Student given question to ask Clinton: I wasn't only one

CNN: November 13, 2007
Student given question to ask Clinton: I wasn't only one
From Chris Welch and David Schechter


Student Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff said a staffer told her what to ask at a campaign event for Sen. Hillary Clinton.

GRINNELL, Iowa (CNN) -- The college student who was told what question to ask at one of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign events says "voters have the right to know what happened" and she wasn't the only one who was planted. In an exclusive on-camera interview with CNN, Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, a 19-year-old sophomore at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, said that giving anyone specific questions to ask is "dishonest," and the whole incident has given her a negative outlook on politics.

Gallo-Chasanoff, whose story was first reported in the campus newspaper, said what happened was really pretty simple: She says a senior Clinton staffer asked if she'd like to ask the senator a question after an energy speech the Democratic presidential hopeful gave in Newton, Iowa, on November 6. "I sort of thought about it, and I said 'Yeah, can I ask how her energy plan compares to the other candidates' energy plans?'" Gallo-Chasanoff said Monday night. "'I don't think that's a good idea," the staffer said, according to Gallo-Chasanoff, "because I don't know how familiar she is with their plans." He then opened a binder to a page that, according to Gallo-Chasanoff, had about eight questions on it. "The top one was planned specifically for a college student," she added. " It said 'college student' in brackets and then the question."

Topping that sheet of paper was the following: "As a young person, I'm worried about the long-term effects of global warming. How does your plan combat climate change?" And while she said she would have rather used her own question, Gallo-Chasanoff said she generally didn't have a problem asking the campaign's because she "likes to be agreeable," adding that since she told the staffer she'd ask their pre-typed question she "didn't want to go back on (her) word."...

***

"After the event," she said, "I heard another man ... talking about the question he asked, and he said that the campaign had asked him to ask that question." The man she references prefaced his question by saying that it probably didn't have anything to do with energy, and then posed the following: "I wonder what you propose to do to create jobs for the middle-class person, such as here in Newton where we lost Maytag."...

***

Asked if this experience makes her less likely to support Clinton's presidential bid, Gallo-Chasanoff, an undecided voter, said, "I think she has a lot to offer, but I -- this experience makes me look at her campaign a little bit differently." "The question and answer sessions -- especially in Iowa -- are really important. That's where the voters get to ... have like a real genuine conversation with this politician who could be representing them."

While she acknowledged "it's possible that all campaigns do these kind of tactics," she said it still doesn't make it right. "Personally I want to know that I have someone who's honest representing me."...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/13/clinton.planted/index.html

"While she acknowledged "it's possible that all campaigns do these kind of tactics," she said it still doesn't make it right. "Personally I want to know that I have someone who's honest representing me."...

But, you'd have to find out for sure from the "other campaigns"(Democratic).

The newscasters (or shit spreaders if you will) on CNN should take a long, hard look at the puppet's practices and admit to themselves that nothing, nobody could be any worse than that!

but my posting philosophy is generally "I post, you decide." I also support another candidate, but Hillary is taking a sustained beating in the press right now (also, I think, valuable for both her supporters and her detractors to know) -- and I can't help but agree with Pat Buchanan (!) yesterday on MSNBC: the press needs a Democratic contest; they were afraid Clinton was running away with it; they need to stop her.

...that she knew that this is going on.

If she had said that sometimes in order to get a series of questions answered, there are people who will agree to ask a question.

But no...

Hillary Clinton denied that the tactic exists. This is called being caught in a bald-faced LIE. And it's nothing new to the Clintons either...

I don't differentiate because bush did it longer. we're supposed to be the other guys. she just keeps getting worse everyday. she needs to stop.

this is our primary and we don't want Anything resembling the puppet's practices, now do we?

He then opened a binder to a page that, according to Gallo-Chasanoff, had about eight questions
on it. "The top one was planned specifically for a college student," she added. " It said 'college
student' in brackets and then the question."

there's been a lot of "Gates" over the years and :wtf: were they thinking with "Plants"? Like the students or whomever wouldn't talk about it?

