Williams Tosses Softballs to Obama, Empathizes Over Elitist Image --5/9/2008

1. Williams Tosses Softballs to Obama, Empathizes Over Elitist Image
Brian Williams, who slobbered over Barack Obama in their last interview in early January, did so again in a Thursday session excerpted on the NBC Nightly News. Back on January 7, Williams handed Obama a Newsweek with "Inside Obama's Dream Machine" as the cover story and wondered: "How does this feel, of all the honors that have come your way, all the publicity? Who does it make you think of? Is there, is there a loved one?" On Thursday, Williams didn't pose a single challenging question nor mention Jeremiah Wright in any of the ten questions aired, but pulled the same magazine stunt, this time holding up the new Time with a smiling Obama on the cover by the words, "And the Winner* Is..." Williams fondly recalled: "Last time we were together, I handed you a copy of Newsweek, it was the first time you'd held it in your hands with you on the cover. Have you yet held this in your hands?" Obama said he had not, prompting Williams to remind him: "Last time you looked at it and you thought instantly of your mom." Proceeding to cue up Obama for a long recitation on how he's not an elitist, Williams empathized: "You end up with people talking about your bowling score, gutter balls, wearing a tie, wearing a tie with farmers. And how have you dealt with that? Is there an operating theory that guides your life these days?"

2. CNN's Blitzer to Obama: 'Ready to Handle' the 'Assault' from GOP?
CNN's Wolf Blitzer, during a much hyped interview of Barack Obama on Thursday's The Situation Room, tried to dismiss facts about the Illinois Senator's as mere opinions. The CNN host also made a prediction about the upcoming general election campaign: "You know they're going to paint you -- the McCain camp, Republicans -- as a classic tax and spend liberal Democrat, that you are going to raise the taxes for the American people, and to spend money like there's no tomorrow when it comes to federal government programs. You ready to handle that kind of assault?" In fact, the National Journal -- not a conservative magazine -- had identified Obama as the most liberal Senator during 2007, so if the Republicans do launch "that kind of assault," it has a basis in Obama's own record in the Senate.

3. NBC's Ann Curry: McCain is Old, He's 71. Did I Mention He's 71?
The Today show's Ann Curry interviewed Cindy McCain on Thursday morning and got her to promise that the McCain campaign won't go negative. However Curry, herself, repeatedly pressed a point that is sure to be part of a, not-so-quiet, whisper campaign against the Arizona Senator this fall: that too he's old to be President: "There's never been an older President, at 71....and you've seen, as a wife of a Senator, what that job does to the men elected to it....Can't take away the numbers. 71?"

4. ABC's Cuomo Scolds Clinton's Wolfson for Saying Obama Can't Win
Good Morning America news anchor Chris Cuomo on Thursday aggressively told top Hillary Clinton aide Howard Wolfson that it's time for the Senator to get out of the race and allow Barack Obama to begin his general election campaign. At one point, after the communication director suggested that Clinton would do better than Obama in states such as West Virginia, an irritated Cuomo sputtered: "If you're going out there, as communication director of your campaign, telling super delegates Barack can't win against McCain, how is that helping the Democrats?" When Wolfson repeated his argument that Hillary could capture West Virginia, Cuomo helpfully suggested: "And what a great contribution that might be for a vice presidential candidate." Earlier in the segment, the ABC anchor, who is the son of former New York Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo and brother to the state's current Democratic attorney general, insisted: "Why isn't this the time to get out?"

Williams Tosses Softballs to Obama, Empathizes
Over Elitist Image

Brian Williams, who slobbered over Barack Obama in their last interview in early January, did so again in a Thursday session conducted at Washington, DC's Newseum and excerpted on the NBC Nightly News. Back on January 7, Williams handed Obama a Newsweek with "Inside Obama's Dream Machine" as the cover story and wondered: "How does this feel, of all the honors that have come your way, all the publicity? Who does it make you think of? Is there, is there a loved one?" On Thursday, Williams didn't pose a single challenging question nor mention Jeremiah Wright in any of the ten questions aired, but pulled the same magazine stunt, this time holding up the new Time with a smiling Obama on the cover by the words, "And the Winner* Is..." Williams fondly recalled: "Last time we were together, I handed you a copy of Newsweek, it was the first time you'd held it in your hands with you on the cover. Have you yet held this in your hands?"

