Morning Shows Snipe At Clinton Over Bosnia Remarks

Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton may not have come under fire when she landed at Tuzla Air Base back in 1996, but today's morning news shows put the candidate squarely in their sights for her misleading recollections of the event.

There have been questions about the veracity of Clinton's accounting of her trip to Bosnia for some time, but the matter has only reached a full-on inflammation in recent days. The critical ingredients of the burn were the release of Clinton's schedules while she was First Lady of the United States - which got reporters sifting through pages in search of grist for a story - and Clinton's own retelling of the story in a public appearance on Saint Patrick's Day. The Washington Post's thorough "fact-check" of the trip (and their subsequent "four Pinocchios" rating) drove the story. And while it was still percolating by the time Sunday morning came, by the end of the day, video (and video parody) of the event were YouTubing their way across the internet. Since then, CBS has pulled video from their own archives, and Anderson Cooper led with the flap, and Clinton's "I misspoke" defense on last night's AC360.

Today's morning show pile-on was the next step in the gestation of the story.

THE TODAY SHOW:

MATT LAUER: I still remember winning a Little League championship singlehandedly when I was ten, probably didn't happen. But this isn't the little league. This is someone running for President. There were reporters on the trip and she's using her experience as a deciding factor. How could this happen?

CHUCK TODD: It's worse than that, Matt. there have been reporters questioning her story on this a few weeks ago. One even reached out to the comedian Sinbad, who was also on this trip to get his recollection of it and it differed the First Lady. So somebody didn't scrub that speech. It was in prepared remarks last week. Not only did she say it with certitude, but it was in her prepared text. So this was a real sort of bone-headed mistake on the campaign's part at a time when everybody is looking at everything so carefully.

LAUER: And does it make people go back and start to question everything she said?

TODD: Right. She's been talking about her role in the Irish Peace process, she's been talking about her role in children's health care. So I think all of this is going to invite some renewed scrutiny on some of her claims of experience. And it's at a time when she wants the focus to be on Barack Obama and questions about him.

THE EARLY SHOW:

HARRY SMITH: This is so interesting because her campaign comes down and says this is a misstatement. Is this Pinocchio syndrome, an exaggeration, or a misstatement of fact?

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JEFF GREENFIELD: Funny you mention that because The Washington Post which does fact checks based on how many Pinocchios a statement is worth gave this one four. And the reason really, it's the contrast between the vividness of her memory and the damning nature of the videotape. If she had said I visited the Balkans and I met with our troops, she did. Fine. No problem. But it's the nature -- it's like a fish story where the fish grows every time you tell the story. And in this case, she's so clear and vivid about what she remembers compared to the reality that it frankly reminds me of the old Groucho Marx line, who are you going to believe, me or your lyin' eyes? It's an embarrassment. We want to be careful about exaggerating this. she doesn't have to withdraw from the race because of it, it's just something she didn't need right now.

James Carville provided defense for Clinton on today's GOOD MORNING AMERICA:

DIANE SAWYER: How does somebody misspeak about sniper fire and ducking for cover?

JAMES CARVILLE: Well, first of all, it happens in campaigns. I remember that Senator McCain had an embarrassing thing in Baghdad where he said it how safe it was and circumstances were not exactly like that. You never like that to happen but they're not unusual in politics.

SAWYER: You're stopping there. I'm alway surprised when you stop.

CARVILLE: Did you want me to continue?

Whether the media will continue to ride this story through till Sunday is anyone's guess. Chances are good, however, that it will - the CBS's of the world didn't have the time to rummage through their video archive while primary contests were coming hot and heavy, but with a month to go before the Pennsylvania primary, this incident - like Obama's pastorate controversy - can swell to a sizable proportion. The fact is, Jeffrey Toobin probably unwittingly got close to the truth last night on CNN when he told Anderson Cooper: "And I think the reason we're looking at stories like this is that what we would really like to talk about are differences on the issues between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, but they're just not there." Or they're not looking for them.

