UK Guardian: Hillary Clinton woos man who nearly ruined her husband (DRUDGE)

[Stephanie]

It's nice to have friends, right Hill?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/oct/23/usa.hillaryclinton1

Hillary Clinton woos man who nearly ruined her husband·
Campaign staff use Drudge Report against poll rivals
Internet journalist gentle with Democrat candidate

The Guardian, Tuesday October 23 2007

---snip---

During the presidential campaign, the Drudge Report, once known as the scourge of Democrats, has betrayed a surprisingly soft side for the woman previously viewed by diehard Republicans as the mother of all that is liberal and permissive in America. When Ms Clinton had a coughing fit during a speech in New Orleans last summer, Drudge reacted with genuine concern, telling listeners to his Miami radio show: "Hillary dear, take care of yourself. We need you," according to New York magazine.

On another occasion, he confessed: "I need Hillary Clinton. I need to be part of her world. That's my bank."

Yesterday, it emerged that the caring went two ways. The New York Times reported that the Clinton campaign had grown adept at using the Drudge Report to leak news that could steal the thunder from rivals, or to solidify her position as the frontrunner for the Democratic party's presidential nomination for next year.

Earlier this month, Ms Clinton's staff leaked campaign fundraising data to the website just as her rival for the nomination, Barack Obama, was to deliver a policy speech on Iraq - and a crucial 20 minutes before the official release of the information. The story on Ms Clinton's fundraising prowess dominated the news cycle.

The New York Times reported that the Clinton campaign had opened a direct line of communication to Drudge through a former Democratic national committee official, Tracy Sefl. Ms Sefl refused to comment yesterday, but the revelation was widely seen as a sign of Drudge's importance in the US media, despite his reclusive nature and a history of getting some stories spectacularly wrong.

[Bread and Circus]

1. interesting.

[Stephanie]

2. Someone has to teach Hillary about The Google

[Windy]

8. Yes, she has proven to be very google deficient. She also needs gingko to remember pardons in the

Clinton administration (Rosenberg of the Weatherman) and the language in her own memoir regarding NAFTA and her support for it!

[Hieronymus]

37. Yes, she's still Xeroxing.

[redqueen]

3. .

*sigh*

[Rageneau]

4. It's called Ju-Jitsu. Use the enemy's power against him.

(The enemy being Drudge, not Obama).

[redqueen]

6. Huh?

How does the alleged leaking of stuff via Drudge hurt Drudge?

[Debi]

39. Just back away slowly, redqueen

:crazy:

[anonymous171]

5. Bumping for more developements. nt

[SoFlaJet]

7. and who reads Drudge? Republicans

Hillary Clinton is trying to not win at this point, she and her campaign know she's done, what they are doing is playing for 2012. If they can swing the election to McCain they would be able to run again in 2012. A truly scumbaggy thing to do. Again, they think we're stupid fucking idiots who can't think at their level but they are as transparent as cellophane to us that have been watching this shit for the past decade being done BY republicans. I'm starting to hate these people

[Windy]

10. the media reads drudge faithfully. It gets picked up by conservative radio and then the MSM.

Clinton Shill Bill Press is good friends with Drudge and reads him faithfully btw. He would have Drudge on his television show (buchannon and press) as a guest very very often.

[SoFlaJet]

12. well I'm a democrat and I don't read that shit

ironically BECAUSE of the way they treated Bill Clinton when they first came online-as a propaganda tool for the conservatives and the RW slime machine. To see Hillary Clinton use that scumbag's site as a tool is sickening to me

[redqueen]

13. "To see Hillary Clinton use that scumbag's site as a tool is sickening to me"

Amen.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

9. like to see that New York Times article - Clinton/Drudge connection

interesting.

[ProSense]

11. Here's Wolfson's validating part of Drudge's claim:

On a conference call with reporters just now, Hillary spokesperson Howard Wolfson strongly denied any role in pushing the photo of Obama in a turban and Somali garb.

Drudge reported this morning that Clinton staffers had "circulated" the photo. He didn't say who circulated it, what level of Clinton staffer had circulated it, or to whom it had been circulated. Nonetheless, the media has been all over the story today.

Asked if the campaign had any role, Wolfson said, "No, not to my knowledge...I've never seen that picture before. I'm not aware that anyone else here has. I'm not aware that anyone here has circulated this e-mail."

Wolfson did say, however, that the campaign agreed with part of the message in the email -- that if the same photo had appeared of Hillary, it would have been a big story: "It is a common view among this campaign and our supporters that there is a difference in how the media covers our campaign and how it covers Senator Obama."

link

Damage control.

