Bozell Column: Honoring Hillary for Media Manipulation

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The other day, CNN’s "Reliable Sources" show sought to explore Hillary’s Sunday morning interview blitz of September 23. Why do the media pine for her so? Michelle Cottle of the New Republic gave the typical liberal answer: "She's a celebrity. She and Bill have passed some point where they're no longer just politicians. They're rock stars."

There is absolutely no doubt that liberals really do think of the Clintons in rock-star terms, and the "objective" media have not merely treated them that way with a long-running assembly line of dazzled profiles and shoe-polishing interviews. Their royal treatment of the Clintons sends a signal to the rest of the political world: you cannot hope to contain these deeply impressive world leaders.

National Public Radio threw a temper tantrum and refused to air an interview with the President of the United States because the president sat down with NPR’s Juan Williams instead of another NPR-approved interviewer. But Hillary is allowed to be as choosy as she wants to be. On CNN, Washington Post reporter Anne Kornblut explained that Hillary always "picks her targets" in the media in a very calculating way. "When she decided to talk to the Washington Post, she picked columnists that she wanted to speak to, and...hasn't done interviews with the beat reporters, for example. And this is not just true of the Washington Post. It's true everywhere. And it's worked to her benefit so far, but it's a very specific strategy."

Her choosy strategy has worked to her benefit because the media <ital>want<ital> it to work to her benefit. It’s like her cozy book tour for her ridiculous history-mangling memoir in 2003. At that time, NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell sang from that same Anne Kornblut song sheet, frankly recounting that Hillary was smart to avoid lowering herself to tough interviews with Tim Russert. "This is a way of her getting out her version, so that people, book buyers, people who read it, people who will read about it will hear it more in her voice, and that is politically very advantageous."

In this last Sunday round, the hosts did ask a few questions that Hillary wouldn’t like. Fox’s Chris Wallace pressed her on her right-wing-trashing "hyper-partisan view of politics." Tim Russert, among others, pressed about her Norman Hsu campaign-finance scandal. Some asked about her refusal to condemn MoveOn.org as it branded generals as traitors in newspaper ads. But who recalls Hillary’s answers? The media’s echo chamber didn’t exactly register her calculated responses as memorable, especially on scandals. Instead, they covered the fact that she mounted the merry-go-round as more relevant than what she actually said. The headlines in the papers referred to her media blitz, not her answers.

Fluff and spin are all that matters.

AP’s Hope Yen wrote Hillary "sought to portray herself as a more humble, wiser leader who has learned from her mistakes and who would work to shed her image as a polarizing figure who would mire Washington in gridlock." CBS’s Joie Chen oozed: "Perched in a catbird seat at her suburban New York home, Hillary Clinton made a rare royal flush of appearances on all five Sunday talk shows....Sounding more than ever like a Democrat holding all the good cards."

In the New York Times, political writer Adam Nagourney graded the TV rounds highly. "That is the campaign equivalent of a home run." He also noted the front-runner did the interviews from her house on her terms and "sought to wring another day of what has been mostly positive coverage from the [health] plan she announced last Monday."

So Hillary is being given great credit for her skill in controlling the media – by the media. Isn’t that just a bit scary?

"Saturday Night Live" is doing skits with Amy Poehler’s Hillary announcing the seating arrangements at her inaugurations in 2009 and 2013. It is small wonder Hillary looks like a juggernaut when we have a media that are constantly telling us her campaign’s a juggernaut, a juggernaut driven by two "rock stars." No one should deny that if our political press decided to drop the syrup bottle and press the Clintons on their scandals, or their politics of personal destruction, or their leftist policy prescriptions, they would look like a lot less impressive – and a lot less inevitable.


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Rock stars? Excuse me

Rock stars?

Excuse me while I go bring up my lunch. 

Get Email updates from Fred http://socialnet.imwithfred.com/email_alert_july_26.html

Clintons have done WHAT exactly?

It is a scary thing when people can aspire to and become POTUS with absolutely ZERO experience. What a load of crap. What has Hillary done? Hell, what has BIL done to be considered a 'Rock Star'? This makes me want to puke. Oh excuse me. I mean it makes me want to engage in an involuntary personal protein spill. Lousy phoney liberals. Shame on some Americans for actually voting for these empty suits. America had better wake up, and FAST. This 'Rock Star' image BS is exactly what will bring our country down. IMAGE IS (SHOULD BE) NOTHING! What happened to SUBSTANCE? This frustrates me to no end. I see all these cutesie anti Republican bumper stickers, but do they actually have a soluion for ANYTHING? Seriously. I am tired of the do nothing congress getting a pass. The liberal politicians waste tax payer time going after a comentator who happens to have the largest audience in America (Must be doing something right) WITHOUT taxpayer dollars funding it, or any other outside source with deep pockets *Caugh every other liberal outlet that's failed caugh*. Hey Democrats, and especially you CLINTON. What plans do you have for keeping this country safe? What plans do you have for protecting SS for the people whole built this country you shit on every day? Huh? GIVE ME A SOLUTION THAT DOESN"T FIT ON A BUMPER STICKER!