Image of the cover of the May 19 Time magazine: www.time.com

Obama said he had not, prompting Williams to remind him: "Last time you looked at it and you thought instantly of your mom." Obama effused: "She'd like that picture. She always encouraged me to smile more." Proceeding to cue up Obama for a long recitation on how he's not an elitist, Williams empathized: "You end up with people talking about your bowling score, gutter balls, wearing a tie, wearing a tie with farmers. And how have you dealt with that? Is there an operating theory that guides your life these days?"

Next, Williams pressed Obama three times about putting Hillary Clinton on the ticket, starting with this inquiry: "Have there been internal conversations or any outreach, any contact at all with the Clinton camp about a ticket that would involve Senator Clinton?"

Setting up the segment at the top of his newscast, Williams touted how "there's been a measurable change around" Obama, gushing about how "you could see it and feel it in Washington today. The people rushing to him, crowding around him on Capitol Hill" and in "the crowds that greeted him several stories high in the Newseum."

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

(Williams did raise Wright in the full 23-minute interview posted, as Flash video, on MSNBC.com, but not to discuss the substance. Williams was more interested in Obama's strategic mistake and whether he thought there was "valor" in taking the hit:
"You mentioned a moment ago you've made mistakes in this campaign. Is one of them your handling of the Wright stuff, the Reverend Wright material? You presented to a lot of people kind of the style of a loner, it was allowed to come out there -- given the news cycles these days it was out there as cable wallpaper for several days. You didn't engage. Did you think there was valor in letting it out and taking the hit initially? What was the strategy?")

The January 8 CyberAlert item, "Williams Slobbers Over Obama; Couric Counters McCain on Surge," recounted:

In interviews aired Monday night, NBC's Brian Williams slobbered over Barack Obama while CBS's Katie Couric told John McCain the surge in Iraq has not been a success and pressed Mitt Romney to apologize for his negative ads. Riding on a bus in New Hampshire the day before the Granite state's primary, Williams showed Obama the Newsweek with the Democratic candidate on the cover and wondered: "How does this feel, of all the honors that have come your way, all the publicity? Who does it make you think of? Is there, is there a loved one?"

This week's Newsweek cover has a picture of Obama with an Obama quote: "Our time for change has come." The headline over the cover story by Richard Wolfe, a frequent guest of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann: "Inside Obama's Dream Machine." The subhead hailed Obama as "an icon of hope." Echoing that theme, Williams later observed how "in his stump speech, he now says 'we' instead of 'I.' The implication: What happened in Iowa was the start of a movement."...

For that previous CyberAlert in full: www.mediaresearch.org
Video of Williams slobbering over Obama on the bus: Scroll down to "Swept Up by the Dream Machine" in the MRC's January 14 edition of Notable Quotables: www.mrc.org

Transcript of how Williams set up the lead story on the Thursday, May 8 NBC Nightly News, with all of the questions to Obama the newscast aired:

BRIAN WILLIAMS: ...As for Barack Obama, there's been a measurable change around him. You could see it and feel it in Washington today. The people rushing to him, crowding around him on Capitol Hill where, among other things, he visited the House of Representatives. These days it's also the house of super-delegates. Then there were the crowds that greeted him several stories high in the Newseum in Washington. He was there to sit down with us today to talk about where this race stands.

