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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bentway who wrote (359990)	11/23/2007 2:11:13 PM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 1576591

That's because you don't own land. So you don't pay property taxes

To: bentway who wrote (359990)	11/23/2007 2:53:52 PM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 1576591

Hillary frightened to death by reporters ______________ Hillary criticized for press strategy November 23, 2007 By Christina Bellantoni When Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton wants to get a message out, her presidential campaign handpicks news outlets. Or, in some cases, bypasses the media entirely. The New York Democrat's third-quarter fundraising blowout was leaked to the Drudge Report. She made sure an Iowa newspaper printed her comments that she found Sen. Barack Obama's answer to a foreign-policy question "irresponsible" and "naive." She also uses her "Hillary Hub" campaign creation to break news. The strategy allows Mrs. Clinton — who rarely holds press availabilities — to avoid taking questions from reporters who cover her campaign and who might have detailed follow-up queries to her carefully planned policy announcements. Mrs. Clinton's rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination have been painting her as someone who dodges tough questions or parses answers to difficult issues. Her opponents stepped up the pressure after it was revealed her campaign staff planted two questions with supporters at a campaign event. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina regularly accuses Mrs. Clinton of "double-talk," and his campaign created a "Plants for Hillary" spoof Web site to highlight the issue. "Not answering questions because we're afraid our answers won't be popular just won't do," Mr. Obama of Illinois recently added to his stump speech. The Clinton campaign strategy has made the former first lady a coveted guest on political talk shows, and her rare Sunday presence helped her orchestrate a five-show offensive in September to talk about her health care plan. She also explained details of her plan in a Web chat, answering questions submitted at HillaryClinton.com. One voter asked how she would combat "Swift Boat"-style attacks. "We have to be prepared to fight back and stand our ground. That's what I've always done," Mrs. Clinton said. The campaign has been tightly controlled from the start, with Mrs. Clinton announcing her candidacy in a Web video and negotiating strict terms for her appearances on network morning shows, according to published reports. Staffers often give vague answers to reporters' questions via e-mail, leaving no room for follow-up. Sometimes the campaign will direct reporters to facts.hillaryhub.com to let its research speak for itself. Mrs. Clinton did a rare media availability soon after the question-planting scandal surfaced, telling reporters: "It was news to me." "Neither I nor my campaign approve of that, and it will certainly not be tolerated," she added. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson — the Democratic candidates without the money and poll standing — are easy to approach on the campaign trail with specific questions. They also take more questions from voters. Mr. Edwards holds at least one press availability per day on most of his campaign trips, and his staff gives reporters a few minutes of private time with the former senator aboard his bus. Mrs. Clinton left an environmental forum in Los Angeles last week without speaking to reporters, but Mr. Edwards went into the press tent and took three questions. Mr. Obama speaks more frequently to reporters, but faced some irritated scribes earlier this month in Iowa. During a brief availability, his staff at first only allowed local reporters to ask questions, few of which were tough. After Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times complained that she had unanswered questions and that "it's been awhile" since she was able to ask them, Mr. Obama called on her. Another reporter called out: "Hang on a second." "If transparency is such a big part of the campaign, why are the availabilities so few and far between and so short? Surely you can answer some questions," the reporter complained. Caucus for Priorities, a group focused on wasteful Pentagon spending, which trailed the candidates in Iowa, recently endorsed Mr. Edwards in part because he takes more questions from voters than Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton. "We went all the way from June to September without asking her a single question. She had a lot of these town-hall formats, where they just didn't take questions at all," said Peggy Huppert, the group's executive director. The Washington Times asked the campaign to provide a list of press availabilities Mrs. Clinton has held, but did not receive one. Democrats say Mrs. Clinton can avoid reporters because she is the strong national front-runner. But some Iowans have been complaining she isn't answering their questions.