Hillary’s “Rapid Response” To Cheapness

Can this:

It used to be that when a campaign had an argument with a news report, it put out a mass e-mail message disputing the offending item. That was a huge technological leap from the fax machine. Now even e-mail may be growing quaint. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign on Thursday introduced a Web site dedicated exclusively to the instantaneous rebuttal of charges or news reports it deems offensive or wrong.

And the day offered a perfect opportunity for the campaign, with a potentially embarrassing mini-scandal: a waitress’s report that Mrs. Clinton had failed to tip after eating at a Maid-Rite diner in central Iowa, an assertion that ricocheted around the Internet on Thursday.

After NPR broadcast the report, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign responded by saying the candidate and her aides had in fact left a tip: $100 on a $157 check at the diner. The restaurant manager, Brad Crawford, confirmed in interviews, including with The New York Times, that Mrs. Clinton, of New York, and her retinue had indeed left a tip, though he did not say how much.

NPR later included Mr. Crawford’s and the campaign’s versions of events in an editor’s note attached to the online version of its report.

Be because of this?

Two new reputable polls of New Hampshire Democratic Primary voters will
show statistically significant drops in support for frontrtunner
Hillary Clinton, Democrats who have seen those polls said today.

The
polls will be released this weekend and are embargoed; though I’m not
privy to the embargo agreement, I’ll be a little vague out of respect
for the polling organizations.

One of the polls shows that the
gap between Clinton and Barack Obama narrowed by more than 10 points.
Her biggest decline was seen among older voters.

The other shows Clinton’s lead over Obama reduced by approximately 9 points.

Oh, and give me a break on the tip.  One hundred bucks for a One hundred and fifty dollar bill…a bit much wouldn’t you say? 

Esterday said “nobody got tipped that day,” and NPR should have
checked with the Clinton campaign before the story aired to see if any
tip was left and how it was done. We regret that this was not done. On
Thursday, Esterday was sticking by her story.

“Why would I lie about not getting a tip?” she told NPR. She also
maintained that her co-workers at the restaurant had not received tips.

A Clinton campaign staffer called on Esterday at the restaurant
Thursday after the story aired. The staff member apologized to her and
gave her a $20 bill, according to Esterday. The Clinton campaign
confirmed that visit. The campaign also produced photocopies of
receipts showing $157.46 was paid to Maid-Rite on a VISA card on Oct. 8
for meals consumed by the candidate’s entourage. The tip was supposed
to have been paid in cash, and the campaign insisted such a payment was
made but has declined to make available a staff member who was present
at Maid-Rite and left tip money.

In the end this is all about a cheap staff, or a cheap politician using a “new innovation” (it’s only been around for a few decades but what the hell) to put their spin on things.

UPDATE

Not only a cheap staff, but a stupid one also:

The Clinton campaign has admitted to planting questions in Iowa. They have confirmed that a campaign staffer approached a student to ask Sen. Clinton a question about global warming during a campaign stop at a biodiesel plant in Newton, Iowa, on Nov. 6.

The story was first reported by Patrick Caldwell, a junior at Grinnell College and the features editor of The Scarlet and Black college newspaper.  He reported that student Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff was approached by the campaign to ask a question.  She told the reporter that “they wanted a question from a college student.” She also said that she “noted that staffers prompted Clinton to call on her and another who had been approached before the event, although Clinton used her discretion to select questions and called on people who had not been prepped beforehand. Some of the questions asked were confusing and clearly off-message.”

Clinton Campaign spokesperson Mo Elleithee tells ABC News that “on this occasion a member of our staff did discuss a possible question about Sen. Clinton’s energy plan at a forum.  However, Sen. Clinton did not know which questioners she was calling on during the event.  This is not standard policy and will not be repeated again.”

Ahhhhh, the Clintons.  You can always count on them for some kind of dishonorable conduct.

Curt

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