WILLIAMS: Are you the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party?
[OBAMA]
WILLIAMS: Have you had any discussions about declaring that victory on the 20th after Kentucky and Oregon are decided?
[OBAMA]
WILLIAMS: Last time we were together, I handed you a copy of Newsweek, it was the first time you'd held it in your hands with you on the cover. Have you yet held this in your hands?
OBAMA: No, I don't want to. Because the last time it was in New Hampshire and I ended up losing. So, I'm not sure if it's the magazine or you, Brian, that's the jinx, but I'm not taking any chances.
WILLIAMS: Last time you looked at it and you thought instantly of your mom.
OBAMA: She'd like that picture. She always encouraged me to smile more.
WILLIAMS: What's the asterisk stand for for to you?
OBAMA: It's a signifier this is not done. But my mom would be proud of me. She might also say, don't get too full of yourself, go out there and do some more work.
WILLIAMS: Due respect, Senator, I'm not guessing, you've had a lot of bowling experience, but you end up with people talking about your bowling score, gutter balls, wearing a tie, wearing a tie with farmers. And how have you dealt with that? Is there an operating theory that guides your life these days?
OBAMA: You know, my theory is not to over-think it because I think the American people are smarter than that. The bowling is a wonderful example, right? You go and to a bowling alley because you want to meet with a bunch of folks. Folks are lined up and their having a great time, we're talking, signing autographs. Then some woman says, why don't you bowl a couple of frames. I say, sure, although I haven't bold in 25 years, I'm out there having a great time. Suddenly this becomes some big sort of signifier of whether or not I'm in tune with blue collar culture. I was raised by small town folks from Kansas with Midwestern values of honesty and hard work and responsibility. And so this notion somehow that I'm some sprout-eating Volvo driving person, when, you know, of all the candidates remaining in this race, I probably came from the toughest circumstances, not overly tough, I don't want to overstate it, but some tough circumstances without a father in the house. And you know, raised by people who come straight out of central casting of small Midwestern towns. I think just doesn't match up with who am I.
WILLIAMS: So are you going to keep wearing a tie because you believe in it?
OBAMA: Sometimes I wear a tie, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I wear a flag pin, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I like a burger and a beer. Sometimes a glass of wine and a steak is good. But this doesn't have much to do with how I'm going to lead the country. What does have to do with leading the country is my commitment to make sure that everybody has the same chances that somebody gave me.
WILLIAMS: Have there been internal conversations or any outreach, any contact at all with the Clinton camp about a ticket that would involve Senator Clinton?
OBAMA: You know, we have not have those conversations because I respect what she has said publicly, that she's continuing this campaign.
WILLIAMS: Is it under consideration?
OBAMA: Brian, what I've said is I want to respect her and her desire to continue in these coming contests. As soon as I know that I'm the nominee, then I'm going to start making overtures, certainly to her as well as everybody else to figure out how we're going to bring this party together.
WILLIAMS: Would she meet the criteria of a Barack Obama running mate in the eventuality that you would be the nominee?
OBAMA: Well, there's no doubt she's qualified to be Vice President, there's no doubt she's qualified to be President. Obviously I think I'll be a better President otherwise I wouldn't be running. But she's a very capable, very smart person and I think anybody who has been in a political contest with her can tell you that she's no pushover.

MSNBC.com Flash video of the portion which aired on NBC Nightly News: www.msnbc.msn.com

Video of the entire 23-minute interview: www.msnbc.msn.com

CNN's Blitzer to Obama: 'Ready to Handle'
the 'Assault' from GOP?

CNN's Wolf Blitzer, during a much hyped interview of Barack Obama on Thursday's The Situation Room, tried to dismiss facts about the Illinois Senator's as mere opinions. The CNN host also made a prediction about the upcoming general election campaign: "You know they're going to paint you -- the McCain camp, Republicans -- as a classic tax and spend liberal Democrat, that you are going to raise the taxes for the American people, and to spend money like there's no tomorrow when it comes to federal government programs. You ready to handle that kind of assault?"

In fact, the National Journal -- not a conservative magazine -- had identified Obama as the most liberal Senator during 2007, so if the Republicans do launch "that kind of assault," it has a basis in Obama's own record in the Senate. NJ's ratings: nj.nationaljournal.com

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

Twelve minutes later, or about 26 minutes into the 4pm Eastern hour of the playback of the taped interview, after discussing the Iraq war with the Democrat, Blitzer brought up the issue of Israel and its battle with Hamas: "This is going to be a huge difference -- the war in Iraq, the fallout between you and McCain. He also is going after you now today, the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence. He says you're not necessarily endorsing policies that would be good for Israel. He says this, for example. 'I think it's very clear who Hamas wants to be the next President of the United States. I think that people should understand that I will be Hamas's worst nightmare. If Senator Obama is favored by Hamas, I think people can make judgments accordingly.'"

During the Israel portion of the interview, Blitzer failed to mention the fact that Ahmed Yousef, the chief political adviser to Ismail Haniyah, the senior political leader of Hamas, had communicated the terror group's endorsement of Obama during an interview on WABC radio on April 13: "We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election." See: www.powerlineblog.com

NBC's Ann Curry: McCain is Old, He's
71. Did I Mention He's 71?

