Clinton admits planting questions in public forum

Hillary Clinton stopped at a bio-diesel plant in Newton, Iowa earlier this week to see alternative fuels in the making and drive home the week's campaign theme of her energy plan. After a tour, the candidate took questions from the crowd.

She called on a young woman. "As a young person," said the well-spoken Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, "I'm worried about the long-term effects of global warming. How does your plan combat climate change?"

"Well, you should be worried," Clinton replied. "You know, I find as I travel around Iowa that it's usually young people that ask me about global warming."

There's a good reason for that, too. The question was a plant, totally rigged in advance, like a late-night infomercial. Just before the public forum a Clinton staffer had chosen the young woman, a student at Grinnell College, and asked her to ask that specific question. To watch a video of the staged question and the pefectly-formatted response, click here.

Trouble is, the young woman told others and today her account showed up on the Grinnell website, including a mention that the staffer signaled Clinton who to call on.

Tonight, as other campaigns chuckled and hypocritically spread the news far and wide, a Clinton campaign spokesman admitted sheepishly, "On this occasion a member of our staff did discuss a possible question about Senator Clinton's energy plan at a forum. However, Senator Clinton did not know which questioners she was calling on during the event. This is not standard policy and will not be repeated again.”

Perhaps in large urban centers such stage-managed set-ups are acceptable, even expected. But in smalltown Iowa and New Hampshire, where even political opponents run into each other at the Dairy Queen after the high school football game, they take great pride in genuinely meeting candidates face-to-face in living rooms and diners for honest questioning. Rigging a show like this is extremely bad form and Clinton could take a real hit for it, especially since it suits her reputation for being calculating.

But here's the catch. Although other campaigns are righteously denying it tonight, virtually every...

professional presidential campaign plants questions. It's a routine part of preparation for the advance people staging every event.

Not every question is planted, as you can tell from the weird ones that sometimes pop up. But enough are to ensure the campaign gets the necessary rehearsed sound-bite for the TV cameras on the day's theme. The candidate may honestly not know of the plants, but as soon as she/he hears the question, the answer carefully prepared by the political staff comes flowing forth.

Most planters will be far smoother than Clinton's simply grabbing a passing college student. They'll plant questions in advance with known local supporters who can be trusted and, frankly, who are flattered by their moment in the limelight addressing the possible next president in front of friends. They want it to look like their own question.

A twist on this strategy is for another candidate's team to smuggle one of its supporters into an opponent's event to ask an embarrassing question while the cameras roll. That's why attendees are usually screened and tickets issued. (UPDATE: We've been reminded of the very public run-in Clinton had last month in New Hampton, Iowa with Randolph Rolph, a persistent questioner whom she accused of being a plant from another campaign, which he denied. Clinton later apologized.)

So this time the Clinton camp got caught, the latest in a series of stumbles the last couple of weeks. It's embarrassing, at least for the moment. Right now, some clever Clinton communications staffer is no doubt advising her to make a self-deprecating joke about the slip. At the next forum the first questioner she calls on, Clinton should smile and say, "Now, I want to make sure, you're not a plant, are you?"

And the sympathetic audience will laugh and move on. That's how this presidential campaign game is played.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[Bernie Quigley]

Here in New Hampshire it seems obvious. In her travels here in northern NH, she manages to find the most esoteric voices of people with attitudes more commonly found in Brooklyn Heights or the West Side. People unlike any we actually know here in the mountains: People with advanced solar cell systems (here where the sun rarely shines past October) like we have never seen or heard of. She asks them: "Do you sell back to the grid?" Puh-lease. Perhaps we could trade back energy credits for Bondo for our trucks or more recycling bins at the trailer park?

[Larry from Purdue]

This is pathetic. If we elect Hillary, we are going to have the worst case of buyer's remorse since...we reelected W.

[MissV-Raleigh]

Wait til it comes out how much she is paying black 'leaders' in various states to sing her praises about "experience" while John Edwards LACK of experience but PLENTY of money got the black vote before.

[Lewinski]

Once a cheater always a cheater.

[Vote for Hillary Online]

This story has been way overblown. So what if she had a planted reporter asking questions? Hillary Clinton is our only hope to take back America and get it under control, and sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to win. The fact that people fail to realize this is simply shocking.

[Duane]

Surprise, surprise!

[Brownknows]

Dirtbag is as dirtbag does.

[Lee Beebe]

Let me get this straight, FEMA uses people as "plants" to "ask" questions, and the one responsible is denied his promotion and publicly condemned.
HilLIEry does the same thing and it's politics as usual?
Her lies, schemes and manipulation are so wide and profound, I can't even grasp a starting point.

[Michael Snyder]

Once again, with feeling. if it walks like a duck, and it talks like a duck, it must be a duck.
If you really believe this is an "isolated incident" then I've some blue chip stocks in a famous Northern California bridge you may be interested in.
Anyone who scratches the paint on Hillary will find a two faced woman who has already established just how fast she can flip on any issue at a moments notice. Republicans love her because they feel she's the only Democrat they can beat... And they're right!

