1. ABC Again Ties Rove to Swift Ads, Depicts Hillary as Cure to Rove
Opening Monday's Nightline, ABC's Terry Moran derided Karl Rove's brand of politics as a mixture of "divisiveness, anger" as well as "ruthlessness" and the subtext of Moran's piece became very clear with the help of some visuals as he pictured Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as the salvation from Rove's "bitterly polarizing politics." At the close of the segment, he wondered if the country has "had enough of [Rove's] bitterly polarizing politics? Or will the era of Karl Rove continue?" During the "had enough" portion of the sentence, video of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton accompanied the audio; when Moran asked if the Karl Rove era will continue, President Bush could be seen. Moran also left the impression that it was Rove, the Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bush, who was behind the 2004 Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads against John Kerry. Moran recalled how in 2004 President Bush thanked Rove "for planning and executing his re-election strategy. But look around at American politics today and you see that there is much, much more that Karl Rove built." Viewers then saw a clip from a Swift Boat Veterans ad: "John Kerry cannot be trusted."
2. MSNBC's Dan Abrams Tags Karl Rove as 'Constitutional Crippler'
On Monday's MSNBC Live with Dan Abrams, host and MSNBC general manager Abrams opened his 9pm EDT show by lambasting Karl Rove, tagging him the "Constitutional Crippler" for accusing judges of "bending the law" while Rove, Abrams contended, was doing much the same: "If Karl Rove had been a professional wrestler, they might have called him
'the Constitutional Crippler.'" Abrams further accused Rove of "hypocrisy" and of "shifting rules to accommodate his political objectives" as the MSNBC chief declared that he would "not shed a tear" at Rove's departure: "He may be one of the great political operatives of all time, but from a lawyer's perspective, as someone who studied the Constitution, relishes the rule of law, appreciates our courts, I will not shed a tear at his farewell bash."
3. Today Show Follows Nurse Hillary on Rounds in Labor Union Stunt
Yet another Democratic candidate played nurse for a day, as part of a stunt to garner labor union support, and once again NBC's Today show cameras were there to cover the photo-op. On Tuesday, NBC's Andrea Mitchell followed Hillary Clinton as she made the rounds, for a couple of hours, with a nurse at a Nevada hospital to both soften her image and suck up to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). NBC's segment featured a clip of a new Hillary Clinton ad in which she charges: "You know if you're a family that is struggling and you don't have health care, well you are invisible to this President." Viewers were treated to shots of Hillary talking to patients and sitting down with the nurse's family to say grace at the kitchen table as Mitchell dutifully declared: "She got her hands wet." Today co-host Meredith Vieira admiringly noted of Clinton's behavior at the nurse's home: "Andrea, I understand that she ended the day, the Senator, by actually washing the dishes before she left? Is that right?" Mitchell gushed: "She did, she pitched right in. She was clearing the table, washing the dishes, helping set the table."
ABC Again Ties Rove to Swift Ads, Depicts
Hillary as Cure to Rove
Opening Monday's Nightline, ABC's Terry Moran derided Karl Rove's brand of politics as a mixture of "divisiveness, anger" as well as "ruthlessness" and the subtext of Moran's piece became very clear with the help of some visuals as he pictured Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as the salvation from Rove's "bitterly polarizing politics." At the close of the segment, he wondered if the country has "had enough of [Rove's] bitterly polarizing politics? Or will the era of Karl Rove continue?" During the "had enough" portion of the sentence, video of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton accompanied the audio; when Moran asked if the Karl Rove era will continue, President Bush could be seen.
Moran also left the impression that it was Rove, the Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bush, who was behind the 2004 Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads against John Kerry. Moran recalled how in 2004 President Bush thanked Rove "for planning and executing his re-election strategy. But look around at American politics today and you see that there is much, much more that Karl Rove built." Viewers then saw a clip from a Swift Boat Veterans ad: "John Kerry cannot be trusted."
