What Can You Ask Chelsea Clinton? Rachel Sklar on MSNBC's "Verdict" With Dan Abrams

HuffPost media editor Rachel Sklar joins Dan Abrams on his show, "Verdict," to discuss Chelsea Clinton on the campaign trail and whether she's fair game for the press — including talk of the Lewinsky scandal. Also joining were Bill Press, Stephanie Miller and Evan Strange, the college student who originally asked the younger Clinton about Lewinsky. It gets sort of spicy! Watch below:

Related:
Chelsea Clinton Has Quick Response For Lewinsky Question [HuffPost]
"Pimped Out" Resurfaces On MSNBC [HuffPost]

Comments

[shelobo]

WAIT !! Bill was doing Monica while he was on DUTY,working for US 'American citizens! What ever happens on OUR time while on OUR property IS OUR BUSINESS!! Sorry as Chelsas daddy said, politics are like a sport ,if you can't play the sport and take the hits,get off the field and don't play the game.As long as she is playing the game with her parents she IS fair game .....Chelsa HAS TO TAKE THE HITS just like everyone else or get off the field and out of the sport !!

[SKayum]

Dan Abrams still doesn't seem to get it. And I wish someone would have pointed out to the kid, who sees himself as a representative of youth voters, that the idea that dealing with a spouse's adultery somehow qualifies you to be president is just as wrong as the idea that it should somehow disqualify you. It's a non-issue, or at least it should be. And the fact the this "representative" of youth voters sees this as important brings into question the affect of young voters, who are, after all, at the center of what has been described as the "dumbing down" of America.

[dsmyre]

Am I the only one who thinks Chelsea acts a little slow? She's nearly 30 years old! How much longer is she planning to follow mommie and daddy around? I think they promised her a White House wedding and she's put her life on hold until it happens. Poor thing.

[GravitonX]

Chelsea is probably hoping SNL will defend her victim status right about now.

[GravitonX]

"None of your beeswax" Chelsea is the spitting image of her mother. Lovely.

[nice2blucky]

I once made the mistake of considering Bill O'Reilly objective because the first time I saw him, which was not near election season, he corrected and chided the Republican on the panel for misrepresenting what the Democrat had said and then arguing against that misrepresentation.

It is one of the great shames in my lifetime.

So, Dan Abrams had Democrats, progressives, and liberals discussing an issue involving a Democrat. That's nice.

Unfortunately, this is likely a sign of the times, rather than some journalistic conscience. However, only time will tell.

We'll see how far backwards he bends when the primaries end.

[Beowoof]

It's shameful that o'reilly will never appreciate the part of us that so look for that bending.....in political discourse that is.

[nice2blucky]

One of Dan Abrahams main points was about Chelsea not taking questions from reporters. Why is he so surprised, and seemingly offended?

Has the "traditional press" shown themselves more capable than "interested" Americans? Hell no!

The media have shown themselves in many instances to be lazy, incompetent, and worse, bias with an agenda.

So, instead of controlling the story by their "framing" of questions, selectively choosing what they write about, and slapping a BS headline on it, they can only selectively choose what they write about and slap a BS headline.

It comes as no surprise that a reporter doesn't see the brilliance of that decision -- to only field questions from the public. It's a win win. Not only is Chelsea spared from paparazzi journalism, the impression it gives is that Hillary cares for what real people think.

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Second, that guy talking about what kids his age think. He mentioned it twice, as if it was a talking point. Nobody talks like that.

And, more people are wondering if Hillary will overcompensate, in terms of being "strong enough," and she'll make unwise or poor decisions as a result, which is, I guess, a question of strength. However I doubt if that was what he and his friends were talking and thinking about.

He was likely trying to get attention and it worked. That was clearly a question that should be asked to Hillary, not Chelsea.

[ME08]

The media have played gotcha politics with the Clintons for years...Hillary, Bill and now Chelsea have no reason to appease or ass kiss the media like McCain and Obama have tried to do...the media, since they are denied access to the Clintons, feel that it is acceptable to play petulant and attack for the fact that they aren't treated with kid gloves. It is odd how the Bush Administration, as contemptuous of the media as the Clintons, were treated with such deference and a degree of acquiescence...the answer of course is access...if Hillary became President, you can be assured the detestably biased lies and misogynistic reporting that is du jour among the Washington press corps and bloggers would disappear in an attempt to gain access...I am sure it would be deservedly denied.

[nice2blucky]

Both Hillary and Obama have been the media darlings for over a year. Now that Edwards and Kucinich are out, they have turned more or less on both, depending upon who's on top.

However, Hillary is the queen of pandering. How many times has Hillary Clinton allowed FOX News to interview her during this election season?

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Also, if the news anchor reported it correctly, which I am skeptical about, but if the question posed to Chelsea was whether Hillary's credibility was hurt by the Lewinski scandal, that is an interesting question. Chelsea's answer, that this was none of his business, ... again, if the question was about whether her credibility was damaged, ... Chelsea's answer doesn't make any sense.

Chelsea should have said that her mother handled it beautifully... that her father, who has many great qualities, made a mistake, which he privately recognized and dealt with, with her mother, and she was strong and stood by him. No shame in that... not for her.

[shelobo]

Have to disagree with you,Chelsa has decided to play the sport as her daddy called politics ,so she HAS to take the hits ,like her daddy says or get off the field and out of the game if she can't handle the game.Sorry but Chelsa IS a GROWN woman NOW ,and her daddy was working on OUR time when he played hanky spanky with monica,so it IS the publics business..­.......not to mention once the Bosina 'story' became publi ,I had alreay decided Bill and Hillary were bad parents,what kinda of parent sends their CHILD into a WAR ZONE,to dodge sniper fire ???Awwwww come on support Hillary but don't support her outright LIES !!!It's soooooooo UN-AMERICAN ....