The American Revolution Continued

What has Hillary done?

Sen Clinton: Media Matters founder

JDW

CFR: Chung, Riady, Hsia, Trie, Huang, Hsu, Paw... Who's looking?

 

Hillary has no plan because

Hillary has no plan because she does not want to become POTUS to protect us.  She wants the office to advance herself politically and personally… through whatever legal or illegal means are available to her.

Jimbo says - "There is a fine line between freedom of speech and treason"

THINK ABOUT IT...

 It's always about power with Hillary, ALWAYS. How many women would put up with Bill's philandering & cheating & womanizing? Not too many, it's a case of the end justifies the means. She believes she has a right to the Oval Office, & she puts up with Bill's crap.

Dennis Miller said "...if their marriage were any more about conveinence, there would be a Slim Jim rack & a Slurpy machine at the foot of their bed." I gotta think that is true when you look back at their public life.

 

 "Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise"  Mark Levin

Hillary has always been the

Hillary has always been the perfect description of political whore.

Period.

I WISH I HAD'NT THOUGHT OF THIS...

 If Hillary is a political whore(I think so), would that Bill a pimp? He is a gigolo of sorts, but Hillary's entire political existance is entirely built on Bill's back.

BTW, while I don't condone Bill's cheating, but I sure as hell understand why he would. All you have to do is listen to her.

 

"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise"  Mark Levin

but isn't this Anne

but isn't this Anne Kornblut or whatever suh-weet...?

i'm really respecting her journalism right now:)...

TM... ....about as sweet

TM...

....about as sweet as a crab-apple.

 

it a male thing

it a male thing BT...sorry:(

Sorry, TM, but ...

Chances are she's probably Bill's sloppy seconds ...

angel in a centerfold

angel in a centerfold then:)

I'm married, can't do much about it anyways...

She reminds me of that fish

She reminds me of that fish faced socialist, Katrina vanden Heuvel, who used to appear on FoxNews. They must've dropped her and sent her back to The Nation.

Hurricane Katrina Vanden

Hurricane Katrina Vanden Heuvel ... I don't know what happened to her ... I don't care what happened to her.  One of the MOST depress(ed)ing liberals ever on TV ...

Everytime I saw her oily

Everytime I saw her oily presence, I had the urge to slap her makeup off - figuratively speaking - of course. :)

She shows up occasionally on the Sunday Talk Shows

Her self-satisfied aura of smug superiority has got to make her the most irritating talking head ever.

She's the female version of

She's the female version of the other guy from The Nation, David Korn, who appears on H&C. Hey, Korn - blut! Is there a connection?

What's the transalation for "blut"?

I have never seen Katrina

I have never seen Katrina on Fox...

I have seen her on msnbc...all the time.

About aq month ago now, although she is not on as regular now as she used to be.

Talk about a complete communist...irrating is putting it nicely. 

I'm pretty certain she

I'm pretty certain she appeared on Fox on one of the shows, at least. I never could stomach MSNBC enough to have seen her there.

Chris... LOL. I sure

Chris...

LOL.

I sure hope you didn't think I was implying that she hasn't had her leftist face on Fox.

She most likely has...that is for sure.

I imagine it was one of my lucky days and I missed it.

Oh, imply away, BT. My poor

Oh, imply away, BT. My poor shrunken brain isn't sure about anything, anymore. :)

She always was a Chrissy

She always was a Chrissy Matthews' favorite.  However, I'll bet if Matthews told her to lean closer into the camera she would have put her fist straight through it.

One of those completely depressed and angry "liberated" feminists. NOT a Kristen Powers or even a Tammy Bruce ... Just a skinny, younger version of Helen Thomas. 

She gave me the creeps.

She gave me the creeps.

Manipulating the Press....

Manipulating the press, doesn't 100% Transfer to manipulating the American People.  

Bill C's capabilities of press control did not prevent his IMPEACHMENT.....Clinton is an Impeached ex-President.