As Tuesday's CyberAlert noted, Monday's World News on ABC also inaccurately blamed Rove for the Swift Boats commercials, which were actually created by a group of Vietnam veterans and not funded or produced by the White House: "Reporting on the resignation of presidential political adviser Karl Rove, ABC's World News on Monday night absurdly blamed Karl Rove for the ads from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and featured John Kerry's condemnation of Rove....ABC's David Wright cited Rove's 'political ju-jitzu' in 'turning opponents' strengths against them.' With a Swift Boat ad clip on screen, Wright described a 'sustained attack on John Kerry's war record, an audacious move considering Bush's Vietnam War record was weak.'"
For a rundown of Monday evening newscast takes on Rove, see: www.mediaresearch.org [This item is adapted from a Tuesday posting, by Scott Whitlock, on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]
In a tease, Moran began the Nightline segment by castigating Rove, who will be leaving the White House at the end of August, as "The Divider" and "the man who made our politics a no-holds barred battlefield..." He went on to quote William Slater, author of "Bush's Brain," a phase that has become a favorite for liberals as a way to belittle the President. Just before that, however, the ABC anchor ascribed some exceedingly negative traits to Rove's brand of politics:
Moran: "Divisiveness, anger, ruthlessness. That's what you might call Rovian politics. Karl Rove didn't invent Red America vs. Blue America, he exploited it relentlessly." Wayne Slater, co-author, Bush's Brian: "Karl Rove really approached politics from the very beginning as a game of division, even when George Bush ran as the uniter not the divider, Rove was running a campaign that was designed to divide the field, wedge issues, attacks on opponents, extraordinary political strategies designed to cultivate and motivate just enough voters to win. But in the process, you alienate forces against you."
Moran went on to describe these tactics as "scorched earth." However, while the Nightline host added the caveat that Rove "didn't invent" tough campaigning, has he forgotten the era of Bill Clinton? After all, it was James Carville, a top Democratic operative, who smeared Clinton accuser Paula Jones as trailer park trash. It was Paul Begala, another Clinton aide, who last year slimed Rush Limbaugh as a "drug-addled gasbag." See: www.mrc.org
A partial transcript of the lead August 13 segment:
Terry Moran's tease with "The Divider" on screen: "Tonight on Nightline: The Divider. Inspiring awe or anger, scoring historic victories for a polarizing president. The man who made our politics a no-holds barred battlefield, Karl Rove."
Moran: "Good evening. I'm Terry Moran. Well, he
may be the most powerful American political figure nobody ever
voted for. After more than 30 years as George W. Bush's right- |
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More See & Hear the
Bias |
hand man, the past six and a half in the White House, Karl Rove is
calling it quits. He was a political strategist almost without
peer and a policymaker in the Bush administration almost without
rival, but what Karl Rove really did was shape contemporary
American politics by dividing and conquering. Love him or hate
him, there is no denying his impact. When it comes to American
politics, for better or worse, we have all been living in the era
of Karl Rove and no one knows it better than George W. Bush."
George W. Bush: "The architect, Karl Rove."
Moran: "That was back in 2004 and President Bush was thanking Rove
for planning and executing his reelection strategy. But look
around at American politics today and you see that there is much,
much more that Karl Rove built." Clip
from Swift Boat Veterans ad: "John Kerry cannot be trusted."
[Clips from talk shows] Bill
O'Reilly: "He's the villain. He is the villain in Massachusetts."
Ann Coulter: "The wife of a presidential candidate is asking me to
stop speaking. No." Moran:
"Divisiveness, anger, ruthlessness. That's what you might call
Rovian politics. Karl Rove didn't invent Red America vs. Blue
America, he exploited it relentlessly."
Wayne Slater, co-author, Bush's Brian: "Karl Rove really
approached politics from the very beginning as a game of division,
even when George Bush ran as the uniter not the divider, Rove was
running a campaign that was designed to divide the field, wedge
issues, attacks on opponents, extraordinary political strategies
designed to cultivate and motivate just enough voters to win. But
in the process, you alienate forces against you."
Moran: "Rove's scorched earth style brought Republicans and George
W. Bush a string of remarkable victories, but those days are
gone." |
....
11:43pm EDT, Donna Brazile, former Democratic operative: "I would hope that
Democrats are not popping champagne about his departure from Washington because,
one, he's not going far. Two, he has the President's number. And I mean, real
number. And three, Karl Rove in his heart still wants to win at all costs. So, I
suspect that at some point he will re-emerge."
