Couric Urges 'Humanized' Clinton to 'Reveal More of Yourself' --1/10/2008

1. Couric Urges 'Humanized' Clinton to 'Reveal More of Yourself'
Telling Hillary Clinton "some observers believe" that when she got "emotional" -- as "your voice cracked and your eyes welled up" -- that "humanized you and made you much more attractive to women voters," CBS's Katie Couric on Wednesday night cooed: "Will you be willing now to reveal more of yourself and be less reserved?" As if the "emotional" moment Monday in New Hampshire exposed the real, sensitive Hillary Clinton while the "reserved" Hillary persona of the last 15-plus years doesn't match reality. For the interview aired on the CBS Evening News, Clinton invited Couric to her home in New Castle, New York. Clinton described the incident as "Hillary unplugged" and insisted it showed "I don't see politics as a game," but as a way of "getting in a position to actually help people."

2. CNN's Cafferty Gushes Over Hillary's 'Terrific Unguarded Moment'
CNN's Jack Cafferty, on Tuesday's The Situation Room, went out of his way to compliment Hillary Clinton for "becoming emotional at a diner in New Hampshire." He contended: "In a brief, unguarded moment yesterday, Hillary Clinton gave us a peek behind the curtain, and it was terrific." He went on to say that Hillary "became one of us, just for a minute."

3. Stephanopoulos: Hillary's the Queen of Stage Management
Former Bill Clinton aide, and current ABC anchor, George Stephanopoulos appeared on Wednesday's Good Morning America to gush over Hillary Clinton's mastery of the relatively simple task of stage management. Discussing the New York Senator's win in New Hampshire with GMA co-host Diane Sawyer, he fawned over the placement of individuals at the victory speech: "Hillary Clinton alone at the podium. Young people, faces of hope, behind her. Where is Bill Clinton? Where is Chelsea Clinton? They are not there yet." The segment seemed to be a cross between a football game and a campaign spot. Stephanopoulos, using a telestrator, circled the various individuals as they appeared onscreen. At the same time, he narrated what sounded like an ad for the '08 White House contender: "Hillary Clinton actually has to motion them up to the stage. Yes, they're reluctant. They don't want to come up. There's Chelsea. There's Bill Clinton, coming up, a little hang dog." The ABC anchor rhapsodized about how Bill Clinton mouthed the words "I'm so proud of you" to his wife. He ended the video replay by describing the New York Senator as "all alone at the podium, the sole victor." Sawyer solemnly added, "Taking charge."

4. NBC's Brian Williams Admits NBC Under-Covered GOP Side in NH
On Wednesday's NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams admitted that John McCain "didn't get all the attention he deserved" during his network's coverage of the New Hampshire primary, as the NBC anchor read a viewer e-mail which complained that "all the air time and talk was directed to the Democrats, and nothing of any substance was shared about the Republican candidates." Williams introduced the e-mail: "A viewer from Richmond correctly noted John McCain didn't get all the attention he deserved in last night's victory."

Couric Urges 'Humanized' Clinton to 'Reveal
More of Yourself'

Telling Hillary Clinton "some observers believe" that when she got "emotional" -- as "your voice cracked and your eyes welled up" -- that "humanized you and made you much more attractive to women voters," CBS's Katie Couric on Wednesday night cooed: "Will you be willing now to reveal more of yourself and be less reserved?" As if the "emotional" moment Monday in New Hampshire exposed the real, sensitive Hillary Clinton while the "reserved" Hillary persona of the last 15-plus years doesn't match reality. For the interview aired on the CBS Evening News, Clinton invited Couric to her home in New Castle, New York. Clinton described the incident as "Hillary unplugged" and insisted it showed "I don't see politics as a game," but as a way of "getting in a position to actually help people."

Couric did, at least, challenge a Clinton premise: "How can you be a real change agent when you were involved in a two-term administration in the '90s. You're yesterday's news, they think in a way?"