Curry's obsession:

ANN CURRY: And she laughed when asked if she has any concerns about his age. You're laughing. Why are you smiling about that?
CINDY McCAIN: Come spend the day with us.
CURRY: I mean there's never been an older President, at 71. So you've got, this, this is a fair question.
McCAIN: It is a fair question.
CURRY: And you've seen, as a wife of a Senator, what that job does to the men elected to it.
McCAIN: I would challenge anybody who has a question about his age to come travel with us for a day, on the campaign, because I have to pull off sometimes. He's too much for me. This is about experience. This is a man, who not only has experience, but has the, the, the compass that his life's skills and his life experiences have given him.
CURRY: Can't take away the numbers. 71?

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

The following is the full interview as it occurred on the May 8 Today show:

MEREDITH VIEIRA: And now to a Today exclusive. An interview with Cindy McCain, the wife of presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. Ann caught up with her on Wednesday. She's been doing a lot of campaigning for her husband.

ANN CURRY: She has. In fact she flew in directly from the campaign trail to our interview, Meredith. With Democrats getting closer to choosing a nominee the spotlight now begins to shine on the general election now just six months away. How nasty might it get? Well Cindy McCain's answer this morning.

[On screen headline: "Curry On The Trail, Cindy McCain: We Won't Go Negative"]

CINDY McCAIN: And what you're gonna see is, I, I believe we're going to see a great debate. Which, which the American public deserves, more importantly. None of this negative stuff though. You won't see it come out of our side, at all. Because--
CURRY: None of the negative stuff will come out of your side?
McCAIN: My husband is absolutely opposed to any negative campaigning at all.
CURRY: Cindy McCain expressed strong feelings on numerous subjects, including the devastation in Myanmar.
McCAIN: I can't sit still. I, I want, you know, I want to be there. And I want thousands people to follow me. I'm, I'm, I'm appalled at the government of Myanmar doing what they're doing. They didn't tell their citizens, number one, warn them that this was coming. And number two, now that this disaster has occurred they're not allowing humanitarian help in. I don't understand it. I'm, I'm shocked, appalled and I'm angry.
CURRY: She also feels strongly about Iraq.
McCAIN: These young men and women are the finest that America has to offer.
CURRY: Their 19-year-old Marine son Jimmy served in Iraq and could go again. She knows the pain of missing his call.
McCAIN: I burst into tears when I looked down and saw the number because the numbers were the same at these, you know, these strange numbers came up in the phone. And, and, you know I'm no different than every other parent who has a son or daughter serving any where in the world. You want to talk them and just know they're safe. And I missed the call. And I just quietly burst into tears. Nobody wants war. Nobody does. My husband and I, least of all because we have a son that was there. But these young men and women are doing their duty like no other.
CURRY: You say you want to bring them home with honor. Some people might say, "We just want to bring them home alive." Why is Iraq worth risking the lives of your sons? American-
McCAIN: Freedom, freedom. Freedom from, freedom from oppression. Freedom. We live, we-
CURRY: For Iraqis?
McCAIN: Yes.
CURRY: She defended her own right to keep her tax returns private.
McCAIN: You know my husband and I have been married 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years. This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate.
CURRY: So you'll never release your saying-
McCAIN: No, no.
CURRY: Never?
McCAIN: No.
CURRY: Even if you're First Lady?
McCAIN: No.
CURRY: Because that is, even though a not elected position you would be in a very public role.
McCAIN: I'm not the candidate.
CURRY: She disputed what has been described as her husband's temper.
McCAIN: It's not a temper it's passion.
CURRY: And she laughed when asked if she has any concerns about his age. You're laughing. Why are you smiling about that?
McCAIN: Come spend the day with us.
CURRY: I mean there's never been an older president, at 71. So you've got, this, this is a fair question.
McCAIN: It is a fair question.
CURRY: And you've seen, as a wife of a senator, what that job does to the men elected to it.
McCAIN: I would challenge anybody who has a question about his age to come travel with us for a day, on the campaign, because I have to pull off sometimes. He's too much for me. This is about experience. This is a man, who not only has experience, but has the, the, the compass that his life's skills and his life experiences have given him.
CURRY: Can't take away the numbers. 71?
McCAIN: Oh he's...I'm 53 and he's much younger than I am, I can tell you.
(Curry laughs)
CURRY: Really?
McCAIN: Yes!
CURRY: In what way?
McCAIN: Oh he, listen, he's gonna hike the Grand Canyon again, this summer, with our sons. I'm not gonna go. I'll freely tell you right now. He's, he's just a ball of fire.
CURRY: It's six months to go before the election, you talk about that none of the nasty kind of campaign that we've been seeing will come from your side. But are you prepared for the next six months, knowing that, that's how it generally does go?
McCAIN: Well I'm never ready for those kinds of things, particularly when it involves my children but I can tell you that having been through this before I'm glad, I'm actually glad, grateful that I've been through it before. Because if things do turn that way, from the other side, I would hope that I would behave the same way I did before and that is with grace and dignity. And, and rise above it.
CURRY: Even if it doesn't help you win the presidency?
McCAIN: I believe I can speak for my husband on the same thing. We'd rather not win than have to do that. That's not worth winning for.
CURRY: I also asked Cindy McCain about published reports this week that she and her husband didn't vote for George W. Bush after their bruising campaign loss in 2000. She said that's not true. Meredith?