Moran: "But the question now is, [video of Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton and
Barack Obama plays] has the country had enough of his [Video of George Bush and
Karl Rove] bitterly polarizing politics? Or will the era of Karl Rove continue?"
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MSNBC's
Dan Abrams Tags Karl Rove as
'Constitutional Crippler'
On Monday's MSNBC Live with Dan Abrams, host and MSNBC general manager Abrams
opened his 9pm EDT show by lambasting Karl Rove, tagging him the "Constitutional
Crippler" for accusing judges of "bending the law" while Rove, Abrams contended,
was doing much the same: "If Karl Rove had been a professional wrestler, they
might have called him 'the Constitutional Crippler.'" Abrams further accused
Rove of "hypocrisy" and of "shifting rules to accommodate his political
objectives" as the MSNBC chief declared that he would "not shed a tear" at
Rove's departure: "He may be one of the great political operatives of all time,
but from a lawyer's perspective, as someone who studied the Constitution,
relishes the rule of law, appreciates our courts, I will not shed a tear at his
farewell bash." [This item, by Brad
Wilmouth, was posted Tuesday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org:
newsbusters.org ]
Below is a complete transcript of Dan Abrams' comments about Karl Rove from the
top of the Monday, August 13 MSNBC Live with Dan Abrams, followed by Abram's
conversation with former Democratic Representative Elizabeth Holtzman, The
Atlantic senior editor Josh Green, and conservative talk radio host Michael
Reagan:
DAN ABRAMS: Karl Rove is out. Rove announced this morning he was resigning from
the Bush administration. The man who is sometimes referred to as "Bush's brain"
will leave the White House on August 31. My take. If Karl Rove had been a
professional wrestler, they might have called him 'the Constitutional
Crippler.'" I'll leave his political legacy to others, although I will say I
think it's foolish when searching for explanations for the 2000 Republican rout
to blame Rove, the political operative, as opposed to Rove, the chief policy
analyst. That was the war speaking. How the Republicans talked about it in the
campaign wouldn't have changed a thing. But in terms of his legal legacy, Rove
has long applied basic political strategy to the courts: Accuse your opponents
or critics of engaging in the very behavior that could become your own Achilles
heel. Rove has accused judges of bending the law to fit their personal agenda.
It's true, some do. But I can't think of a federal judge who has done that more
than Karl Rove himself. Rove called the federal
judiciary "fundamentally out of touch with mainstream America." A nice campaign
slogan, but it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of
judges. They're not supposed to reflect popular opinion. It also demonstrates
some hypocrisy. He cites the will of the people until, of course, it comes to
the people's reaction to this administration's policy. Then he ignores it. And
he even said, quote, "I'm not going to stay or leave based on whether it pleases
the mob."
Rove's legacy is littered with examples of shifting rules to accommodate his own
political objectives. We don't know exactly how involved he was with certain
administration decisions about everything from the NSA spying to Guantanamo. We
do know, according to Justice Department e-mails, that in January of 2005, Rove
was asking about firing all 93 U.S. attorneys, that he passed along specific
complaints about others, then reportedly advised on how to make the firings seem
merit-based. And to avoid being scrutinized ever, he sent more than 140,000
e-mails through the Republican National Committee's computer system instead of
through the White House, thereby circumventing federal law. That's according to
a House oversight committee. His philosophy: expand
the power of the executive branch, often meaning his own power, and demean the
branch of government willing to rein him in: the judicial branch. Rove used
court appointments as a political carrot, privately assuring religious groups,
for example, that court nominees would share their beliefs. And for the fired
U.S. attorneys, it was also about politics but in the form of political
punishment. He may be one of the great political operatives of all time, but
from a lawyer's perspective, as someone who studied the Constitution, relishes
the rule of law, appreciates our courts, I will not shed a tear at his farewell
bash. Joining me now is Elizabeth Holtzman, former
Democratic congresswoman from New York, who served on the Judiciary Committee
and author of the book The Impeachment of George W. Bush, Josh Green, senior
editor of The Atlantic, whose cover story on Rove appears in the magazine's
September issue, and on the phone, radio talk show host Michael Reagan. Thanks
to all of you for coming on the program. Appreciate it.