Given the progress of the "new media" and the decline of MSM, we have yet another Year of "evolution" before the Election verifies a winner of the Media wars...Another year of Media Matters, Move On, and another testimony of General Petraus.

Progress in the Victory in Iraq, will be embraced by the American public.

Bush Lied is going to be replaced by, is being Replaced with.... Hillary Lies, Harry Lies, and Move On is going to change their name to "Hang ON" before the 2008 election is over.  

I heard just about all of

I heard just about all of this pitiful leftist tripe.

What is and was sickening is the double standard of the msm plus the rose colored glasses they purposely leave on if it is for their own agenda in the end.

The Clintons are not rock stars...they should be behind bars wearing black and white stripes.

Clintons controlling the msm and the msm acting as if the absolutely adore it (which they do as long as it is one of their own evidently)

Hillary controlling all of the Sunday shows with her creepy cackle from her home....

SNL and Maher have it right when it comes to her and her character...I never thought I would say that either.

The leftist msm are not accountable to anyone or anything...this is unfortunate...past unfortunate now, we have to fight back the only we are and can evidently, and never tire.....ever.

Thanks for the great summation Mr. Bozell, it doesn't get any better. 

Remember when

Remember when the media would marvel at the Clintons' ability to get away with tall tales in the media?

Well, yeah-uh!

It would have been better stated, "Look what we let them get away with this week."

 

   Ignorance is bliss. It's easier to repeat a mindless slogan than to do some actual research.

What does it tell you?

If Hillary is coasting along because she's avoiding any challenge, it just proves that she's afraid of the slightest challenge. Her campaign is based on protecting her from confrontation. Obviously, during the general election campaign, she'll fight to limit the debates to few and far between, and she'll try to handpick the circumstances. She'll agree to a debate where only Jim Lehrer or Russert asks questions. No chance of a Fox debate. She won't debate in front of a military audience, or in front of a business crowd. She'll only agree to a college town or closed set. She'll present it as a take it or leave it ... either she gets that format or she doesn't agree to come at all.

We already know that the media will cover her. They'll portray the GOP as the coward unless they agree to her terms.

Yes, she's that fragile. And she knows it. One challenge against her and she'll collapse like a bad souffle.

 One challenge against her

 One challenge against her and she'll collapse like a bad souffle.

KC....

Perfect! 

I love it.

ROFL..... 

"She's a celebrity. She and

"She's a celebrity. She and Bill have passed some point where they're no longer just politicians. They're rock stars."

 

So were Milli Vanilli ... and we all know how that ended up.  (also See: Hillary fake laugh and fake black-speak)

 

I'm so frakking SICK of the idiot limo-lib-left in this country reducing the Founding Fathers' hard work, blood, sweat, and tears to frakking celebrity.

I'm so frakking SICK of the

I'm so frakking SICK of the idiot limo-lib-left in this country reducing the Founding Fathers' hard work, blood, sweat, and tears to frakking celebrity.

Ditto that drill.

I am too.

Here Here BT

The left do not respect or follow principles and ideas they follow celebrity.

"Rock Stars", to the media,

"Rock Stars", to the media, only. Talk about a media-manufactured celebrity...

Maybe we should just skip

Maybe we should just skip the elections and crown HRC "Queen for Life."

<Barf>

She'll soon be demanding to be referred to as Queen of Politics

motherbelt - your answer made me think of MJ demanding that he be referred to as King of Pop or he wouldn't do an interview.

Soon we'll be hearing "Hillary Clinton Queen of Politics" and she'll be dying her skin black claiming she has a skin condition.

Rock Stars ?

Given a choice of seeing the Rolling Stones in Concert, and Hillary/Bill in Concert.....Pick One.

Most rock stars pass thru De-Tox and Therapy, give Hillary some more time, she's headed there. When she loses the "Coronation", I wanna see her concession Speech....

with Bill holding her hand....

followed by divorce papers...the marriage of convenience, will be convenient no more.   

What good is a Free Press, if it is a False Press ?   David Foote  GoE

I don't think so

Rock stars?  I don't think so.  I think of them more as used car salesman who had a hit record after they found the music and lyrics to a song that they found in an old Dodge.  They're cheap huksters who would take any opportunity to rob you blind.

Cather... ...and Bill

Cather...

...and Bill would look right at you with an open mouth slack-jawed smile on his face while he was robbing you blind too.

Is it really manipulation?

Can it really be said that Hillary is manipulating the press when it's obvious that a great many MSM-ers want her to win?  "Conspiring with the press" seems closer to the truth.

When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.