VIEIRA: Very adamant about those tax returns. A lot of people have been wondering if she's gonna release them. She, quite definitively, said no.
CURRY: She's an extremely wealthy woman. She's reportedly worth something like $100 million. But she, she is adamant that she will never release them because she's not a candidate. She's actually not someone who's a candidate ever to be elected. Anyway.
VIEIRA: Alright Ann, thank you very much. Very interesting. Thank you.
CURRY: Thanks.

ABC's Cuomo Scolds Clinton's Wolfson
for Saying Obama Can't Win

Good Morning America news anchor Chris Cuomo on Thursday aggressively told top Hillary Clinton aide Howard Wolfson that it's time for the Senator to get out of the race and allow Barack Obama to begin his general election campaign. At one point, after the communication director suggested that Clinton would do better than Obama in states such as West Virginia, an irritated Cuomo sputtered: "If you're going out there, as communication director of your campaign, telling super delegates Barack can't win against McCain, how is that helping the Democrats?"

When Wolfson repeated his argument that Hillary could capture West Virginia, Cuomo helpfully suggested: "And what a great contribution that might be for a vice presidential candidate." Earlier in the segment, the ABC anchor, who is the son of former New York Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo and brother to the state's current Democratic attorney general, insisted: "Why isn't this the time to get out?" An ABC graphic, just below Cuomo, reiterated, "Clinton Hangs On: How Can She Remain in Race?"

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

A previous piece, which aired right before the Cuomo interrogation of Wolfson, continued the "get out" mantra. GMA co-host Robin Roberts began the first segment by flatly proclaiming: "Many believe that the race should be over." In a tease, she asked, "...Has Barack Obama already crossed the finish line?" Roberts also parroted Cuomo's VP query and asked "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos about the possibility of an Obama/Clinton "super ticket." Reporter Jake Tapper, in his usual snarky tone, derided Clinton's chances: "Defying pundits, party leaders and high school math, Clinton says she remains in it to win it."

There is an obvious difference between noting that it doesn't look good for Clinton and aggressively attempting to clear the deck for Senator Obama. And that's what Good Morning America did on Thursday. It's fitting that Cuomo began his interview with Wolfson by stating that there's "a lot of pressure" on Clinton to get out. He then asked: "May be reaching fever pitch?" It certainly is within the media.

A transcript of Chris Cuomo's interview with Howard Wolfson, which aired at 7:04am on May 8:

CHRIS CUOMO: As we've heard here, a lot of pressure on Senator Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race. May be reaching fever pitch? She says she's standing her ground, so what's the message coming out of the campaign? Who better to ask than Senator Clinton's communication director Howard Wolfson. Howard, thank you very much for joining me this morning. Let me get a quick react from you. The potential cover of Time magazine, can we put it up? "And the winner is," it says. A picture of, who seems to be, Barack Obama. Your reaction?

ABC GRAPHIC: Clinton Hangs On: How Can She Remain in Race?