[This item, by the MRC's Brent Baker, was posted Thursday morning on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

CBS News.com has posted video and a transcript of what aired on the January 9 CBS Evening News: www.cbsnews.com

An excerpt, corrected against what aired, picking up after they discussed her surprising win in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary:

COURIC: Some observers believe that moment when you got emotional on Monday, when your voice cracked and your eyes welled up, that that humanized you and made you much more attractive to women voters.
CLINTON: That moment, which obviously I've heard a lot about since, gave people maybe some insight into the fact that I don't see politics as a game. You know, I don't see it as some kind of a traveling entertainment show where, you know, you get up and you perform and then you go on to the next venue. You know, for me it is a way of figuring out what we stand for, what our values are, and getting in a position to actually help people.
COURIC: Will you be willing now to reveal more of yourself and be less reserved?
CLINTON: Well, you know, one of my young friends said well, that was like Hillary unplugged. You know, I thought, okay, you know, I can't sing, I can't play an instrument. But, you know, I will try to let people know enough about me to know that, you know, I don't need to go back and live in the White House. That's not why I'm doing this. I certainly don't need anymore name recognition. And, I mean, I just want to try to convey that we're going to have to make some big decisions in this country. This is the toughest job in the world. You know, I was laughing because you know in that debate, obviously Senator Edwards and Senator Obama were kind of in the buddy system on the stage. And I was thinking whoever's up against the Republican nominee in the election debates come the fall is not gonna have a buddy to fall back on. You know, you're all by yourself. When you're President, you're there all by yourself.
COURIC: How can you be a real change agent when you were involved in a two-term administration in the '90s. You're yesterday's news, they think in a way?

CNN's Cafferty Gushes Over Hillary's
'Terrific Unguarded Moment'

CNN's Jack Cafferty, on Tuesday's The Situation Room, went out of his way to compliment Hillary Clinton for "becoming emotional at a diner in New Hampshire." He contended: "In a brief, unguarded moment yesterday, Hillary Clinton gave us a peek behind the curtain, and it was terrific." He went on to say that Hillary "became one of us, just for a minute."

Cafferty's lauding of Clinton came eight minutes into the 4pm Eastern hour of The Situation Room during his regular "Cafferty File" segment. Besides offering those words of praise, Cafferty leveled some criticism of how Hillary had handled herself up until that "unguarded moment," asserting: "I don't ever remember seeing her quite like [how] we saw her yesterday. And maybe that's part of her problem. Not that anybody has asked me, but what if she threw away the script? And instead of lecturing and speechifying and hitting us over the head with her resume, what if she focused on the shared concern that the vast majority of people have about the future of their country?"

[This item, by the MRC's Matthew Balan, was posted Wednesday on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

The full transcript of the "Cafferty File" segment from the January 8 The Situation Room:

JACK CAFFERTY: In a brief, unguarded moment yesterday, Hillary Clinton gave us a peek behind the curtain, and it was terrific. In breaking down and becoming emotional at a diner in New Hampshire, she may have done herself more than all of her handlers and consultants and campaign strategists could ever dream of doing for herself. She became one of us, just for a minute. In all the years that I've watched Hillary in the public eye -- and I first met her in 1992 when I was covering the New Hampshire primary during her husband's first presidential campaign -- I don't ever remember seeing her quite like [how] we saw her yesterday. And maybe that's part of her problem. Not that anybody has asked me, but what if she threw away the script? And instead of lecturing and speechifying and hitting us over the head with her resume, what if she focused on the shared concern that the vast majority of people have about the future of their country? That's exactly what Barack Obama has tapped into, and it seems to be working pretty well for him.
See, the American people are not as easily manipulated as some folks like to think. We really do get it. It's just sometimes takes us a while to wake up. I think we're awake now. And the candidate who recognizes that fact and realistically taps into our hunger for our leaders to level with us -- well, that person will be the next president. The problem for Hillary is it may already be too late. But at this point, what has she got to lose?
Here's the question: Should Hillary Clinton throw away the script? You can go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, and post a comment on my blog.

Stephanopoulos: Hillary's the Queen of
Stage Management

Former Bill Clinton aide, and current ABC anchor, George Stephanopoulos appeared on Wednesday's Good Morning America to gush over Hillary Clinton's mastery of the relatively simple task of stage management. Discussing the New York Senator's win in New Hampshire with GMA co-host Diane Sawyer, he fawned over the placement of individuals at the victory speech: "Hillary Clinton alone at the podium. Young people, faces of hope, behind her. Where is Bill Clinton? Where is Chelsea Clinton? They are not there yet."

The segment seemed to be a cross between a football game and a campaign spot. Stephanopoulos, using a telestrator, circled the various individuals as they appeared onscreen. At the same time, he narrated what sounded like an ad for the '08 White House contender: "Hillary Clinton actually has to motion them up to the stage. Yes, they're reluctant. They don't want to come up. There's Chelsea. There's Bill Clinton, coming up, a little hang dog." The ABC anchor rhapsodized about how Bill Clinton mouthed the words "I'm so proud of you" to his wife. He ended the video replay by describing the New York Senator as "all alone at the podium, the sole victor." Sawyer solemnly added, "Taking charge."