Better they should have gotten robots.

disgusting.....

<snip>

During the course of the late-night interview on Grinnell's campus, Gallo-Chasanoff also told CNN that the day before the school's newspaper, Scarlet and Black, printed the story, she wanted the reporter to inform the campaign out of courtesy to let them know it would be published.

She said the "head of publicity for the campaign," a man whose name she could not recall, had no factual disputes with the story. But, she added, a Clinton intern spoke to her to say the campaign requests she "not talk about" the story to any more media outlets and that if she did she should inform a staffer.

"I'm not under any real obligation to do that, and I haven't talked to anymore," Gallo-Chasanoff said, adding that she also doesn't plan to.

"If what I do is come and just be totally truthful, then that's all anyone can ask of me, and that's all I can ask of myself. So I'll feel good with what I've done. I'll feel like I've done the right thing."

this "scandal" is so silly. Campaigns frequently ask members of the audience to ask questions of the candidate ... this is asked before the candidate arrives. If nobody wants to speak up they hand out cards with questions that the campaign would like to address ... I have seen it done this election cycle and going back to 1992 when I was in college. It is a way to make sure that there is interaction with the crowd.

I really am having a hard time believing this is an issue that deserves debate since it is common knowledge that everyone does it - and has done it for years.

that this is a regular feature of all campaigns and that it's "common knowledge" that "everyone does it"?

and shilled meetings over the years and during the war

say she had "no knowledge"..if it's such "common practice"?

Something stinks.

how could she know it wasn't a junior Clinton staffer?


something smells

alright.

Why can't they just ad lib? "Fear, uncertainty, and doubt"? No confidence?

She deserves no respect for coming out AFTER she agreed to do it. I'd have more respect for her if she refused to do it and then told her story about it later, but she's just as bad for agreeing to do it to begin with.

and willing to please. All but the most jaded would have done the same thing. She a teenager. She didn't know that they cheat in politics some times. At least she understands 'realpolitik' now.

you what you don't want to hear. the news media should build this up to a crushing crecendo. she's bush lite. always has been always will be. she don't care about you, me, blacks, orientals, hispanics & whoever else, she only cares about corporations & all the tax breaks with the wealthy, and constant endless war. she is NOT a democrat.

That's a terrible thing for you to say about that young lady (Snicker).

Young Lady and not the stinkin' clinton staff.

She should be thanking Hillary's staff instead of ratting on them. After all, she's the one who agreed to do the bad deed.

someone who would congratulate those who prey on college students.

Anything to protect the queen!
The Hillary campaign sure has some loyal worker bees.

:rofl:

is that her "environment" section is all crap about global warming. Nothing comprehensive whatsoever. :(

Combatting Global Warming is the first step in improving earth's environment.

Air pollution, water pollution, public lands, and endangered species are all important too, and should be approached concurrently.

Gallo-Chasanoff said she generally didn't have a problem asking the campaign's because she "likes to be agreeable," adding that since she told the staffer she'd ask their pre-typed question she "didn't want to go back on (her) word."...


OK - so why has she decided to whine about it now?

Sheesh!!! Some people!!! :eyes:

I don't know why this story has legs, but Obama, Edwards, Biden, Dodd, and Kucinich better hope that their own staff has been especially sqeaky clean.

wants a dog fight as it is good for business and in order to have their fight they must pull HRC back to the pack.

Looks like they have succeeded.

Now they are waiting for a minor stumble (anything, anything will do) from either Obama or Edwards to go after and then they can put some legs under the next non-story.

We are a year out and the yo-yo dynamic brings them more viewers. No need to report real news when their viewing audience doesn't know the difference.

but I think he's one of the few idiots who actually took his book seriously, although MSNBC seem desperate to push his hype. That's exactly why I wish everyone would be careful not to fall for the little media kingmakers' games, because we've been through this crap before. They don't want a Democrat to win. Period.

