Prior to her "tear" question, which Mika Brzezinski asked only minutes before on MSNBC, CNN’s Kiran Chetry did direct one tough question to Hillary Clinton on Monday's "American Morning," concerning the Boston Globe’s endorsement of Barack Obama and the paper’s criticism of her campaign. "'The Boston Globe' endorsed Senator Obama, saying about you, in fact, 'her approach is needlessly defensive, a backward glance at the bruising political battles of the 1990s.' Is 'The Globe's' statement fair?"

Hillary tailored her response to make it about the debate over the economy.

CLINTON: Well, I really don't know what they're talking about. You know, the battles of the 1990s produced the best economy in decades. It took on a lot of tough issues, ending up with a balanced budget and a surplus, reforms, welfare. You know, it made a lot of positive change. Actually, here in Iowa, the typical Iowa family had an increase of $7,000 in their income during the 90s. Now, the average American family is down $1,000. You know, some fights are worth taking on, and you know, when everybody talks about change, like we do in the campaign on the Democratic side, you know, some people think you bring change by demanding it, and some people think you bring change by hoping for it. I think you bring change by working hard, and sometimes that means finding common ground, and sometimes that means standing your ground. And I feel very, you know, very good about how people are looking at my campaign, because they know that we need a president, day one, to start making these changes.

In the full context of their endorsement of Obama, the Globe had complemented Clinton for her "diligent, serious campaign" and noted that "her command of the issues is deep and reassuring." The Globe then continued with the "political battles" line. "But her approach is needlessly defensive, a backward glance at the bruising political battles of the 1990s. Obama's candidacy looks forward."

—Matthew Balan is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.