Comments

[SaddieMcCall]

So is the little girl from Bosnia, like the little girl from the 3 am ad going to make an ad for Obama?

[garyv]

Note to self: After exiting plane in Tuzla . . . . . RUN SERPENTINE!!

[DFnashuaNH]

I am a Clinton supporter considering a switch to Obama after that great speech on race and show of leadership at taking on the issue. However, I am still working through it because I question Obama's electability in November, whereas I think two conventional candidates going head to head yields a Hillary win. Nevertheless, the piling on Hillary Clinton turns me off big time. Those who dislike her will run with this, but no one seems to acknowledge the obvious: Why would she lie and embellish about something that is so checkable - in fact guaranteed to be checked?? The answer is she wouldn't. You can knock her for many things, but not this one. The area she landed in might not have had sniper fire as she described, but there may have been prep work and discussion of it - they weren't exactly going to Disneyland. It was a military installation of some kind -even if it featured the anomaly of an eight year old girl. Who are we to judge what someone who works 24-7, 365 days a year remembers or doesn't remember exactly and the degree to which they remember it? Clinton is smart enough to know that lying about something this VERIFIABLE would get her into exactly the situation she found herself in my mis-speaking. It's amazing how we come up with all these 'gotchas' on every single candidate who ever runs for this office. Makes you go 'hmmm.' Onto other issues!

[Grannysue]

Oh come on, Hillary lie? Let's see she said she made a mistake and was sleep deprived. So, on three separate occassions she was sleep deprived and made a mistake. Gee what happens if she's
"sleep deprived" and that call comes at 3:00 a.m.? Oh, yea she has combat experience now from dodging those sniper bullets.
I guess I would have asked her a few follow up questions like, um you took your only child to a WAR zone where snipper bullets were flying and had to run with her to awaiting cars?? She also said that if the areas were "too dangerous for the President, they would send the First lady"? So, Bill didn't mind sending his wife and daughter into a WAR zone where they had to "dodge" bullets?
My God this woman and Bill would do anything to win her coronation. One can only pray that the voters will throw her and McCain their get out of dodge papers soon!

[wbateman]

I wonder... you think if I go back in time, I could tell my mother and father "I misspoke" about that one thing I did?

Did Bill "Misspoke" when he commented about the blue dress incident?


Hmmmmm.....

[Oregonobama]

This Carl Bernstein piece ran on CNN this morning referring to Hillary Clinton as "A congenital liar." The Bosnian whopper is part of a long history of lying.

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/26/hillary-clinton-truth-or-consequences/#more-470

I agree. The congenital liar needs to get out now.

[poppyseed]

Clinton's comments about how terrible everything was in a war zone is the opposite and mirror image to the comments of John McCain who went to the Bagdad Green Zone last year and said how wonderful everything was.

McCain and Clinton need some new glasses and a vision check. Whatever the world is that they see (McCain's is too rosy, and Clinton's too full of the hail of bullets) it's not the real world.

[worldpeaceispossible]

Hillary: Stop now. Please. Quit. Its over. You can't get it, and now you're just hurting America.

[anythinggoes]

She is PATHETIC LIER AND HER HUSBAND PERVERT thats what we need in USA now

[cittykat2]

I agree with you Kimberly, if you were in harm's way, you would not be smiling when you related the story. It she lied about this story,knowing what the tapes would reveal, than will she be the same old Washington and lie about the 3:00 a.m. phone call when there was no phone call.

She is no better than Bush when he lied to the American people and rushed into an unjust war.

Voters, listen if you lie you steal and she is trying to steal this primary and any cost.

