Ex-NBC Star Jane Pauley To Host Hillary In San Fran Chat; Lefties Plan Protest

January 7th, 2006 10:16 AM

At one of those "indy-media" sites the hard Left hosts (and who's leftier than San Francisco?), the socialist "peace" freaks of Code Pink plan to protest Hillary Clinton as she has a comfortable chat with former NBC "Today" and "Dateline" anchor Jane Pauley:

On Saturday January 28th Senator Hillary Clinton of New York will sit down with Jane Pauley at The Bar Association of San Francisco Special Benefit Event at the Masonic Center. While using San Francisco as a backdrop for Clinton's re-election campaign, the event is an opportunity for Bay Area Democrats to dish-out $75.00 - $300.00 to attend at 7:00pm no-host reception followed by an evening of political image makeover chit-chat with Pauley and Clinton.

To be fair, the San Francisco Bar promo insists it's a fundraiser for their foundation, and not Democrats officially. But the San Francisco Chronicle article (premised on an earlier date of Dec. 20) clearly pitches the event as a campaign show:

But rather than deliver a major policy address, Clinton will be interviewed at length "in conversation with" television journalist Jane Pauley, in an event to be broadcast by C-SPAN. It's a format that friends and political analysts said could show the former first lady in a new light. "People have heard her give speeches, but to hear her talk about personal topics will be unusual. ... (The format) shows off her warmth and sense of personality," said Martha Whetstone, a former Clinton administration official, longtime friend of the Clintons and executive director of the Bar Association of San Francisco, whose candidate forums have become major stops for Democratic presidential hopefuls -- most recently Virginia Gov. Mark Warner. "It'll be one of the hottest tickets in town, because she has a huge base here who respect and appreciate her.''

...Bill Whalen, a research fellow with the conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University, said Sen. Clinton's "very smart" choice of venue and location for what may be a signature event signals a long-term strategy for a possible 2008 presidential campaign.

It's always interesting when old NBC personnel show up in more obvious ways to promote Hillary's political career. Jane Pauley's been at it unofficially for a very long time.