Question of the day
If you live in a cave than you may not know that Chelsea Clinton was asked by a student something about Monica Lewinsky. She said to the guy, “None of your business” All the lemmings in the audience, mostly college students were clapping after her answer. If you also didn’t know Chelsea is out stumping for Mummy across the country on college campuses and taking some questions only from students. She isn’t taking questions from reporters. AT ALL.
Question to you:
Should Chelsea Clinton be able to not take reporters questions while she supports and raises money for her mother?
No.
I saw the incident where Chelsea was essentially asked, “How do you feel about a woman not your mother sucking your dad’s cock?”
I don’t like Hillary, but I still think this question crossed a line.
dis,
should she be able to say NO to questions from reporters?
Who cares.
I agree with J. There is something Rovian about the tightly controlled campaign appearances. I am reminded of how Bush never spoke to a mixed crowd. The room was always packed with vetted supporters.
So, I agree with dis that the question was out of line, but if she wants real questions, let’s let a reporter ask her one that will actually reveal something.
The question was akin to a reporter asking Roosevelt, “So, do you miss your legs?” It was simply inappropriate.
And what’s unfair is that Chelsea would have actually looked bad if she answered the question in the spirit it was given. She should have said, “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the same guy who sucked Senator Craig’s dick.”
Chelsea should not have to answer reporters’ questions. She is a surrogate, she is not the candidate. She, nor Dr. Wright, nor any other surrogate should be allowed to put words in the candidates mouth and that’s what would happen if she spoke to reporters.
It’s not just a matter of control. We all have friends and family members who say stupid things and we wouldn’t want them putting words in our mouths. And, yes, surrogates can be briefed but it’s like playing whisper-down-the-lane. You never know until the disaster happens what they will actually say.
I think all the media attention to this is ludicrous. And it deliberately confuses the voters.
I also think whoever the smart alec was who asked that question of Chelsea needs to be taught some manners. Seeking The Truth doesn’t entitle one to be just plain ignorant. At least it shouldn’t in a civilized society. That was just ugly.
The Question asked was inappropriate because obviously it had nothing to do with the campaign and she gave the appropriate response
but legitamate policy questions yes very much
She is a college educated adult free to make up her own mind form her own opinions
To treat her like she is still a child to me would be insulting
It would have been much more appropriate to ask Chelsea what kind of panties she wears.
Shoulda asked if the carpet matches the drapes?
;-o
What the hell is going on here? Have you all lost your minds? This type of conversation is exactly what we hated about Republican talk radio?
You are shifting the conversation away from what is important. Remember! This election is about us!
Bear with me, for now I’m pissed.
We are about to decide the next 8 years of our nation’s well being on 1 black preacher in the south side of Chicago, one visit to somewhere in Bosnia, and one weird conversation in Indianapolis. I have not heard anything this week about where this country is going in the future…….
And I am to blame…..because I have said nothing yet about it.
4000. That is what needs to be talked about? Know what? There is a major battle going on right now in Basra, between two Shiite cliques for control of that city, and most of America is sitting here watching our news turn into the Jerry Springer show, thinking “you know………the surge really did work……..”
They are fighting in silence. if it weren’t for Loudell, I wouldn’t have even known about it.
What else. Hoovervilles are springing up across this country….For Heaven’s sake! This is the Great Depression beginning right before our eyes! And if it weren’t for Dana, I wouldn’t have known about it……..
They too are suffering in silence while we discuss one persons spoken words out of the 300 million of us who live here. Big deal.
What is happening is that you have become bored with the real issues at hand. “Oh, let’s take a break from the news and watch Jerry Springer.” Meanwhile……..
Well it is not about you ….this time. It is about those who depend on you. They depend on you to stay focused. They depend on you NOT to get distracted by the voyeuristic cult that permeates our media society.
Yes! I know it happens! Yes! I know it provides some titillating emotional relief. But I also know that because of our weakness to be predisposed with that kind of tripe, we can be manipulated by those who want to go in a different direction.
The same way an addict can succumb to prostitution.
Dudes, and dudesses. We are all being manipulated here. And we let them……
It happened before. We spent the last two weeks before the election in 2000 discussing who we rather have a beer with, and you know, after only hearing that for two weeks, many Americans actually walked into the booth pondering that question until the last minute? I bet they are kicking themselves now.
It is about our future. It is about who can lead us and who we feel comfortable about following.
It is about whether we can afford health care for all without creating more and more Hoovervilles.
