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Complainin' Clintons Fault Obama for Complaining

April 18, 2008 10:14 AM

The former first couple is amused with the fact that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and his supporters were chagrined at the line of questions coming his way during Wednesday night's debate.

On Fox 29 in Philadelphia this morning, ABC News' Eloise Harper reports, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, said of Obama, "I know he spent all day yesterday complaining about the hard questions he was asked. Being asked tough questions in a debate is nothing like the pressures you face inside the White House. In fact, when the going gets tough, you just can’t walk away because we’re going to have some very tough decisions that we have to make. I think we need a president who can take whatever comes your way. ...When the going gets tough you can’t run away."

And ABC News' Sarah Amos reports that from front porch of an American Legion Hall in St. Mary's, Penn., Thursday, former President Bill Clinton said, "When I watched that debate last night, I got kinda tickled when the other guy's – after the [debate], her opponents', oh, the people working were saying, 'Oh this is so negative, why are they doing this.' Well they've been beatin' up on her for 15 months. I didn't hear her whining when he said she was untruthful in Iowa."

If you haven't heard whining from your wife or from the Clinton campaign, Mr. President, then with all due respect, you haven't been paying attention.

The Clintons and the Clinton campaign have been complaining about the media and tough questions and the like for months. It's one of their talking points, for the love of Pete.

After a November debate when Clinton -- then the clear frontrunner -- was attacked by the many other Democrats on stage, the Clinton campaign even put together a youtube video complaining of the "Politics of Pile-on."

And at the Cleveland debate seven weeks ago, Clinton complained that she always got the first question, and about the media coverage in general.

Bill Clinton has whined about the media coverage so much and often it would be difficult to list every example. In a February interview with WMAL radio in Washington DC, the former president griped that "the political press has avowedly played a role in this election. I've never seen this before...they’ve been active participants in this election, and you know what the objective studies done."

Back then, of course, Sen. Obama was of course sounding a different tune, telling NBC that Clinton was saying "Don't pick on me" while his campaign issued a memo saying, "the 'politics of hope' doesn’t mean hoping you don’t have to answer tough questions.

Emails Clinton campaign spox Jay Carson: "Our complaint about coverage has always been that the press wasn’t tough on Obama, not that they were too tough on us. These two are running for president and should expect tough questions and if Obama and his campaign are going to whine like this about what are some of the first actual tough questions he has gotten in a debate, how on earth would he stand up to the Republicans' withering attacks in a general election? Obama withered under questioning on Wednesday and with all due respect to Stephanopoulos and Gibson, the RNC and John McCain are a lot tougher than they are."

- jpt

April 18, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (203)

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i think

Posted by: RIGHT EDUAFUL | Jun 12, 2008 12:13:54 PM

Poor Hillary.

Why anyone can understand how it's easy to confuse a "corkscrew" land at Tuzla airport among sniper fire and then having to run across the tarmac with a comedian and a guitar player in tow and ducking bullets all the while to a poem from a child.

Posted by: jbate | Apr 20, 2008 10:17:00 PM

John_Lai:

You should learn to say:

President Barack Hussein Obama, 44th President of the United States of America

Maybe you should salute, hold your hand over your heart and bow when you say it.

Posted by: jbate | Apr 20, 2008 10:05:26 PM

The coverage throughout the campaign has been totally slanted towards Obaama...I am a private citizena and i knew about Rezko, Wright and Ayers early in the campaign from searching the records of all the candidates...but they were not really covered until the readers outcry became too great,

So what if Hillary wasn't too happy with MSM. And it was terribel...journalists calling her names and using Obama's campaign's talking points instead of doing "fair and balanced" coverage....


Even with the "bitter" remarks some of the press perfers to leave out "antipathy to others that are not like themselves and anti-immigrant"

A lot of people may not care to be called bitter gun and church clingers....but most people really resent being called racists.

Anyway Clinton made do.....But the first time you bring up anything about Obama he is not just complaining but totally using a "scorched earth" policy. Will he debate again or use this as an excuse not to take questions? Did he ever take questions?

ANd so he sets his attackers on a network...and he stops hiding behind his attack dogs to go full blown negative.

There are youtubes out there where Obama made 2 different stops in PA the day after the debate and he is giving the "finger" to Clinton in the same basic part of the speech.

He is a hypocrite who will not allow anyone to question him. I believe there will be a lot more revelations about his friends and policies. Obama may give great speeches and the camera loves him. But he has no record of accomplishment and he has no relevant experience...

Posted by: Jackie | Apr 20, 2008 8:15:01 PM

There is one fact that we can agree on. OBAMA is losing. He looks dumb. He can't change anything but his annual income.