[This item, by the MRC's Scott Whitlock, was posted Wednesday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

The picture which will be added to the posted version of this CyberAlert is an example of how Stephanopoulos visually highlighted the footage. The circled individuals are the aforementioned "faces of hope."

A transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:02am on January 9:

DIANE SAWYER: What's the bottom line on those exit polls? We turn to ABC's chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos, host of This Week. George, in Iowa and New Hampshire, Obama won men. But who came back?
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: He did. The women came through and came back for Hillary Clinton. They came back big as well. Barack Obama won women in Iowa, not New Hampshire. Take a look at this. Hillary Clinton wins by 13 points overall with the women vote. Women over 65 even higher, 57 percent. Huge.
SAWYER: That's huge.
STEPHANOPOULOS: 30 points. And also single women. They have been the secret weapon of the Clinton campaign who they were counting on all year long. 51, Clinton. 32, Barack Obama. Women were the difference.
SAWYER: And we know the Clinton campaign says they knocked on 90,000 doors in the last couple of days. But what else was at work? What do you think surprised everybody?
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, everybody is trying to figure that out, 'cause, frankly, Diane, both campaigns, both the Clinton campaign and the Obama campaign, on Monday, in our last polls, predicted a big Barack Obama victory. But if you look what happened in the final 72 hours. That debate where it seemed the guys were ganging up on Hillary Clinton.
SAWYER: Yes, all the men there on that stage.
STEPHANOPOULOS: On top of that, that moment on Monday, led the news on Monday night. Hillary Clinton showing some emotion, tearing up. That was a Hillary Clinton that no one had seen before especially women.
SAWYER: What about the idea of the generation gap and new guard driving out the old guard?
STEPHANOPOULOS: The new guard didn't come out as much in New Hampshire as they did in Iowa. Now, we did see the change voters still stick by Barack Obama. 55 percent for Barack Obama to 28 percent for Hillary Clinton. But the voters who cared about experience? Absolute blowout. 71 for Clinton and only five for Barack Obama. And then this idea of empathy. We asked voters about somebody who cares about people like them. A big win for Hillary Clinton. 41 percent.
SAWYER: So, there's an empathy and vulnerability the Obama camp-
STEPHANOPOULOS: Empathy and experience gap.
SAWYER: Have to look at this morning. Okay. The scenes that you saw out there-
STEPHANOPOULOS: The Clinton campaign learned some lessons from Iowa. Let's take a look at the tableau on election night of Iowa. It was kind of faces of the '90s. Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state. Wes Clark.
[Video of Iowa and then New Hampshire campaign rallies appear onscreen.]
SAWYER: Again, this is Iowa.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Still Iowa. Bill Clinton, a whole bunch of white guys in the background. Now, move over to New Hampshire, very, very different scene last night. Hillary Clinton alone at the podium. Young people, faces of hope, behind her. Where is Bill Clinton? Where is Chelsea Clinton? They are not there yet. Hillary Clinton actually has to motion them up to the stage. Yes, they're reluctant. They don't want to come up. There's Chelsea. There's Bill Clinton, coming up, a little hang dog. Going to give her a hug for just a second. Watch this, he'll mouth for the camera, "I'm so proud of you" and then exit, stage, right. He will be gone. Hillary Clinton, all alone at the podium, the sole victor.
SAWYER: Taking charge.

NBC's Brian Williams Admits NBC Under-Covered
GOP Side in NH

On Wednesday's NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams admitted that John McCain "didn't get all the attention he deserved" during his network's coverage of the New Hampshire primary, as the NBC anchor read a viewer e-mail which complained that "all the air time and talk was directed to the Democrats, and nothing of any substance was shared about the Republican candidates." Williams introduced the e-mail: "A viewer from Richmond correctly noted John McCain didn't get all the attention he deserved in last night's victory."

The NBC anchor then read the message in which the unidentified viewer sarcastically asked if NBC knew that "there are more than two parties." The message read:
"I was disappointed in your coverage of the New Hampshire primary last evening. You do know that there are two political parties, don't you? All the air time and talk was directed to the Democrats, and nothing of any substance was shared about the Republican candidates. As a voter who hasn't yet decided how to vote, it would have been nice to hear from both sides. What ever happened to equal time?"

[This item, by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth, was posted Wednesday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

Williams was presumably referring to the NBC broadcast network's coverage which consisted of relatively short interruptions of NBC's regular primetime programming. But notably, MSNBC's election night team mocked and laughed at McCain's delivery charging that he looked down too much as he read his speech, and that "it looked like every advisor that he'd ever had had given him one paragraph." See: newsbusters.org

-- Brent Baker