Hillary Clinton Takes Victory, Message To Morning Shows
Senator Hillary Clinton has had her share of infamous antagonists in the media - Chris Matthews comes immediately to mind, as does Tucker Carlson, who beat the absurd "gender card" drum like a vaguely misogynist Gene Krupa. But there is little doubt that the morning shows, across the broadcast spectrum, are rock-solid Clinton country. When Clinton has changing the game in mind, she turns it out in the pre-lunch hour, and, demonstrates again and again that she is the big "get" in morning news, putting an easy hammerlock on coverage. As she's done many times before, Clinton got booked on all six morning shows, effectively keeping up the post-Pennsylvania enthusiasm.
Good Morning America proved a fitting venue for expressing her celebration and swiftly dispensing with talking points. Big party, big donations, Florida, Michigan, and a fresh case for superdelegates: this was the story, dispensed swiftly and simply.
[WATCH.]
CLINTON: We had a great time last night with so many supporters who worked so hard for this victory, it's really theirs. We were outspent. It was a tough campaign. People really came through and gave me a vote of confidence to make sure that I could keep going. And sinCE we won, we've been flooded with donations, more than $3 million, people are flocking to HillaryClinton.com because they want to show their support...SAWYER: We know if you exclude Florida and Michigan, they are excluded right now. In the popular vote, Senator Obama is ahead some 500,000 votes, in the pledge delegates ahead 151. This morning, you say, whoever wins the popular vote should be the nominee of the Democratic party?
CLINTON: Well, I think that's one of the most important factors that people have to take into account. But, of course, the votes in Michigan and Florida were official. They are certified by the secretary of state. it's just that the Democratic Party can't figure out what to do with all those votes and try to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida. If you include Florida and Michigan, then the popular vote is very close. In fact I actually have more votes from people who actually voted for me. These are some of the factors that people have to take into account as they try to make their decision going forward.
SAWYER: If they do not seat those votes. If they are not to be counted. even some of your supporters say they are not spending the wrong signal. If the popular vote is overturned by these superdelegates, do you agree that that sends the wrong signal to the voters?
CLINTON: No, not at all. some votes that have been taken over the course of the last four months have resulted in delegates being selected. But we have a process in the Democratic party. And the so-called automatic delegates are the ones who have been entrusted with the responsibility with trying to exercise independent judgment which indeed they will do. I have no way of predicting what they'll decide. I think last night's win will give a lot of fresh information to our superdelegates. After all, the road to Pennsylvania Avenue does lead through Pennsylvania.
[WATCH.]
On Morning Joe Clinton brushed off the "fear and loathing" of the recent New York Times piece describing her "low-road" campaign methodology. Scarborough, who comically introduced himself as her "flack" more or less did just that - chiefly advancing the "Obama-overspent-in-Pennsylvania" meme. Andrea Mitchell, introduced with, "Unfortunately, we have a journalist here," inquired about her shift in Iran policy.
MITCHELL: Senator, one of the things that was noticeable yesterday was that back in October, October 30th, in Philadelphia as a matter of fact, when you were asked about Iran, you said well, let's take diplomacy and you don't want to, you know, answer hypotheticals about what would happen if Iran had a nuclear weapon. Yesterday morning, you said we would obliterate Iran. Very tough language. Has something changed? Has your approach changed?CLINTON: Well, Andrea, the facts on the ground have changed. You know, I have made very clear that I will immediately engage in diplomacy on behalf of our relations with Iran to see whether there are anyways that we can work with Iran and, obviously, it will be the highest priority of mine as president to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons. If you remember, I was asked this question in the debate last Wednesday about what we would do if Iran launched a nuclear attack against Israel. Since October, Iran is stronger. Clearly, they continue to try to throw their weight around in the world. There's no doubt that they will pursue, if they can, figure out how to obtain a nuclear weapon. and I think we need to practice what worked in the Cold War, namely, deterrence and for that, you've got to be very clear, because there's been a number of commentators, who have speculated that maybe Iran is not deterrable, that if it gets nuclear weapons, they might have some kind of, you know, martyrdom complex that would actually encourage them to use them against Israel or others. And I think they have to know from the very beginning this that would be a grave, grave error.
On American Morning, Clinton described the Obama campaign as trying to "rush" people into voting. Asked about the New York Times article, she noted that her race with Obama was "by and large one of the more positive, civil elections I have ever seen." She also responded to questions about her use of so-called "fear" tactics in a recent advertisement that employed an image of Osama bin Laden. Clinton parried the concern by rightly emphasizing a need to shift the national security focus from Iraq to Afghanistan. Left unasked, however, is the fact that Clinton has left herself no option to criticize the GOP and McCain for launching similar "fear-minded" attacks in the fall, which they almost surely will.
[WATCH.]
ROBERTS: Senator, critics have said in that advertisement you employed almost identical tactics to those that President George Bush used in 2004 and it isn't very democratic of you to do it.CLINTON: All I can say is the next president is going to face some very tough decisions and to pretend otherwise or to act as those terrorism or a natural disaster like Katrina is just out of bounds I think doesn't reflect what is actually going to face our nominee in the fall when he or she is up against Senator McCain and the next President of the United States, and that ad didn't mention my opponent's name. It was about my leadership. It was about my experience. It was about what presidents have to contend with. I think I know something about that having been in the White House for eight years, and I believe that voters know something about that, and they're going to look at us and they're going to evaluate who they want making those tough decisions going forward.
ROBERTS: But it wasn't just Hurricane Katrina, it was Pearl Harbor and it was the first time a democratic candidate have used an image of Osama bin Laden in an advertisement in this primary season.
CLINTON: Maybe it's because I'm a Senator from New York, but I consider him a person who we must take out. I'm the one who has been advocating that we end the war in Iraq and win the war in Afghanistan. he's at large. He continues to taunt us through his audios and his videos. Is it in the opinion of those who raise questions off limits for a Democrat to take a strong stand against terrorism, to take a strong stand against the man who masterminded the attack against our country causing such death and destruction? Well, I think that's not being very far-sighted because clearly we know what the campaign the Republicans will run. I'm ready to go toe to toe with John McCain on national security taking on terrorism and Osama bin Laden, and I believe that I will be able to make a very convincing case.
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April 23, 2008 11:41 AM