The Hillary Clinton juggernaut likes to try and run over every new threat, especially the ones they can call "old news." Every new book on her life, personal and political, is dismissed as "old news" – unless the person retelling and reshaping the "old news" is Hillary. Her recounting of her life is minty-fresh. Every other book smells like a reopened casket.
Whenever – if ever – authors of Hillary books are introduced by the national media, the tone of the interviews focuses in on Hillary’s talking point: "Why should anyone care?" From the start, the message is that these books belong in the garbage can, not in the library. The books that have come out this year have provided interesting new material that should in some way shape the media’s understanding of Hillary. Yet even liberals like Carl Bernstein or the New York Times duo of Jeff Gerth and Don van Natta have seen their books presented not as "news," but as a pernicious attempt to change Hillary’s narrative.
How is it that the wife of an impeached president, the policy architect of a 1300-page left-wing health-care fiasco, and the document-shredding stonewaller of a welter of scandals can turn her controversial career and bizarre First Marriage into assets, and not liabilities? How is that Team Clinton, disgraced and disgraceful, is back for another presidential run?
Credit the national "news" media.
My colleague Tim Graham and I have spent a couple of years reviewing all of the national media’s framing and promotion of Hillary Rodham Clinton since her national debut in 1992. Their often-gushy and gooey treatment of her political life and ethical fiascoes can be summed up in one word (and one book): "Whitewash."
They are the stereotype of the aggressive watchdog, except the media elite are baring their teeth and growling and barking – at conservative critics of Hillary, while rolling over and playing the slobbery pooch for her. They have downplayed or ignored her every scandal, bizarrely suggesting to the public that they should hold her in high esteem for her honesty and integrity; a Time reporter just called her a "moral conservative." They have taken her stark black-and-white voting record that scores 95-percent or 100-percent rankings from liberal interest groups and implausibly painted it into a landscape of soft and comforting centrist pastels.
In short, they have read Hillary’s self-serving narrative, where she is Joan of Arc riding high on a horse of feminist revolution, and they have embraced it and imbibed it. Her heroic narrative of parting the waters for womanhood is also theirs. With the power of that myth, she has intimidated Republicans and Democrats alike into allowing her royal parade to the mountain top of presidential politics.
The subtitle of the book is "What the Media Won’t Tell You About Hillary Clinton, But Conservatives Will." We interviewed dozens of top conservatives from Limbaugh to Hannity to Ingraham to Gingrich, men and women who have studied the relationship between Hillary and the media for years. Their revelations provide a sturdy antidote to media favoritism and provide a viewpoint the media should have been including, not excluding in their news coverage.
So why is all the "old news" about Hillary Clinton relevant? Even conservatives seem fatigued at the idea of "refighting" the last Clinton era. But you can’t have Clinton fatigue as they present themselves grinning broadly again at the White House door. With the Clintons, the patterns they revealed in the "old news" are repeating themselves in the current news – and so will the media whitewash cycle, unless conservatives speak out.
Look no further than the donations and bundling of Hillary donor Norman Hsu, who escaped arrest warrants for 15 years. Have the media pounded away at that story? No, especially the TV news people. How many of your friends would even recognize the name? Or how to pronounce is as "shoe"?
Why do the Clintons fundraise with such careening sloppiness, so much impunity? Because the news networks can’t seem to suggest that it’s in any way a political problem for them to repeat every over-aggressive mistake they made during the 1996 re-election campaign.
If conservatives can’t muster the vigilance to be an alternative information source to gooey anchormen and Olber-men and morning show hosts, history will repeat itself in a tiresome rerun of the first frazzled Clinton presidency. All that scandalous "old news" will be repeated. The pattern of deception will be the same: from her privileged and unaccountable position of strength, Hillary will feel free to be corrupt. Why should people care about a parade of Katie Couric softball-pitch interviews? Or the bubbly trail of soapy Hillary cover stories in Time or Newsweek? Because failing to pay attention to the pattern insures it will happen again in 2008. And 2009. And 2010.















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Just in case you missed it...