All right, Josh, let me start with you. Is it fair to say that Karl Rove has
been behind much of the legal strategy of this administration?
JOSHUA GREEN, The Atlantic Monthly: You know, I think to a degree, it is. I
mean, one of the consequences of the Democrats taking over Congress in 2006 is
that it pulled back a curtain and kind of let the world see just how involved
Rove is at every level. I mean, certainly, the U.S. attorney scandal is a
terrific example of that, the just, the kind of tawdry and shallow way that he
became involved and kind of, you know, heedlessly brought politics into that
process. So I would say yes. ABRAMS: Michael, would
you agree at the least that Rove is a guy who's had some level of disdain for
the rule of law? MICHAEL REAGAN, RADIO TALK SHOW
HOST: No, I would, you know, what I would say is that he's someone who's been at
the White House. He's been a policy man for the President. He's been involved in
all the things the President's done, which is what happens when you're in charge
of policy at the White House. And because the President has been under fire from
the Democrats since the time he won the 2000 election, they've tried to get Karl
Rove involved in everything. There's nothing wrong with Karl Rove getting
involved with the 93, letting people know what his opinion is about the U.S.
attorneys being fired. The fact is that every President has fired attorneys. I
think the mistake maybe he made now was he didn't get all 93 fired. Then nothing
happens to you. If you get eight fired, you become a news item.
ABRAMS: But the difference, well, the difference is that, in general, when U.S.
attorneys are fired, it's not for strictly political reasons. I mean, it's not
for, you can fire them for political reasons, it's a political appointment-
REAGAN: But you can make an argument on that, that, you know, whether it was
Clinton or Reagan or whoever it was, it always could have been for political
reasons. You could always try and find that in each and every thing. You talk
about Bill Clinton, you know, the firing he did with U.S. attorneys that had
some things to do with Whitewater or whatever. You could always find that, if
that's what you're looking for. The fact is there was nothing illegal about what
the President of the United States did in firing the U.S. attorneys with the NSA
and with all the wiretapping. ABRAMS: All right,
but let's stick to- REAGAN: The fact of the matter
is most of America does agree with what's going on.
ABRAMS: All right, look, let's stick with Karl Rove, though, and the legacy.
Elizabeth Holtzman, there's no question that there was nothing illegal. No one's
suggesting that it was illegal to seek to fire all of them or to seek to fire
some of them. The question isn't illegal or legal. The question is-
Former Rep. ELIZABETH HOLTZMAN (D-NY): No, no. It is the question because it's
possible under some scenarios that the firing of a U.S. attorney who was, for
example, investigating a Republican, and to stop that investigation, you fire
that U.S. attorney, that could be an obstruction of justice and could be a
crime. So to call the U.S. attorney scandal political is wrong. It could be
criminal. ABRAMS: Look, it could be, it could be.
There's no evidence right now to suggest that anyone is going to open up any
criminal investigations into the firing of the U.S. attorneys.
HOLTZMAN: Well, that's because they don't have enough information yet.
ABRAMS: Look, Josh Green, bring us back here for a minute. I mean, the bottom
line is that, again, we're looking at Karl Rove's legacy here. I think that
Elizabeth is probably on something of a fringe there in suggesting that there's
going to be some sort of criminal investigation into the firings of the U.S.
attorneys. Would you agree? GREEN: Yeah, I think
Rove's real crime was ineptness. I mean, he was just ham-handed in almost every
way possible, and that's really what's kind of spilled out over the last couple
of years. And I think that's also the reason why Rove surprised so many people
in Washington and didn't stick around until the end of the Bush administration
and decided to throw in the towel today. ABRAMS:
Why do you think he did that? REAGAN: Hey, wait a
minute. If I could jump in here- ABRAMS: Well, go
ahead, Michael. Yeah. REAGAN: I mean, he's not the
first person to leave an administration very late in the administration. My dad
had it happen in his administration, other administrations. People leave, get
their own lives in order because they know the President is a short-termer, lame
duck, whatever it is. This is not new- GREEN: But
Rove had no life outside politics and outside the White House.