He can't change CHICAGO POLITICS
He can't change REZKO and the Middle East Ties
He can't change Rev. Wright.
Now, he claims that he will change Washington should you give him your vote.
He is good at saying lofty things but not specific. Now he gets himself in a situation he needs to answer specific question and he mumbles, jumble and fumbles and tries to make a fool of himself by laughing it off.

As an audience, I think it is funny because of him.

Posted by: John_Lai | Apr 20, 2008 1:45:20 PM

I was just watching Reliable Sources address ABC's debate, and yeah, I think we can all agree the "flag pin" question was a bit much, though I didn't realize "the women on the street" who asked the question was actually someone the NY Times quoted about this, but all these other questions really were legitimate. The media has focused on the Rev. Wright and "bitter" remarks ad nauseum, and this IS the first debate held since these issues came up. But the larger point is that of the other 20-something debates, many of them focused rather harshly on Clinton's negatives. This ONE debate was more focused on Obama's, the front runner's, negatives, and the whining is deafening - just deafening. I think this highlights pretty starkly just how great the bias in the media really is. And let's face it, if he had actually performed well, no one would be saying a word, other than to praise how he tough he is.

So, this entire argument highlights IMO a greater issue, the liberal media's overwhelming favoritism toward Obama. Actually that's the real issue here. When Clinton was the front-runner, that was the "excuse" for her getting the majority of the hammering. If Obama makes it to the general election, you can bet he's going to get roughed up plenty and that these issues are going to come up again.

So . . . he can cry me a river. He's sure never complained about be the liberal media's darling.

Posted by: Teri B. | Apr 20, 2008 12:01:47 PM

Obama is a "sneak it in chicken."

Posted by: RL in Illinois | Apr 20, 2008 3:40:39 AM

For those foreigners who wonder how the US could have elected George Bush twice this is why.
They would rather ask questions about lapels and pastors instead of how to make the society better.
People must be deluded to believe these were "great" questions. WOW

Posted by: concerned | Apr 19, 2008 8:15:40 PM

Oh please. How dopey can you get? There was no fear in Barak Obama's voice. He was just irritated by the consistant whining from the Hillary camp. that includes people like you. Get over it. Barak is winning and your rights arent' going to get trampled on when he becomes pres. You're not that important.

Hah, how's that for elitism. *rolls eyes*

Posted by: James in Idaho | Apr 19, 2008 6:41:16 PM

Ok folks, I am going to keep this short and to the point. I understand that a lot of these comments are coming from Hillary supporters. The fact is that Obama was not complaining about the tough questions, he was complaining that the questions where not issue driven. Instead, they where to scrutinize misspoken words. We all have said things that should have been said in a different way, does this make us bad people, certainly not. I like both candidates and may the best one win. I support Obama because he is the politics of change in America, the America that I love so much. With this said, I will support any Dem who wins the nomination because whatever happens, its got to be better than what we have had in office for these last 8 awful years. I am a registered nurse and barely able to make mortgage or pay bills and before the current presidency, I was an LVN and doing just fine. Can someone please explain to me why it is that if one or the other candidate wins the nomination, some of our "so-called" democrats are threatening to go republican. To me that is not patriotic at all, it is a lie. A lie when you supposedly support someone or group as long as the person is not "black" or a "woman". God help America, this is ridiculous.

Posted by: Shawn Hardmon | Apr 19, 2008 2:55:23 PM

geevill,
You can go ahead and say "black" supporters, we won't be offended because we are not that petty, as I can see a lot of people are. By the way, I sometimes use my middle finger to push up my glasses or to even scratch an itch on my face. Does this mean that I am giving the wall in my office the finger, h*** no. Don't stereotype black folks because you don't have a clue as what the h*** you are talking about.

Posted by: omegawife1 | Apr 19, 2008 2:42:04 PM

"I know he spent all day yesterday complaining about the hard questions he was asked."

More BS from Hillary. Obama observed that the debate didn't dwell on the tough questions that are of much more interest to Americans. The ABC debate blog and the media outrage is evidence that Obama was right.

Hillary's ready for Day One to fight with everybody on silly crap like she has for 35 years.

Posted by: CWatson | Apr 19, 2008 11:32:39 AM

After K makes a comment about "when you grow up," James responds by slyly rubbing his forehead with his middle finger exposed.


OBAMA used a gesture against Clinton that Will Smith did to TOmmy Lee JOnes in MIB. His lack audience knew what it was. spread the word and video.

Posted by: geevill | Apr 19, 2008 8:42:57 AM

It shows how low class and shameless Hillary really is after months of complaining about nonpreferential media treatment. I think Hillary has the capacity to top Bush in creating division. The Bush/Clinton has pitted this country against itself and Hillary continues the tradition. Obama has the class and humor to blow her off.