[Michael]

Why are we recycling the same old garbage. Hillary clinton doesnt answer questions and when she does if you listens carefully, she is all things to all people. (A liar) When she can't think of an answer her auto-response is "because of the fauled policies of the bush admin"...blah blah blah. Are we that stupid to even consider electing her.

[Min Yi]

It is becoming harder and harder to know the truth about our candidates. Everything seems or is staged. Everyone is afraid of saying anything substantial lest it gets played out of context on YouTube that night. Media makes it worse by arranging a debate format where the candidate has 30 seconds to answer a question that should take at least half an hour. All we get is soundbites from such debates and some editorial on who is ahead of the game. At this point, we shouldn't care about who is ahead so much as who the heck we should care about. True democracy is nurtured by open dialogue and that has been sorely lacking for several presidential cycles.

[Jim Ramsdell]

It appears Mrs Clinton claims she knew nothing about the plant. For such a smart woman she doesn't seem to know much about all the crooked deals around her, such as recent campaign fund raising frauds. Maybe she is really too stupid to be President. (i.e. Bush tricked me into voting for the war).

[Larry Smith]

When one evaluates a candidate you look for integrity.
We are now evaluating all condidates including
Senator Hilliary Clinton. This incident bothers me some.
It tells me that we may have another stage president.
What bothers the most was what everyone at work is talking about.
That is her alleged relationship with her female aide, Ms. Huma
Abedin. Ms. Abedin was raised in Saudi Arabia and is a muslim.
I check the internet and was surprised that there are over 92,000
entries about this relationship.

[Mahendra Goel]

Thanks to the present US Economic Situation there are far too many questions the Presidential Hopefuls will be faced with and they better be ready to answer.
Even otherwise, the New Incumbent to the White House will have to face the Turmoil the nation is undergoing. MEDIA HAS TIME TO POINT OUT AND THEN CRITICIZE BUT THEY DO NOT WANT TO SET UP "FORUMS" THAT MAY BRING OUT GOOD AND SELF SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS. LET US ALL PRAY AND HOPE A MIRACLE WILL HELP US OUT, IF AT ALL.

[Keith]

Clinton, Inc. bombed out, funny, man that's happening at a quickening pace. Dem's better pick Obama or this race is going down the tubes for them.

[John]

Every candidate from every party plants questions. Get over it. Even non-candidates, such as Bush's FEMA, held a completely fake press conference! This is the political reality of the USA.

[F. W. Brown]

Today the Chinese hold billions of dollars of our debt. Oil is through the roof. Personal debt is in the billions. The euro is outpacing the dollar to the point that China and other countries are desserting the dollar and pegging their currency to the euro.
And all these useless politicians can think about is getting elected.

[amir]

"One of the senior staffers told me what [to ask]'
Do not we all voters are barked at (to get attention) by the Media pundits how we have to think, why we have to vote or not vote particular candidate?
Look at number of Political Pundits (totally polarized fanatically) in the media whose goal is only to plant their dogmatic views (mostly self serving) on voters mind?

Wake up voters. Do not listen to these like ” that one is holier than other”. All politicians in one way or the other are crooks. It is the last resort to scoundrels.
You got to choose the one that is least harmful to this great country; you have plenty of time to do that – a year. Till then, just watch the fun. Do not get planted.

[RuthieM]

It's simply amazing how you and others for Clinton lighten your articles on Clinton, give her the pass, the 'benefit of the doubt' on everything and darken your articles on Obama, dig for the dirt, sling the negative, write with an ugly tone about Obama. It's awful. this is another Clinton slime move, another example of her not wanting to answer questions that should not be condoned like this article does. Look what you are trying to force on the American people by doing that. You are trying to force dishonesty, evasion, weaving and dodging, lying, deceit, and you should be ashamed of yourself.

[Christine Beatty]

Oh, puh-lease. Every crowd that Bush addresses is hand-picked, protesters are kept blocks away every time he speaks. Why is this even news?

[madison]

If your going to do it don't get caught!

[frank carter]

Ms. Clinton wins the election, I'm out off the country, enough is enough. What is Bill going to do, serve Tea?....Her and slick Wily have no shame or pride. All accusations roll off their selves While holding their heads way up high.

[slbalcacer]

This blog is just as disingenuous as campaigns planting questions. The title indicates Clinton herself admitted to the plant. Yet, the blog states that a spokesman confirms staffers set up the plant.

The blog also states that most presidental campaigns do this but so far only the Clinton camp has admitted doing so. The rest continue to lie!

Thank you for outing everyone.

[W. Gary Johnson, New York, NY]

It isn't just political campaigns that do this. The other day I was at a book signing for Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones. Before he showed up, a man stepped up to the podium and asked "is so and so here?" And "is what's-his-name" here? How about the woman in the pink hat? Is the woman in the pink hat here? When Ron Wood came on, he took exactly three questions, including one from "the woman in the pink hat".

[Rob]

This story is exaggerated with respect to what it means about Clinton per se. This type of question planting and stage managing is all part of politics. The Obabma supporters I am sure would be interested to know how stage managed his events are (answer: they are extremely managed). There is not a lot of spontaneity for any candidate. Also, since the press can not always be counted on to ask the important questions, I think a planted question about the impact of global warming is a service rather than wrongful.

Grow up.