REAGAN: This is a man who was, you know, five times went before a grand jury on
the Libby, the Scooter Libby case. Did anybody indict Rove? No. Nobody indicted
Rove because they didn't see any wrongdoing. And they tried to get him on that
and these leaks- ABRAMS: Wait, wait, wait. Let's be
clear, Michael. Let's not confuse the words "criminal" with "wrongdoing."
They're not the same thing. Just because they, no one could be charged with a
crime does not mean there wasn't any wrongdoing.
REAGAN: Where is the, where is the wrongdoing?
ABRAMS: Well, look, the question was, look, again, if you want to get into
Libby, we can get into that because it does relate to Karl Rove's legacy here,
now that he's stepped down. The question was, who did he leak to? Why did he do
it? When did he do it? Those are all important questions-
REAGAN: But Karl Rove didn't leak anything. ABRAMS:
Look, the bottom, Karl Rove had conversations with reporters that he probably
shouldn't have had. You going to deny that? REAGAN:
Do we know that? ABRAMS: Yeah, we know for a fact
that he had- REAGAN: If he did something that was,
in fact, illegal, wrongdoing, whatever it is, they certainly would have said
something in the grand jury. They did not indict him, as many times as he came
in there. And I think everybody is searching to say, "Oh, Karl Rove. We couldn't
get George Bush. Let's get Karl Rove. Let's get him and make sure he's a
criminal on the way out of the building." ABRAMS:
But again, and I'll go back to Elizabeth in a minute, but Josh, I mean, that's
the difference, is just because he's not a criminal and just because he hasn't
been indicted for a crime does not mean that he's not someone who we can
criticize for his view of the Constitution and his position on judges and the
judiciary in this country. REAGAN: No, I think
that- ABRAMS: Wait a minute. Let me let Josh
respond to that. Hang on, Michael. GREEN: In the
end, you're calling him the "Constitutional Crippler," but, you know, the one
bit of poetic justice in all this is that, you know, the person Rove really
ended up crippling was his own reputation. And so he leaves the White House, you
know, not indicted but in many ways disgraced, I think.
ABRAMS: Elizabeth, go ahead. You want to weigh in on that?
HOLTZMAN: Well, I agree with the last comment. I also want to say that what he
did with the Justice Department, although we don't know the whole story yet
because this is a man who's shown complete contempt not just for Congress, not
showing up even after being subpoenaed, but contempt for the Constitution, which
makes Congress an equal branch of government, and it allows it to examine how
the executive branch is operating. But here you have a Justice Department that
was perverted for political purposes. You had U.S. attorneys who were
apparently, I mean, we don't know all the facts yet, but on the surface, it
seems that U.S. attorneys were replaced because they didn't go after Democrats
or they were removed because they went after Republicans.
I was a prosecutor, not only a congresswoman, and I never, before prosecuting a
rapist or a murderer, said, well, are you a Republican or a Democrat? I'm going
to go after you if you're one, not the other. I mean, that's not what our system
of justice was. And Karl Rove took our government and tried to make it all
political, including things that we think are pretty sacred, like justice that's
fair and not partisan and not political, but that if you've committed a crime or
you haven't committed a crime, you're going to be dealt with on the merits and
not on the basis of politics. So I think his legacy has been a disaster for this
country. ABRAMS: Michael, you would agree, wouldn't
you, that Karl Rove has a tendency to politicize everything?
REAGAN: Well, I think people in the White House, people in government have a
tendency to politicize everything. It doesn't matter if you're Democrat or
Republican. When you're at that level, you do politicize everything. And he's, I
think he's in trouble because he has been successful in getting the President
elected, reelected again. And he seems to be the great big target in Washington,
so everybody wants to jump on him. He'll be gone in a month from now.
Everybody's going to forget about Karl Rove, and they're going to find somebody
else to, in fact, jump on. That's the way it works in Washington, D.C.
