More...
 

David Brooks, Hillary Clinton, Matt Drudge, Rupert Murdoch
David Brooks, Hillary Clinton, Matt Drudge, Rupert Murdoch

Conservative Media Falling Out Of Love With Hillary

Politico   |  Ben Smith   |   February 15, 2008 06:00 PM

Read More: David Brooks, Hillary Clinton, Matt Drudge, Rupert Murdoch, Breaking Media News
digg Share this on Facebook Huffpost - stumble reddit del.ico.us RSS

Over the course of her six years as a New York senator and in the early days of her presidential campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton cultivated an unlikely set of allies: the conservative media.

From Rupert Murdoch to David Brooks to Matt Drudge, her campaign courted them with every instrument at its disposal, including targeted leaks and Bill Clinton's legendary personal charm.

But when Sen. Clinton's campaign started to stumble, those hard-won friends were the first to go. Murdoch's pet tabloid, the New York Post, repudiated her and endorsed Sen. Barack Obama. The Drudge Report rode her decline as gleefully as it watched her rise. And the pundit class moved from its grudging respect for Clinton into an infatuation with Obama.

The forces at work in that collapse are varied: individual decisions, relationships gone sour and Clinton's own leftward shift as the campaign grew more competitive. But as much as anything else, Clinton's courtship of the right collapsed under the weight of a force conservatives can appreciate: the market.

Comments for this post are now closed


 
Comments
11
Pending Comments
0
iPhone App Promo

Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to

View Comments:
- RGKahn I'm a Fan of RGKahn permalink

I can't believe Drudge, he wears that stupid fucking hat with a tux. I'm surprised he doesn't wear in backwards, like some adults who never matured past their pre-teenage years. He does remind me of a pre-teenager though. What with his taunts and name calling and immature behavior

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:17 AM on 02/18/2008
- GQTaste I'm a Fan of GQTaste permalink

It's funny, I never knew they were in her corner to begin with. Maybe they wanted to run agaisnt her knowing Obama would be a harder fight.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:13 PM on 02/16/2008
- brooklyncitizen I'm a Fan of brooklyncitizen permalink
photo

Murdoch held a fundraiser for Hillary's last senate race here in New York. He has significant power in lining up and backing candidates that eventually win. He's been doing that here in NYC with our mayors going back as far as his endorsement of Ed Koch.He also endorsed Tony Blair in the UK. His power is not to be underestimated and he doesn't necessarily follow his party lines as in the case of Tony Blair.

THe Obama endorsement is a surprise to me; and it makes me queasy.last year it was predicted that he was going to come out in favor of McCain or Hillary.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:33 PM on 02/17/2008
- stop7997 I'm a Fan of stop7997 permalink

Considering that Blair seems to have lost his spine on Iraq, you have to wonder just what sort of Devil's deal was struck to get Murdoch's endorsement.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:34 PM on 02/17/2008
- lungfish I'm a Fan of lungfish permalink
photo

Poor Conservative media... all they have is a mean old McMummy on their side and they are running out of talking points. Not very relevent these days after the Neocons dragged a willing GOP through a pile of shit, tanking the country and their party in the process.... yep, just not much to talk about these days...

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:37 PM on 02/16/2008
- esgabel I'm a Fan of esgabel permalink

They never were in love with Hillary--they just thought they could beat her--now they are not so sure...that is why they are turning against her. In their cynicism they thought she wasn't viable as a candidate...surprise! McCain, Huckabee and Obama all have their weeknesses-it is anyones race.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:04 PM on 02/16/2008
- Countess I'm a Fan of Countess permalink

The Clinton and their right wing foes are so similar they can't stand each other. They are both completely lacking in ethics.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:01 PM on 02/16/2008
- Groobiecat I'm a Fan of Groobiecat permalink

Let's face it: people like a winner, and can tell when the opposition is desperate. First, she steals his taglines (it's about change and it's not about me, it's about *you*), then she starts to be a sore loser (no more congratulating Barack and states that she lost "don't matter"). People start to get tired of the rhetoric and the fear mongering.

And Bill's latest barbs about "Barack not enjoying the '90s" is, um, boring, at this point, not even worthy of controversy:

"There are two competing moods in America today," Clinton said. "People who want something fresh and new -- and they find it inspiring that we might elect a president who literally was not part of any of the good things that happened or any of the bad things that were stopped before. The explicit argument of the campaign against Hillary is that 'No one who was involved in the 1990s or this decade can possibly be an effective president because they had fights. We're not going to have any of those anymore.' Well, if you believe that, I got some land I wanna sell you."

What the--? And the other "competing mood" is... Dr. Clinton, your prescription needs to be, um, upped. His point, if one can call it that, isn't even true--even though it is some tortured prose. Barack has actually stated that he'd welcome people like Rubin and Reich--they were from Clinton's administration, right?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:16 AM on 02/16/2008
Comments are closed for this entry

You must be logged in to reply to this comment. Log in  or  Connect