More reaction to Clinton's planted question

Without directly criticizing Hillary Clinton -- he didn't have to -- Barack Obama declared today that his campaign has never and would never use planted questions in its public forums.

Speaking to reporters in Nashua, New Hampshire, the freshman Illinois senator said planting rigged questions among crowd members is “not a practice that we’ve ever engaged in and it’s not a practice that we ever plan to engage in.”

Over the weekend, as reported here Friday night, Clinton staff were forced to admit that they had planted at least one question with a student at a public forum in Newton, Iowa, last week. To watch a video of the rigged question and Clinton's perfectly formatted response, click here.

On Saturday, former Sen. John Edwards said his campaign does not stage questions and criticized Clinton, saying, "That's what George Bush does."

Obama was asked about it today. “When I go into a town hall meeting," Obama said, "I never know what questions to expect and that’s a good thing because the people of New Hampshire should expect that their candidates are going to hear what’s on the voters’ minds and not what’s been concocted by the candidate’s staff." Obama said he actually learns more from unexpected questions and has been stumped at times and then goes to learn the answers. Here's a video of his response.

--Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[Larry from Purdue]

I'm glad to see Barack distinguish himself from Hillary on this one. I'm not sure this story is going to die in Iowa anytime soon. Staging questions at an Iowa town hall sounds like a cardinal offense.

[Rose]

Just goes to show the type of devious schemes she would enter into if she were president. A scary thought for all true Americans!!!!

[Nannie Turner]

A vote for Hillary is a vote for Bush and more of the same.These are Karl Rove tactics plain and simple.There is NOTHING she WONT stoop to to get elected..We do NOT want another phony scripted administration.Real leadership by an HONEST PERSON is what is needed,not more of the same lies and deception.

[Betty Elder]

The Republicans MUST win the presidential election! To fail to do so means all Republican skeletons of Bush's last two terms will be reveals. Obama CANNOT win. The ONLY ones that can win over Republicans are Senator Clinton and V.P. Al Gore. The Republican's know that. Therefore Clinton MUST be knocked out of the race. The media NOT letting go of this is going to be Republican driven. Fire the bums off your campaign Clinton and move on. Tell the hypocrite Republicons to shut up and sit down. Nothing to see here that is remotely as egregious as what currently occupies the W.H..

[Mary Risso]

This is why Obama should be the Democratic nominee.
We don't need more of this...what was stated previously about
Clinton and Gore being the only ones who could beat the Republican
is not true...Republicans would rather have Clinton than Obama. Obama
could attract a broader base of voters. Besides that, he's REAL...
something Hillary just proved yet again that she isn't.

[Danny Campbell]

Go read the CBS news story today -- even a former campaign manager for McCain admits that he doesn't know of "any" campaign that does have some degree of scripted of questions. Some of you are being "played" by the media -- and you are falling right into it.

[Carol Knight]

Who cares?
This is so trivial compared to what the Republicans have done and continue to do (start a war, raise the federal deficit by trillions, etc.) Let's not forget Bush with the earphone in the '04 debates!!

[indymod]

Odd how the liberal media is concentrating on a Democrat's attempt to plant some questions. They barely even acknowledged that every single Bush/Cheney event during the last election was open only to people that were vetted by local Republican party leaders, and the questions that were asked were all nothing more than Repub talking points. Everyone, and everything were basically plants, yet our liberal mainstream media gladly ran the clips of the softball questions, without ever mentioning that attendees actually had to sign loyalty oaths to get in some Bush town hall meetings. Apparently that wasn't egregious enough to report on, but this was a mortal sin. What a joke

[Sashland]

Indymod: "every single Bush/Cheney event during the last election was open only to people that were vetted by local Republican party leaders"

Are you implying that attendees had to disclose their identity for security screening purposes or, that only Republicans could attend? If the later, then you are repeating an incorrect myth.

I heard a local radio report that only Republicans could attend a Bush campiagn speech in my area and was suspiscious, so I checked it out and was welcomed as a Democrat to attend, and I did so without any interference.

So, I doubt your claim of requiring signed loyalty oaths without some documentation.

Besides, "they did it first" hardly means its the right thing to do. Are Obama and Edwards planting questions? Don't think so...

Didn't the FEMA guy get fired for doing it? With good reason.

It's manipulative, deceitful and jusy plain smarmy, but maybe you like those qualities in a candidate?

[Ronald Loui]

It's not so bad that Hillary's people planted a question, I suspect, as that her campaign takes in so much money from the wrong sorts of people. If she really wanted to raise a talking point, she could have just ignored a real question and shifted to the answer she wanted to give. They ALL do that! There is a lot more evidence of HRC machination (and GWB mendacity, and Cheney-machiavellianism!) to be found than just a planted Q.

Still, Edwards and Obama seem to have very clean hands when it comes to fundraising. This, I think, is very impressive. Whoever made fundraising public (e.g., http://opensecrets.org/pres08/select.asp?cycle=2008 which shows HRC's $-"lead" among lobbyists) will be remembered for saving the democratic election process. Looking down donor lists is the most interesting reading I have done all year.

[Randy Crawford]

Hillary's planted questions have been going on for months, and the only amazing part of the story is that the media has taken so long to pick up on what has been happening with her campaign. When Hillary spoke at the Quality Inn/Highlander in Iowa City on April 3, 2007, she arrived late and kept the crowd waiting for about 40 minutes as she huddled in a back room with Johnson County (Iowa) and Des Moines party functionaries. Once she was introduced by Johnson Co. Supervisor Sally Stutsman and former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack, she gave her prepared speech and then took about a half-hour's worth of questions from the audience, which surrounded her on four sides with Hillary at the middle of the indoor open square space.
To put on the appearance of herself as the family values/loves kids candidate, about midway through her Q & A session Hillary took a rather long and highly scripted question which a schoolgirl spent about a minute reading from a piece of paper she (the girl herself) held, as the girl faced in the direction of the media risers and their cameras. The girl had been positioned in the front row, at the center of her quadrant of the audience. After Hillary gave her "isn't that cute" response, evidently imitated from the style pioneered by Art Linkletter half a century ago, she resumed taking questions from adults.
Finally, after another 10-15 minutes of Hillary ignoring children, Christie Vilsack rose and interjected, "it's almost time to go, time for one more question." On that signal, Hillary went straight to a schoolboy located in the front row, middle of the audience, 180 degrees opposite from the schoolgirl. Once Hillary gave another "isn't that cute" response to the boy with his back to the cameras, the Q & A was indeed over, and the crowd started dispersing.
The whole thing was as patently contrived at the schoolkids who provided "happy Chinese children" background for Nixon on his historic trip to China, viz. kids who had their jump ropes and hair ribbons confiscated as soon as Nixon left his outdoor appearance site. So, I went to look over the kids in the Quality/Highlander audience a little more closely. The girl and her mother were rewarded by having their picture taken with Hillary. The boy was wearing a Hillary staff badge. Just prior to this event, Hillary had promised ex-Gov. Tom Vilsack, who was there with Christie, that she would help him retire his campaign debt from his recently failed presidential bid. --END--