I watched Hillary Clinton at her press conference today thinking she did a pretty good job; and then watched Howard Fineman give his opinion on her response to Kristen Welker’s question to Ms. Clinton regarding the blow up about what Clinton said to Chris Wallace last Sunday.
Yep, that’s what we are reduced to a circuitous meandering of what she said 5 days ago being picked apart and rehashed and then represented to Clinton for “clarification” only to have that response picked apart again so it can be rehashed ……
rewind, spin, and….
No wonder people hate politics, politicians and journalists.
It never ends.
To me, this is another sign of the sexist coverage HRC gets. Do they cover the good stuff she says? No. Does anyone focus on the process answer she gives to immigration reform? Hardly. She has plans. Does anyone analyze her plans? Few. Does Trump ever offer anything resembling a plan? No. He sticks to his divisive, xenophobic fear speech and the media eats it up.
Anyway, no one (well, ok, few) went for the good stuff in the Clinton presser. As usual, they went for what they could find to make hey. That said, MSNBC did post this article about the presser and I’ll include a few points from it below.
On Immigration:
Clinton said a win by her in November would send a clear message to Republicans "that it is time for them to quit standing in the way of immigration reform.""There's nothing like winning to change minds," she said.
"I see the political landscape as increasingly favorable to making this happen," Clinton said in response to a question from Telemundo's Lori Montenegro, one of two journalists who opened the questions from the rest of the audience.
Clinton urged people to vote not only for president, but also for House and Senate candidates, making clear that minority turnout would make it far easier for her to deliver on immigration and other issues.
Clinton, who has promised to propose an immigration bill within its first 100 days, said she had already spoken to former Senate colleagues who she said had assured her "this will be fast tracked."
No, no one talked about that answer much. What about her answer about civil rights and how it intersects economic opportunity? Nope.
Discussing the profound loss of wealth by blacks (50 percent drop) and Latinos (66 percent), Clinton called raising economic conditions for the groups, "part of the long continuing struggle for civil rights."
She said she would take up a plan pushed by Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., that calls for 10 percent of rural development investments to be made in places where at least 20 percent of the population has lived in poverty for 30 years are more. This is a proposal Clyburn had floated as part of the legislation to recover from the Great Recession but was not included in recovery legislation
Citing the high unemployment rates among black and Latino youths, she reiterated her campaign platform of investing $20 billion to create jobs for young people, pledged to help black and Latino enterprises get access to capital.
"We need to build an economy and future every American can be proud of," she said.
How about xenophobia?
When asked whether her opponent Donald Trump is appealing to racists, Clinton said that "we have to acknowledge" that there is a racist and xenophobic appeal in his message.
But she added, "let's not lose sight of the real pain that many Americans are feeling because the economy has left them behind."
So here’s where the shitstorm started last weekend — about 3 minutes with Chris Wallace:
Here’s a video of her chance to “clarify” what she said to Chris Wallace:
...and Howard Fineman has a problem with that response….to quote Winnie the Pooh, “Oh, bother.”
I have a bone to pick with Howard Fineman. I want to ask him what answer could she possibly craft to questions about her email that would satisfy everyone at once? There is none. She’s sorry she did it. She’ll never do it again. Comey did say in his opinion she did NOT lie to the FBI. And, when you wade through the whole long answer about what was and wasn’t classified at the time it was sent leaves you firmly in a gray area. Then, take the time to find out who has the juice to declassify something without going through a committee and you find out the SOS makes that list (which is one of the reasons Dick Cheney never ran into serious consequences for outing Valerie Plame, (he was on the list when W was in charge). This leaves me asking, “When did this country as a whole, come to the conclusion that making a statement in good faith that turns out to be wrong is a lie?” One more thing, Mr. Fineman, if you bewail (along with every other complaining reporter) the fact that HRC doesn’t do press conferences; may I suggest you have no one to blame but yourselves. I’m with Bernie on this, I too, am sick of hearing about Hillary’s emails. Chances are very good it will be another 200+ days before she gives you another chance to screw her over again.
Oh, I almost forgot
Earlier in the presser, Kevin Merida, the Editor-in-Chief ofThe Undefeated, (ESPN site that focuses on the intersection between race and sports) reporter asked Clinton “What is the most meaningful conversation you’ve had with an African American friend?”
So, you would think HRC would be ready for a question like this, but, no. She calls her friends her “crew” and people are flipping out over it. Sigh. I bet she wishes show could take that one back.
Now, I would find this question hard to answer because I wouldn’t know where to start. And to be honest, I took the bait, too. I went through in my mind all the mileposts from where I started living in white privileged America completely clueless of my racism to where I am today — much less racist, but still able to be racially tone deaf. By that, I can honestly say (and so can HRC) I have spoken and interacted with people of color almost every day if not every day for the last 30 years (in HRC’s case, 40 years).
So, the best answer to Kevin Merida should have sounded like,
“Gosh, I don’t know where to start. I work with people from all sorts of backgrounds, races, religions, ethnicity and sexual identifications; so, I’m not sure how to approach your question. We talk about national policy, personal choices, family. We talk about loves, pet peeves, music and of course, food. We talk about our problems both professional and they trust me with their personal issues….We share good things, too. How can I say what is the most meaningful when I have so many conversations to run through in my mind in 2 seconds? I know more about walking in other people’s shoes today, than I did when I started out in 1979. By it’s very nature, a “most meaningful conversation” would betray a confidence if I shared it here today, with you. Here’s what I can say, I blessed by the number of people who trust me with their confidences.”
HOLD UP!
Reality bites.
If she said that, Howard Fineman would have bitched that it was too scripted an answer.
Maybe she could have said:
“There have been so many meaningful conversations over the last 40 years and with 2 seconds to choose; I don’t know which one to pick. I can say that I have had many deep conversations with life experiences very different from mine and I’m grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to learn from people willing to help me over the years. Which is the most “meaningful”? That’s hard to say. What I can tell you is that I’ve been blessed with the people who work with me and for me. They’ve taught me well and I’m willing to share that insight with anyone willing to learn.”
Welp, that would be scripted, too.
Oh, since I’ve had hours to think about this, these are scripted answers.
Yes, she didn’t see that one coming, so you got it raw; and people are calling her, to borrow a phrase from Donald Trump, “whatever”— except is wasn’t “whatever”. Save for the poor phrase of “crew of friends”, and despite taking the bait and using the wrong word; she gave a decent answer. ...with all of 2 seconds to consider what to do with it. (OK, I’m white, but please, tell me when did “crew” become the n word? Cuz, I think ,somehow, the way she said it; it reflects a long standing relationship, among others, with Karen Finney and Brenda Brazile.)
I’m with her. I have some empathy with HRC on that question. Based upon my learning experiences over the last 30 years or so; I wouldn’t have known what to do with it. That said, HRC is running for president; so, no one in the media is going to give her any mercy on this “gaff” (a much lesser gaff than those concerning “rapist Mexicans, or insulting gold star families). Aside from “crew”, which could have been some weird homage that missed in a spectacular fashion; it’s an ok (but not great) answer.
Anyway, this former Berner is with her.