, not great, but not like Bush when he had ANY discussion of ANYTHING except what he wanted to hear eliminated from forums, not to mention how different FEMA forum was. People are grasping at straws since Hillary has run such a well run campaign. Bringing her down is an express desire of MSM and desperate opponents.

    Posted by MCE337 at 11/13/2007 @ 09:51am

11. Bringing her down is an express desire of MSM

    Posted by MCE337 11/13/2007 @ 09:51am

    what?

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/13/2007 @ 09:59am

12. Posted by MCE337 11/13/2007 @ 09:51am | ignore this person

    The idea here is to listen to what the PEOPLE want answered, not what Clinton wants to discuss. This is morally and intellectually represensible, and it speaks volumes as to "authenticity" of your candidate. This a breach of the peoples' trust, and Clinton can not be trusted. The comparison to Bush with his "friendly audience speeches with scripted questions" is spot on. You are digging yourself a deeper hole.

    Posted by OneVote at 11/13/2007 @ 10:10am

13. hee hee hee! ha ha ha!

    Posted by MASK 11/13/2007 @ 09:44am |

    and if you're helendao you even make thinly veiled racist slurs against obama!

    Let's make our dear Obam the president of the Central African Republic.

    Posted by HELENDAO 11/11/2007 @ 10:18pm

    ding dong...the witch is melting? hee hee ha ha!

    Posted by ibbleblibble at 11/13/2007 @ 10:36am

14. plant that crop of sycophantic stooges, 50 foot queenie! water them with a little attention...throw some poopy fertilizer at 'em...

    and watch your campaign begin to disintigrate in its own superficial mendacity!

    ding dong...!

    Posted by ibbleblibble at 11/13/2007 @ 10:40am

15. What onevote said. I used to like the Clintons but they're starting to scare me. The New Republic has a story about their disciplined message control machine:

    http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=6e01fdce-ad97-4dab-a07d-bf98dc 52f681

    Posted by haskells at 11/13/2007 @ 10:41am

16. disciplined message control machine

    by HASKELLS

    ..tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock..

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/13/2007 @ 11:18am

17. This just shows that Hillary doesn't feel comfortable off the cuff. She is afraid of tough questions like "why did you not support disclosing the source and recipients of pork-barrel earmarks Hillary?" Is it because of all those defense contractors in New York that were recipients of your earmarks?

    Posted by Metteyya at 11/13/2007 @ 12:05pm

18. i'm melting! i'm meltiiiinngg.....glub blub blub...

    there's no place like home! there's no place like home!

    one day it'll all seem like a bad dream!

    ding dong!

    Posted by ibbleblibble at 11/13/2007 @ 12:22pm

19. Much ado about nothing. Slow reporting day. Isn't there another debate this thurs. night?---Posted by FRANKGRITS 11/13/2007 @ 12:33pm

    Officer Barbrady: "Nothing to see! Move along!"

    Posted by Mask at 11/13/2007 @ 12:44pm

20. this isn't arkansas anymore.

    "Professor Marvel never guesses. He knows!"

    "Better get under cover, Sylvester. There's a storm blowin' up, a whopper. Just speakin' the vernacular of the peasantry."

    Professor Marvel, quoted on the plains of kansas, 1939

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/13/2007 @ 12:59pm

21. Bringing her down is an express desire of MSM and desperate opponents.

    Posted by MCE337 11/13/2007 @ 09:51am

    Right! Well, this little gem is just another reason not to trust this woman and her posse. Is America ready for 'change'? We'll see how her poll numbers reflect this incident.

    Posted by MATTMAN at 11/13/2007 @ 2:06pm