Hillary’s Day in Austin
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Texans tuning into Fox Sports Net Southwest on Monday evening expecting to see the Dallas Mavericks’ pre-game show were in for a surprise.
Yes, that was Hillary Clinton conducting an hour-long “Texas-Sized Town Hall Meeting” on the regional cable sports network. (The Clinton campaign told the New York Times over the weekend that it chose the network to reach more male voters and because it offered cheap air time.)
The choreographed question-and-answer session was the Clinton campaign’s closing pitch to Texas voters before tomorrow’s much-anticipated primary. Watching a political candidate stand on a stage to discuss public policy for an hour doesn’t exactly qualify as riveting television, but Clinton seems to think it works for her. She has employed the broadcast town hall before — most notably on the Hallmark channel before Super Tuesday.
The event was held at the Austin Convention Center, but the campaign wouldn’t let in print reporters. So this lowly, ink-stained retch had to watch on television. (It also was streamed on Clinton’s Web site.)
Corpus Christi-native Eva Longoria served as MC. And Clinton offered little, if anything, new. Mostly she fielded such biting questions as “What are you going to do about the uninsured?” and “What would you do in the White House to continue to fight to protect children?” Clinton pivoted off these to dash through her usual set of talking points and segments from her stump speech.
At one point, Longoria announced she would ask Clinton an “Internet” question, then looked around in helpless confusion. No one seemed to have an “Internet” question. Even Clinton seemed bewildered. “Is that person on the Internet? Are they here?” An uncomfortable silence followed. “I would sing and dance, but that would end things very quickly,” Clinton ad-libbed. Longoria eventually moved on.
Perhaps the most interesting moment came when actor Ted Danson, making a guest appearance, introduced two wounded Iraq war veterans, who asked how Clinton would end the war in a way that would ensure their sacrifice hadn’t been in vain.
First Clinton honored their service and sacrifice, then dusted off one of Bush’s infamous lines. “Your mission has been accomplished,” she said. “The political mission has not. I do not believe there is a military solution….You see, it’s up to the Iraqis. We have given them the gift of freedom, the greatest gift you can give someone. Now it is really up to them to determine whether they will take that gift.”
This was fascinating language from Clinton, who’s come under heavy criticism from Barack Obama’s campaign for her 2002 vote authorizing the war. Given the huge loss of life and the massive destruction visited on Iraq, it’s not hard to imagine a lot of Iraqis would like to mark that “gift” as return to sender.
In her closing remarks, Clinton offered a “Texas-sized thank you to all my friends.” And, in a hint that she may plunge ahead in her campaign no matter the outcome tomorrow, added: “Criss-crossing the state…It’s gotten me all energized and ready to keep going.”
After the town hall, Clinton traveled to the Tony Burger Center for a final Texas pep rally. The crowd was heavy on women over 40, who make up a huge share of the Democratic primary vote and are overwhelmingly for Clinton. A popular shirt read: “Girl’s Night Out, Hillary’s Raucous TX Caucus.” There also seemed to be a good number of AFSCME supporters. The union only boasts about 11,000 members in Texas but if every member motivates family members…
Clinton entered to cheers and took a moment to shake hands with an elderly woman in the crowd as she does at many events. These are woman who have long dreamed of a woman president and believe that this might be the last shot in their lifetime. Austin State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez introduced her. Among those standing on stage was Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, one of her most prominent African American supporters.
Clinton ran through her stump one last time, her voice cracking from over use. “I have earned every wrinkle on my face,” she said when talking about her decades of political work. While there were one or two indirect jabs at Barack Obama, by and large the speech focused on what she wanted to accomplish. She ended by urging those assembled to think of their vote as a hiring decision, and of course, to hire her for the job.
One final chore for the night, a friendly hearing in prime national airtime with Jon Stewart of The Daily Show. Stewart seems to conjure up Hitler jokes when he thinks of Obama, and tonight was no different. For Clinton, nothing but love. “I wish you were out here on the campaign trail with us,” she told him. “I am honored and thrilled to be part of a history making campaign.”
March 7th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Is this really different from other campaign events, or is this just an unintelligent reporting/commentary on your part?