[Ajita]

Q.6 Who comes next in the sequence below?

George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George Dubya Bush, Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush '16, _________ '24?

Plutocracy kicks ass, wooohoooo

[LeoMarvin]

Hey Dan, if you can't have a sense of humor, at least grow a pair of balls. Stephanie Miller was making an innocent joke about something so public by now, it has no shock value or potential to offend. So quit whining and kissing up in a pathetic attempt to save your job, which nobody's trying to take away. And the next time you pee, try standing up.

[Marshall Lucky]

What ticks me off is the fact that two incredibly hot babes like Stephanie Miller and Rachel Sklar are on the same show and all we get in a bunch of whining from a gelding like Dan Abrams. What a weenie!

[rosal]

I feel sorry for her, Her parents should be ashamed of placing her in that position. They should not get her involved in the mud of their campaign. Dysfunctional families in the White House are a drag in the country.

[Ajita]

Yes, I would have to be "dragged" to go campaign to be the only person in American history to have two president parents. Are you kidding? Political power, as the Clintons know very well, is the kind that stays with you for a long time. Bill's coffers tell the tale.
Plus, I dont have any scruples left for them any more. Screw the Clintons...dig a hole and shove em all in.

[LeeScho]

it always pays to hear the source first-hand. When I first saw the story, I did not hear the question. So I was ticked off that someone would ask Chelsea how she felt about her father's infidelity with Lewinsky.

But that is not what was asked. No. A Clinton supporter asked Chelsea to explain her mother's claim of strength in light of this personal but public humiliation. It was a supporter giving a Hillary surrogate an opportunity to demonstrate personal fortitude and fidelity, to resist the cloak of victimhood, and state, "That was not a test for my mother, it was a test for my father. She was just the proctor."

Or she might have responded, "An issue that personal is not something I can answer for you even all these years later. At any rate, it should not be a part of this campaign, so I respectfully decline to answer." I cannot swear to you that I, at twenty-eight, would have had the maturity to respond in either of those manners. So why don't we just give Chelsea and the questioner a break here.

I am an Obama supporter.

[BillForObama]

I made an error in that previous post. Although, it could stand as written. Let's hope that we get the answer that we expect.

Hopefully, when asked, Hilary WON'T FAIL TO ANSWER.

[BillForObama]

I believe any surrogate (as well as principal) can and should refuse to answer certain kinds of questions. I believe Chelsea was in her right to refuse.

This is not to say that kind of question should not be asked. Although, it hasn't been asked before, believe me that it will. That question should be answered by Hilary. When Hilary is asked, I EXPECT THAT HILARY SHOULD NOT DEFLECT THIS QUESTION. She can answer it however she feels is necessary, keeping in mind that the ANSWER SHOULD SATISFY the person who asked the question, as well, as her audience, the voters of America.

I understand that the gentleman had as a motive for Chelsea to say something very positive about her mother. It wasn't meant to be insulting.

Hopefully, when answered, Hilary WON'T FAIL TO ANSWER.

[kbrown]

Hillary has addressed this Lewinsky issue a million times. She's written about it, she's talked about it. What does every one want from her? Even if the debates, she addressed this as one of most challenging times. Even on the Tyra Banks interview, she talked about it and responded to how she deals with women who talk to her about their husbands cheating on them. Why can't everyone just move on.

[Denni]

Clinton brings it up be garner sympathy but some poor kid asks about it and he's smacked around more than Bill Clinton was. Geez!

[WaveFunction]

I agree that the Clintons have worked every angle of the Lewinsky scandal, and that largely Hillary's political career was made possible by the paradoxical effect of that scandal. But the questions about Lewinsky ought to be directed at the parents and not Chelsea.

It had to have been an extremely tough period for Chelsea. It can be emotionally devastating for a child to have one of your parents serially cheat on the other parent , even(especially?) if they are the President and First Lady of the United States. At the time Chelsea was much younger than she is now, and it must have called up some pretty raw emotions to have that question asked. I think it was a major d-bag move for this Evan Strange character to ask her about Lewinsky.

[OnceProudAmerican]

I for one can't understand why this person could stoop so low and ask such a question. This is more proof that some people will sell out for their '15 Minutes of Fame'. This would have been unthinkable 10 years ago. My parents always said there are certain questions you don't ask someone if you were raised properly. This was such a question.

Also if we are going to hold Chelsea responsible for her fathers sins , then are we not resposible for he wrongs of our parents? Jesus once said "Get the log out of your eye before you worry about the chip in your brothers"

I know that politics by nature can be a dirty buissness but one does not have to reach even lower. If we continue on this course where do we stop?

I for one thought Chelsea used great resraint and class under pressure. As for Monica being used , I was always told "It takes two to screw" and "If you bait a trap with that, Your bound to catch a man"

[mamamay]

These are young adults who support Hillary and they want answers too. Chelsea is not a child. She should be graceful on the stump too. She could have said Thanks to the young man... Thanks for your concern, She is doing just fine. Next Question?...This way and just moved on. It appears that there is too much anger in this camp and folks need to stop cherry picking questions to answer and then being rude. This says something about being respectful> About Being a gracious host . This says something about being prepared. and preparing others. We must learn how to get along before we can unite folks. Chelsea needs to saddle up and take it on behalf of her parents or choose not to go on a stump like this . This is what politics is about.