November 13, 2007 - 14:15 ET by vrwc13...encore
v
Very cute!
November 13, 2007 - 14:28 ET by motherbeltVery cute!
Hillary might whitewash but she is bleeding out
November 13, 2007 - 14:17 ET by Lame CherryThe Clinton camp is bleeding out in death by a thousand blows. Their threatening shill Blitzer is evidence how desperate they are becoming as they know her campaign is loosing support now as is intended by this cartel coup.
The CNN bash is the key in all of this right now as a major thrust now will make Hillary dead in the water and no amount of bandaides are going to cover up her floundering around waiting for the sharks to finish her off.
Bill Clinton appears to have signed off to save his legacy from the coming revelations to sink Hillary along with the bosses he answers to.
If Wolf can lay one on Hillary which she flounders, this will be the story of her going down until Thanksgiving. Another strike will occur before Christmas to send her to defeat in Iowa.
Suzie Malveaux is vital to back Blitzer up..........but so are Biden, Dodd, Edwards and Obama. If they can turn the Clinton threats into an issue Hillary will go shrill.
That is the interesting bearding of the lioness in this as Hillary is ready for them this time and they are ready for her.........let the jousting begin.
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
.........let the jousting begin.
November 13, 2007 - 14:19 ET by vrwc13...popcorn anyone?
v
Sadly...
November 13, 2007 - 16:20 ET by heldmyw...I'll bet Wolfie has been warned to lay off, or expect to be reviled for the rest of his career. He's no Russert, and, if I were required to rely on his 'journalistic integrity' to save my life...
...I'd be shopping coffins.
I agree with the statement
November 13, 2007 - 17:56 ET by BruzillaI agree with the statement that there is much to Hillary's "old news" that is very relevent to today, but where I take issue is that we don't seem to be very selective in what we discuss. For example, Hannity has repeatedly been trying to make hay by tarring Hillary with Bill's sexual issues brush, and I see that as a mistake. He's asking women to make a judgement call on Hillary based on the misdeeds of her husband, and that's an area we need to avoid. I think women view Hillary's response to Bill's sexual issues as her business, and her business alone, and that it's not for others to judge her on.
I find it hard to believe that when discussing a candidate who provides such a target-rich environment of issues to challenge her on... Travelgate, the FBI files, Hillarycare, how she won't offer solutions, etc., some folks like Hannity feel compelled to try to make hay where there isn't any to be had. I'm glad to see that Edwards and Obama have finally discovered the hay field of Hillary inconsistencies and are finally starting to exploit it. Now if only Conservatives could get that smart.
Hannity's take on
November 13, 2007 - 18:13 ET by Chris NormanHannity's take on Hillary shows he's kind of unimaginative and pretty much just a blunt instrument. He has all the finesse of a train wreck...
Hillary, bimbo basher
November 13, 2007 - 22:38 ET by Tim GrahamB, please do NOT make the mistake of assuming Hillary is an innocent victim in "Bill's sexual issues." Our book lays out (in part by citing Stephanopoulos) that Hillary was always the leader of the pack in destroying the stories when "bimbo eruptions" occurred. She led the prep sessions for how they would handle the big 60 Minutes interview. She motivated the staff to fight on through the Flowers business. She has benefited in her power by his misdeeds, and so she had her greatest power in the White House when his affairs were at the top of public attention -- in 1993 and especially in 1998.
That is surely tricky ground for a Republican candidate. But it should NOT be tricky ground for those of us who aren't running for anything. She has been the lead defense lawyer in attacking these women, and the lead adviser in telling others to lie and obscure their way out of trouble.
Her treatment of Juanita
November 13, 2007 - 22:59 ET by bigtimerHer treatment of Juanita Broderick was and still is despicable...
Yet the NOW group and all their ilk, plus the msm of course remain silent.
Outrageous all of them...
These people have got away with everything so far...I feel it is coming to an end.
Brent and Tim.... Thank
November 14, 2007 - 00:21 ET by Clear thinkerBrent and Tim....
Thank you, thank you, thank you. This should be the gift that keeps on giving (the truth about the clintons).
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