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I said 'Yeah, can I ask how her energy plan compares to the other candidates' energy plans?'" Gallo-Chasanoff said Monday night. "'I don't think that's a good idea," the staffer said, according to Gallo-Chasanoff, "because I don't know how familiar she is with their plans."


In other words: Hillary finds it difficult enough dealing with pre-scripted questions on her own positions, so please don't ask her about the other candidates' plans.

How early was this in the campaign? Did the other candidates have clearly stated energy plans yet? Was Hillary responsible for knowing the other candidates' plans?

Instead a staffer thought it more prudent to have the student give a lead-in question to allow Hillary to discuss her position.

Is that so odd?

Have you ever campaigned? Or even gone on the road to give a series of speeches and meets? Do you really think it's unreasonable to manage them?

A campaign is a venue to air one's positions --it's a SHOW--it's not the same as a sitting President holding a rigged townhall where he is served softballs and praise.

To compare the two is ludicrous.

""As a young person, I'm worried about the long-term effects of global warming. How does your plan combat climate change?"

What a terribly slanted question! How in the world would anyone ever ask such a pro-Clinton question? Asking a candidate how their environmental plan combats climate change!

Ah, the audacity!

before the test, is usually considered cheating, even if writing out the answers does require either a really really good memory, or a teensy bit of knowledge about the subject.

Specifically addressing climate change.

If this question had been asked (or any similar one) about climate change, you think she'd have had to 'prepare' in order to answer it? couldn't have answered it? or what exactly are you saying?

That's really, really reaching..... but I'm not sure for what.

CGI = Clinton Global Initiative

It's more than just people who may support Obama. Based on what I've seen, there are supporters of Hillary Clinton who agree that she lied.

and I don't much like it myself, but I expect that it's done by everyone. I'm cynical that way.

From TPM"s Gregg Sargent:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/horsesmouth/2007/11/why_do_hillary.php

it's really not hard to explain why Camp Hillary is so aggressive with the media: The Clintons have been getting slimed by the big news orgs for over 15 years. Just look back over Campaign 2008 alone and ponder all the bogus Hillary stories we've had. Here's a partial list:

* Hillary's alleged failure to tip the Iowa waitress
* Hillary's phony southern drawl

* The supposed 20-year-plan by Hillary and Bill to take over the world, or at least deliver them both the Presidency, as alleged by Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta and denied by the one person who supposedly had first-hand knowledge of their dastardly plot

* The baseless claim that Hillary eavesdropped on political opponents in 1992

* The bogus media claim that Bill Clinton accused Hillary's Dem rivals of "swiftboating" her

* The media's hyping of Hillary's supposed refusal to release Presidential records, a tale that was taken apart in today's Washington Post and which wasn't matched by any similar media outrage about Rudy's refusal to release his Mayoral papers

And on and on. Putting aside the Hillary campaign's more routine efforts to spin the press, the real story here is that the Clintons have been swimming against the media slime-tide for far longer than any of her Dem rivals. As a result they have a more immediate grasp of the media echo chamber/Freak Show dynamic at play, which is that once bogus stories are injected into the media bloodstream there's literally nothing that can get pundits and commentators -- and even some self-described journalists -- to stop repeating it.

John Edwards and his hair know this, and Obama the flag-pin-hating Muslim is learning it, but the Clintons have been living and breathing it for years and years.

rather than how the question got asked. It's hardly news to anyone familiar with how campaigns are run that this sort of audience manipulation is common. In the sound bite era, especially with a hostile press, controlling the message often has a direct relationship to winning the election.

good thing that will come of this is that I'm guessing none of the candidates would dare to to this from this point on.

And if it IS par for the course, why haven't we heard the same story from other campaigns? (Yet, anyway :7)

Did they REALLY think they wouldn't get caught???