I have a list of complaints against Bill Clinton that would make James Carville wince, and I think he has behaved in a manner unbefitting a former President during this campaign. Heck, I though he behaved in a manner unbefitting a President while in office. But I’ll defend him when he’s not wrong . . . or when the other party is more wrong. And his antagonist here is the most biased and unprofessional agitprop operation in the broadcast “news” business, CNN – a network which once loved him more than Monica Lewinsky.
When leaving an event in Columbia, South Carolina, former President Bill Clinton was questioned by CNN spokesmodel Jessica Yellin about remarks made by former SC Democratic Chairman Dick Harpootlian (an Obama toady). Here is part of CNN’s report of the encounter:
Bill Clinton became visibly upset Wednesday over comments by a prominent South Carolina Democrat that compared the former president’s actions on the trail to those of infamous Republican strategist Lee Atwater.
* * * * *
Clinton sharply disputed the charge, and lashed out at Yellin for raising the question.
The full post is at the link above, and the video is here. The caption reads:
Bill Clinton rebukes media 4:52
Bill Clinton repeats criticisms of Sen. Obama, and says the media is focusing too much on his attacks rather than issues.
Watch the video, and judge for yourself if the encounter is fairly described. I don’t think it is. Clinton certainly isn’t taking the set-up question lying down (using material from one candidate’s hatchet man to question another candidate’s hatchet man is questionable, at the least), but I didn’t see him “lash out.” Instead of “visibly upset,” I would describe him as pissed off at an impertinent question. And the paraphrasing that he “says the media is focusing too much on his attacks rather than issues” puts the blame for “attacks” all on him. which is clearly not the case.
Here’s a clue for Ms. Yellin: If you come back to Columbia, and want comment from a source more intelligent and truthful than Dick Harpootlian, Riverbanks Zoo has a monkey house.