[jackaction]

hillary rodham clinton for president.......that is interesting
if i had the time i could fill a book with her lies and how a country finds someone so obviously corrupt credible.....
lets just stick to this BOSNIA LIE and it was a flat out lie......
you have a person in hillary that i guess is a road scholar ....a brilliant first lady ....a seasoned/savy politician and a brilliant person in general fly into BOSNIA with her daughter chelsea.........
in order to provide safety for the first lady and her group of visitors which included the press which video taped the event there was 4000 us troops present.....40 tanks...a half dozen helicopters and you had flies that were scared to get near this heavily secured area ........
first lady arrives and calmly walks through with chelsea and is welcomed by an 8 yr old little bosnian girl who reads her a poem and kisses hillary on her cheeks........
hillary is filmed calmly laughing with us troops than getting in her car and is driven off........SINBAD reports that the biggest worry was what was on THE MENU for the day.......SINBAD was along and reports that the biggest worry was what was on the menu for the day and the real report is that mrs.clinton is a phony,a fraud,corrupt,a liar,and has no crediblity NONE

[Rose52]

This was an outright lie. How can you remember in such vivid detail something that didn't happen? .

[TRocks]

While her obvious lie is suppose to make the headlines today Wolf Blitzer chose to discuss what Hillary Clinton said about what Barack Obama said about what Reverend Wright preeched in his church. My head is spinning trying to follow their distraction.
I don't know if I am going to survive watching supposedly liberal networks pulling Kansas City Shuffle on all of us. Remember when everybody loved the idea of Barack Obama being the Black sidekick for Clinton's? But suddenly establishment realised that he has a chance to actually win which is a terrible threat primarily because he has done it without the big bucks flowing from certain groups in this country.
At the end who would be scraier than a Bush Administration is an independent-minded president who can think for himself and work for people, right?

[DASM]

"Morning shows snipe at Clinton..." and continue to ignore the chaos in Iraq.

[KimberlyKay]

Senator Clinton should not have lied about being under fire. This is an insult to every American (living or dead) who has been under fire for this Country. I don't believe it was an accident -- who forgets whether they were actually in danger of being shot to death? Who knows what impact it will have in the end, but Senator Clinton really should apologize to the men and women of this Country who have actually had to run to avoid sniper fire and unfortunately, right now in this Country we have a great many people who can accurately state that they did indeed survive firefights -- even more unfortunately we have at least 4000 people who didn't in Iraq.

[Rose52]

So true. Her lie would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

[loki]

She did not do this by accident. I think both her and Bill actually think all of the American public is stupid. Which is a valid and defend able assumption. Bush was elected for 2 terms and enough will support John McWar to make him a viable candidate. I dont think they need much more proof than that.

[ChangeNow]

I ran accross the tarmac, under sniper fire, to the waiting vehicles.........Woops, I mis-spoke....I meant to say that I walked over and got a kiss from an eight year old girl.

I guess thats an easy mistake to make.

[Kailua]

Indeed! A would-be COMMANDER IN CHIEF doesn't know what taking fire is? If you're being shot at and running through a war zone, you don't forget or misremember that.

What line won't she cross?

[kennedy]

When were you first lady?

[JudgeCrater]

Heck, I'm King of the World, give me all your money! What? You found out I'm not King of the World? That's OK, just give me half of all your money. You'll obviously be fine with that.

[krifos]

Dear Sen. Clinton,
You fought a tough fight because you love this country and we all respect you, President Clinton, and Chelsea for it. Now show your love by stepping back and prevent the Republicans from winning this November. The health care plan that Senator Obama proposes may not, in your opinion, be as good as your's but at least it will insure everyone who desires it, and isn't that worth your sacrifice? I am just worried if you keep this up it can cost us the election and you wouldn't want that would you. Please do it for all those people you met along the way who have to work double shifts to be able to insure their families. Let them work a single shift and be able to spend more time with their children especially the single Mom's you hold so dear to your heart. Let's not forget the war. Why hang on by less than a thread and allow McCain to prolong the war. Think of all the lives you would be saving with this selfless action. Please Senator, that's what you spent those 35 years of hard work for...................isn't it?