ABRAMS: But Josh, I think that doesn't really address how significant Rove was
and how significant his contributions have been to this administration and how
radical, in some ways, particularly with regard to, again, I think, the legal
legacy his positions have been. GREEN: Yeah. I
don't think that fixes it, by a long shot. I mean, look, there really never has
been a figure in the modern American presidency quite like Karl Rove, a
political adviser who had that much say not just over politics and policy but
apparently over the judiciary and who acted from as raw a set of political
motives as Rove obviously did. You know, Michael is of course right to say that
politics are always a thought in the White House, but never were they put
forward to the degree that they were in the Bush White House, and Karl Rove was
the main driver of that. ABRAMS: Elizabeth Holtzman,
Michael Reagan and Josh Green, thanks a lot. Appreciate it.
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Today
Show Follows Nurse Hillary on Rounds
in Labor Union Stunt
Yet another Democratic candidate played nurse for a day, as part of a stunt to
garner labor union support, and once again NBC's Today show cameras were there
to cover the photo-op. On Tuesday's Today show, NBC's Andrea Mitchell followed
Hillary Clinton as she made the rounds, for a couple of hours, with a nurse at a
Nevada hospital to both soften her image and suck up to the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU). NBC's segment featured a clip of a new Hillary
Clinton ad in which she charges: "You know if you're a family that is struggling
and you don't have health care, well you are invisible to this President."
Viewers were treated to shots of Hillary talking to patients and sitting down
with the nurse's family to say grace at the kitchen table as Mitchell dutifully
declared: "She got her hands wet." Today co-host Meredith Vieira admiringly
noted of Clinton's behavior at the nurse's home: "Andrea, I understand that she
ended the day, the Senator, by actually washing the dishes before she left? Is
that right?" Mitchell gushed: "She did, she pitched right in. She was clearing
the table, washing the dishes, helping set the table."
Despite that wonderment, Today didn't give Hillary quite the same glowing
profile it delivered last week to Barack Obama when he played a home health care
aide, as Today co-host Meredith Vieira expressed some skepticism about Clinton
playing nurse: "Do you think the public buys any of this?"
[This item is adapted from a Tuesday posting, by Geoffrey Dickens, on the MRC's
blog, NewsBusters.org:
newsbusters.org ]
The August 10 CyberAlert, "Today Showcases Union Stunt of Obama Playing Health
Care Worker," recounted: NBC's Lee Cowan showcased Sen. Barack Obama playing
health care worker for a day as he swept cobwebs from ceilings and fixed
breakfast for an elderly man as part of a labor union staged photo-op meant to
highlight the inability of health care providers to earn "a living wage." Cowan
served up this softball: "What does it say about the state of our health care
that you've got a 86-year-old man being taken care of by a 61-year-old woman and
you put the two of them together and they probably don't have a living wage?"
See:
www.mrc.org
Tuesday's USA Today also showcased Hillary Clinton playing a nurse. In an
article titled "Clinton gets close-up glimpse of nurse's life," reporter Susan
Page trumpeted Clinton's effort: "She did agree to Monday's workday -- a
significant commitment of time and decided change of pace for top presidential
contenders, for whom nearly every minute on the road typically is scripted." For
the August 14 story:
www.usatoday.com The following is the full
piece at it aired in the 7am half-hour of the August 14th Today show:
Meredith Vieira: "And now to an NBC News exclusive. Hillary Clinton is the
Democratic frontrunner in the race for the White House but political opponents
have long questioned her warmth and sincerity. Well now she is trying to counter
those critics. NBC's Andrea Mitchell spent a very unique day with her on the
campaign trail. Andrea, good morning."
Andrea Mitchell: "Good morning to you Meredith. Well the Republicans, led by
Karl Rove, are now calling Hillary Clinton, quote, 'fatally flawed,' although
the likely nominee. So Senator Clinton is trying to remake her own image before
her opponents, in both parties, do it for her."
Hillary Clinton: "I'm falling Michelle around today to see what a nurse does."
Mitchell: "To critics, focused on the rejection of her medical plan 13 years
ago, health care is one of Hillary Clinton's biggest mistakes. So what better
way to respond than to work a day in the shoes of a hospital nurse?"
Clinton to patient: "See you later." Patient: "See
you later." Clinton: "Okay, that's a deal."