Posted by: Maria | Apr 19, 2008 2:15:20 AM

The debate was a farce as is main stream media.
Cable media is shameful.Nothing more than jerry springer mentality? this is insulting to democracy.

You would think a super power could do better?.
Why NOT hold a real debate at a University moderated by America's finest intellectuals instead of these so called news personalities.


I have no faith in American democracy and the American dream is just that, a dream.

When the primary is held the votes will be tallied by electronic fraud voting machines???.

Wonder why Barack Obama does better with a paper ballot caucus?

The hypocrisy of spreading freedom around the world when American democracy is nothing more than an exercise is futility.

Wake up America!!
Count your votes!

Demand your media serve you better.

Posted by: Taylor | Apr 18, 2008 8:01:46 PM

At the end of the day, those supposedly tough questions won't give you the much needed pay raise, keep food on your table, lower the price of gas, make the Iraqi's get along so we can leave, catch Bin Ladin and everyone that's associated with him, won't lower the rapidly increasing price of college tuition, won't improve the economy, won't secure a future for your children, won't make the world like us any better, won't bring peace to the middle east, won't improve medical care, won't make our schools safer from crazy people with guns on campus, won't lower the price of buying a home, and won't secure that you'll have a job next year - do I need to say anymore? If none of those 45 minutes of tabloid styled questions solves, answers, addresses any of those issues, then how important were they to be asked in the first place. Shame on anyone that believes those "questions" were that important... it's probably because of that type of thinking that got us into the mess in the first place... too busy being focused on stuff that doesn't matter really doesn't matter - at the end of the day... God bless our democracy!

Posted by: Mark | Apr 18, 2008 6:54:42 PM

Hillary has been getting clobbered in the debates and by the media for over a year. Heck, for over 20 yrs. But for the first time he gets it a little rough and someone doesn't fall at his feet, and he carries on about it like he just got impeached for some silly nonsense. And the media and the DNC are out in full force defending him.

But with all of it, the media bias, the DNC taking away two states' delegates from her and now trying to prematurly end the election - the way she's been beat up, hand-cuffed, had Iraq blood poured all over her, and viciously maligned, she just will not be knocked down, and she just keeps getting VOTES. Frankly, I admire her more now than ever.

Even honest Obama supporters admit that the media bias in his favor has been extraordinary, and now Howard Dean's bias is becoming glaringly obvious. They'll take this election from the people come hell or high water.

It's like watching a murder you can't stop, knowing the perp will get away with it - BUT THE VICTIM IS OUR DEMOCRACY.

This beats all I've ever seen.

Posted by: Teri B. | Apr 18, 2008 5:45:15 PM

Congratulations to ABC! Finally, questions were asked that, I am sure, are being asked by many Americans, and it took the courage of these two highly qualifed and knowledgable News Commentators to ask them.

Both Clinton and Obama were asked questions that were tough. And, as someone who is wanting to know more about Obama, I am disappointed that he has taken, the attitude of being the
"Victim", something that he accuses Clinton of. We have watched many debates between these two and everyone knows about their plans for Health Care, Iraq, etc., what everyone doesn't know about are the very questions that were asked,e.g.; what Clinton will do to win back the trust of voters over her Bosnia mistake. More importantly, are the questions about Obama,because we don't know of him and he has the delegate lead, for now. We all know about Clinton, We don't know about what influences Obama. And so far, his choices and judgement to maintain relations with "Anti-American" hater's and his Pastor, still needs to be answered. We all should have the "Right to Know".

It is also appalling to hear what Obama is saying today, that basically, We the People of America don't care about those issues and then goes on to refer to them as; "petty issues", which sounds condescending. I believe there will be more unfavorable surprises yet to come about Obama and won't be able to win the General Election.

I question his ability, thus far, as to whether he can unite this Country, because he apparantly is no longer willing to have another Debate, before the North Carolina Primary, nor did he agree to allow the States of Florida and Michigan to revote. The People of those States are the rank and file Democrates, who had nothing to do with the rescheduling of their Primaries. Their Elected Officals did and he knows that. To continue to use the Excuse that the "Rules are the Rules" is wrong, and only divides and denies the rank and file their democratic vote.

Posted by: Joan | Apr 18, 2008 5:33:02 PM

Best moment of the debate: Hillary laughing at McCain's "They want to raise your taxes and have the AUDACITY to HOPE you don't mind." Of course Obama looked peevish. wahwahwahwah

Posted by: HoosierSue | Apr 18, 2008 5:19:09 PM

Even though I agree that the Clinton camp has complained a lot, still I think Obama complaining about one bad debate is pretty sad.

I mean Clinton has gotten pretty tough coverage throughout this campaign, through most of the debates, and so the whining co-effiencients aren't equal.

Posted by: Joan | Apr 18, 2008 4:25:16 PM

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