It is about whether we will see milestones of 4,500, 5,000, 10,000 before our troops come home……
It is about whether we can re position ourselves from our weak state before the Chinese and Russians begin taking advantage of their opportunity.
It is about whether we can control our tax cut bleeding and thereby stop our nation’s aneurysm from occurring.
We are on a very fine line………we walk the edge of a knife. With the slightest misstep we are lost.
And we are talking about one stupid question being asked of a former presidents daughter?
If we lose our country……we deserved it.
Point taken Kavips. Maybe I’m rationalizing, but it seems to me that one of the questions on the table in this election is whether we really miss the old days of Bill Clinton and the bizarre psycho-drama that surrounds America’s relationship with the Clintons.
Do we really miss those days of talking heads discussing Clinton sex, love and triangulation? Personally, I don’t know. I’m still deciding that to some extent. But as pundits, we must play the cards that we are dealt, to some extent. Hillary has been playing the personality card for the past few weeks. Do we want Obama answering the phone? Is a man that attended an angry black church, OK with us?
Now, you may choose to not answer those questions, and we have certainly chosen to not answer some of them. But if the question being asked is impertinent, that is a valid point to be addressed. What is the role of a Presidential family member?
I am on the record saying that either Hillary or Obama are fine choices for President. I prefer Obama for many reasons, but if he sends his wife out to stump for him and she expects some sort of immunity from questions, she is mistaken. Same goes for Bill, Chelsea and Cindy McCain if she is sent out on John’s behalf.
I wonder whether people would have made the same voting mistake if people had been able to ask George Bush serious and uncomfortable questions at his campaign stops. Instead, he carefully vetted his audiences so that everyone in the room knew the talking points and asked questions that would advance those points.
woooahhhh, easy.
I think this ties into what is going on now actually. Bill, HRC and Chelsea are in complete control of the press. They say no cameras the reporters shut them off. they say no questions, they don’t ask them.
So my point I guess poorly phrased is, should the press be laying off Chelsea just b/c she is the daughter even though she is out there spreading a message.
The message goes unchallenged. Just like what goes on now..
I can’t agree more, but “Work-Play-Jack….dull boy.”
Let’s all agree now that Obama will win the nomination and then destroy McSame in the General.
Obama will make McSame look like Mondale during a 3-month long contest. Bamboo-box-boy cannot debate, cannot run from his pro-Bu$hCo’s war policies, cannot run from his lobbyist ties with Keating in the past (where he was almost thrown in prison for it, btw), then becoming a charlatan for his hypocritical stances on accepting big money from Corp Lobbyist today after saying he wasn’t on the take.
3 months of McSame standing next to Obama will be his downfall – just another befuddled Abe Simpson look-a-like….
….the only way for him to win is to scare the shit out of Independents by making them think scary, unshaven brown men want to kill their kids….Ain’t. Gonna. Happen.
one of the questions on the table in this election is whether we really miss the old days of Bill Clinton and the bizarre psycho-drama
I think that we (the US public) do miss it, altho we would say that we don’t want to deal with that. The tastelessness of the press who, after Hillary’s First Lady schedules were release, check first to see where she was when her husband cheated on her with Lewinsky is the tell, right? There is a (small) vocal group of women who are asking Hillary to account for her husbands behavior which just seems overly voyeuristic to me. As was the graceless question to Chelsea (altho her father should have made that exact response to the press when they asked him about Lewinsky, which seems to make Chelsea smarter than her dad).
A Clinton surrogate (that is what Chelsea is) not speaking to the press is part of the larger question of whether our press is serving us as well as they might.
That was a brilliant post, kavips.
” is part of the larger question of whether our press is serving us as well as they might. ”
Easy answer Cassandra- No. The press is not serving us well. The examples are too numerous to cite. Maybe some other readers can offer specifics.
Iraq. Nuff said.
coming in late . . .
kavips’ point is well-taken, BUT–the problem is that on pure policy issues like Iraq, like Health Care, the differences between Obama and the She-Clinton are–at least in the public mind–so slight as to be non-existent. Which means, as in pro sports, both people and the media drop back into more and more bizarre mental tie-breakers.
Example:
4000. Yes, important; critical. But since both Dem candidates have already told us what they’ll do, and it’s exactly the same thing–what’s left to talk about in a 24/7 media spin cycle?
I know, let’s discuss Barack’s pastor dissing Italians and Chelsea being asked about her Dad’s oral sex.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20080327/cm_huffpost/093610;_ylt=AueAhaZAKsaZIVGb87l7YTWs0NUE
Steve, other people are wondering the same thing.