Clinton talking to Mitchell: "I think she told me that everyday is like five
miles." Mitchell: "Learning the ropes from nurse
Michelle Estrada at St. Rose Hospital in Henderson, Nevada may also help Clinton
win the endorsement of Michelle's union, the powerful Service Employees
International Union." Anna Burger, Service
Employees International Union: "Our members will only endorse a candidate if
they walk a day in our shoes and understand what it's like to be a worker in
America." Unidentified man introducing Clinton:
"Senator Hillary Clinton!" Mitchell: "Labor is a
major force in Nevada. Now scheduled to hold its caucuses early, right after
Iowa. And in Iowa, Clinton's first television ad of the presidential campaign
starts airing today." [Begin clip from Hillary
Clinton ad] Hillary Clinton: "You know if you're a
family that is struggling and you don't have health care, well you are invisible
to this President." [End clip]
Mitchell: "All a part of a critical make-over for a candidate far out front in
national polls but still viewed in a new CNN/Gallup poll as less likeable than
Barack Obama." Clinton: "What I have found is that
in a campaign I have a real chance for people to be disabused of a lot of the
stereotypes and the caricatures about me."
Mitchell: "So while Clinton tries to project her warmth-"
[Begin clip of Clinton greeting nurse's family at the door]
Amy: "Hi!" Clinton: "Hello."
Michelle Estrada: "This is my daughter Amy."
Clinton: "Amy it's a pleasure." ABC Derides Rove, Paints Hillary As Cure
[End clip]
Mitchell: "-going home for dinner with Michelle and her family at the end of a
long day-" [Begin clip of Hillary sitting down with
family at kitchen table, bowing head for grace]
Estrada: "Jacob would you offer the prayer for us?"
Jacob: "Yeah." [End clip]
Mitchell: "-Republicans are trying to portray her as unelectable. Why are they
targeting Clinton?" Chuck Todd, NBC News political
director: "The Republicans desperately want to run against Hillary Clinton from
1993. The woman who tried to revamp America's health care system. They believe
if that person is the Democratic nominee they win."
Mitchell to Clinton: "Karl Rove, through a parting shot, said that you are
'fatally flawed,' as a candidate." Clinton
laughing: "Well aren't we glad to see him go, I think, is the answer to that.
You know, I am thrilled to be running this campaign and to be getting the
response that I'm getting all over the country."
Mitchell to Clinton: "And there was an Associated Press report quoting Democrats
saying that you might pull down the ticket."
Clinton: "Well I'm ahead and I'm winning and I'm gaining support everywhere I go
and I don't think I have any right to anybody's vote. I have to earn every vote
and that's what I'm doing every day." Mitchell:
"And she certainly did, yesterday, pulling two-and-a-half hours out of a 12-hour
nursing shift. It is very rare, of course, for a presidential candidate to show
up and spend so much time on one visit, putting on a nurse's lab coat but it's
partly for her, a defensive measure. She is trying to, at least, make sure that
this very powerful union representing the nurses does not endorse one of her
opponents, labor's favored candidate in many of these parts, John Edwards.
Meredith." Vieira: "Andrea I understand that she
ended the day, the Senator, by actually washing the dishes before she left? Is
that right?" Mitchell: "She did, she pitched right
in. She was clearing the table, washing the dishes, helping set the table. The
kids had set the table before Michelle came home, after this very long shift. I
mean that's one of the points. 12 hours these nurses are on their feet and as
they say, you know walking five miles, practically, during the day. But she did
pitch in. She got her hands wet and it was a rare moment for a presidential
candidate spending, as I say, hours and hours on this one visit."
Vieira: "And last week we saw Senator Obama working as a home health care
attendant." Mitchell: "Right."
Vieira: "It really makes for wonderful pictures but do you think the public buys
any of this?" Mitchell: "Well, you know, she's
followed by Secret Service agents, so is he, and the media, we were the, the one
network permitted to be there. USA Today was also there. So clearly there's a
crowd around her and there was around Barack Obama last week. But [at] the same
time they do get a sense, at least, of some of the issues and some of the
difficulties. There's a lot of human interaction, so even within that bubble it
is possible to get a sense of what some of these union people are saying."
Vieira: "Alright, Andrea Mitchell. Thank you."
-- Brent Baker
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