HOWARD WOLFSON: Chris, I can't count the number of times that the pundits decided that Senator Clinton was finished. They did it in New Hampshire. They did it before Ohio. They did it before Pennsylvania. We've got a lot of fight left in us. We believe Senator Clinton is going to be the nominee of this party and the next president. We take the campaign to West Virginia today. It's a key swing state. Senator Clinton has flatly predicted that she would win in West Virginia against John McCain. We're going to show just why in the next couple of days. We hope to do well there and in the upcoming primaries after that.
CUOMO: Well, it's not just the pundits though, Howard, it's the mathematicians. I mean, if you're looking at the numbers, you know all about the numbers. With the six remaining contests, about 217 delegates out there, even if you won all of them you couldn't close the gap. Why isn't this the time to get out?
WOLFSON: Well, it is critically important to do well in the upcoming states and I think we can narrow the gap significantly if we do that, as we expect to. We also believe that the delegations of Florida and Michigan, the two states that voted in overwhelming numbers earlier this year, and for Senator Clinton, should be seated at the convention. We're having a dispute within our party about whether those two states should be able to participate. We believe that they should. Two and a half million people came out and voted, many of them for Senator Clinton. We think that those states should participate. That two will narrow the gap.
CUOMO: But, two things to look at there: First of all, even if the senator, Senator Clinton, did get Michigan and Florida, she'd still have to win 76 percent of all remaining delegates. No basis to believe that would happen. If she only gets, doesn't get Florida and gets Michigan, she'd need 88 percent. So, the math, not so good. But, also, the impact on your party of having the two states included, when Barack didn't even campaign, wasn't really on the ballot there. What effect would that have?
WOLFSON: Well, I think the impact of not allowing two and a half million people to have their voices heard at our convention would be significant. Florida and Michigan are key swing states, as you know. We need to be able to reach out to those voters in those states and say you're welcome in our party. We want you in our party. We want you at our convention. That's what Senator Clinton believes. You know, Senator Obama has consistently had a very hard time winning the key swing states. He's lost Florida. He lost Michigan. He lost Ohio. He lost Pennsylvania. Senator Clinton is running ahead of Senator Obama against John McCain in those key swing states and I think that kind of information does weigh importantly on super delegates who are looking to see who would be the best candidate against John McCain.
CUOMO: Howard, let me ask you, when does it turn from positive to negative? Dianne Feinstein, longtime supporter of Senator Clinton, said she's worried about the point of negative dividends coming here from Hillary's actions. If you're going out there, as communications director of your campaign, telling super delegates Barack can't win against McCain, how is that helping the Democrats?
WOLFSON: Well, look, I haven't said that he can't win. I think that Senator Clinton will win and she is the better nominee for our party.
CUOMO: But, You're saying he has trouble in the key states -- He's going to have troubles against McCain, a Republican-
WOLFSON: Chris, you know that's just a fact. And super delegates are well aware of it, whether I say it or not. I mean, the fact that Senator Obama is having the kind of problem that he's having in winning over blue collar voters, that's a fact and it's a fact whether I say it on this show or not. So, we believe that this has been good for the party. We've had a million more Democrats come out and enter the rolls of the Democratic Party. Senator Obama has a lot of passionate supporters. That's great. Senator Clinton has a lot of passionate supporters. We're bringing passion and energy into this party. I think this process has been great for the party. And let me tell you, Senator Clinton campaigning in West Virginia, today, trying to bring West Virginia into the fold in November. You know that we won it in the '90s, we lost it in 2000 and 2004. That's a key swing state. We believe we can bring a state like West Virginia, like Kentucky into the Democratic family once again.
CUOMO: And what a great contribution that might be for a vice presidential candidate. Bring some passion to that question. If Hillary Clinton is given as a potential exit from her race as president, the vice presidential seat, would she accept it?
WOLFSON: You know, she has said very clearly, that is not something she's thinking about. She thinks it would be completely premature to discuss any plans about the vie presidency. She hasn't indicated any interest in it. We are focused on her doing well in West Virginia on Tuesday, in the upcoming primary states, getting Florida and Michigan seated and making our case that Senator Clinton would be the strongest nominee against John McCain.

-- Brent Baker