This latest incident is different in that it comes on the heels of Hillary's campaign and her surrogates promoting Obama's ties to "former members of a radical domestic terrorist group."

Obama's campaign would not connect Hillary to the latest attack story without validation.

It has happened before and Axelrod denounced the attempts to link Hillary's campaign to an attack:

The article further reported that Obama strategist David Axelrod said he did not "believe ... for a second" the allegation that Clinton's camp was behind the story.

[K Gardner]

14. kick

[redqueen]

15. So... why no response from those who think anyone upset over the Drudge story

is just being led around by the nose?

Comments please?

Hello?

[Stephanie]

47. *crickets*

They're curiously absent any time they're asked to respond on the facts.

[blogslut]

16. Another day, another low

How low can they go?

[billyoc]

17. DLC loyalty at its finest. nt

[BigAnth]

18. Any comments from the Clinton people on this??????

[redqueen]

19. Good question. (nt)

[IndianaGreen]

33. They are blaming Obama for everything!

In an ironic twist, Hillary is now saying that Obama is like Bush:

"We've seen the tragic result of having a president who had neither the experience nor the wisdom to manage our foreign policy and safeguard our national security," Clinton said in a foreign policy speech at George Washington University. "We cannot let that happen again. America has already taken that chance one time too many."

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/02/25/clinton_touts_foreign_policy_e.html?hpid=topnews

We took a chance with JFK, Carter, and Bill Clinton, who had very little foreign policy experience. They all did fine, even Carter despite the problem with the Iranian hostages and the support for the Shah.

[Little Star]

20. NY times article link anyone???????

[redqueen]

29. Here's a link to the NYT piece referred to in the article in the OP.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/us/politics/22drudge.html?pagewanted=print

[Little Star]

30. TYVM

[redqueen]

32. De nada. (nt)

[Stephanie]

34. EXCERPT - NYT Article >>>

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/us/politics/22drudge.html?scp=3&sq=clinton+drudge&st=nyt

Clinton Finds Way to Play Along With Drudge

By JIM RUTENBERG
Published: October 22, 2007

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 — As Senator Barack Obama prepared to give a major speech on Iraq one morning a few weeks ago, a flashing red-siren alert went up on the Drudge Report Web site. It read, “Queen of the Quarter: Hillary Crushes Obama in Surprise Fund-Raising Surge,” and, “$27 Million, Sources Tell Drudge Report.”

Within minutes, the Drudge site had injected Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s fund-raising success into the day’s political news on the Internet and cable television. It did not halt coverage of Mr. Obama’s speech or his criticism of her vote to authorize the war in 2002, but along the front lines of the campaign — the hourly, intensely fought effort to capture the news cycle or deny ownership of it to the other side — it was a telling assault.

Mrs. Clinton’s aides declined to discuss how the Drudge Report got access to her latest fund-raising figures nearly 20 minutes before the official announcement went to supporters. But it was a prime example of a development that has surprised much of the political world: Mrs. Clinton is learning to play nice with the Drudge Report and the powerful, elusive and conservative-leaning man behind it.

That man, Matt Drudge, came to national prominence a decade ago as a nemesis of the Clintons who used the Web to peddle, gleefully, the latest news and rumor generated by the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

That people in Mrs. Clinton’s campaign orbit would tip off the Drudge Report to its fund-raising numbers is in part a reflection of her pragmatic approach to dealing with potential enemies, like Newt Gingrich or Rupert Murdoch. But it also speaks to the enduring power of the Drudge Report, which mixes original reporting with links to newspaper, Internet or television reports far and wide.

[Barack_America]

21. *sigh*

This puts today's events in a new perspective. And not a good one.

Thanks for the heads up, RQ.

[Stephanie]

48. You'd think they would have known we'd find the article

It was only a few months ago. The Clintons really do think we are stupid.

[thoughtcrime1984]

22. If this is true

The Clintons will be toast in my book, and many others as well, I'm sure. I had hoped that she wasn't behind this...

[jillan]

23. oooh - more Drudge!

I have never read so much Drudge in one day!

[redqueen]

25. This is from the Guardian.

Yes, it's about Hillary's apparent teaming up with Drudge... but the article is from the Guardian.

[rodeodance]

26. more RW crap on DU ---Obamafolks should be proud of themselves??

[Stephanie]

36. The UK Guardian is RW crap?

Have you ever read it before? Hint, it's Greg Palast's paper.

[rodeodance]

24. What a hoot---absolutely shows how DU made fools out of some many Obamafolk on DU today.

[redqueen]

28. How does it show that? (nt)

[anigbrowl]

35. What, the Clinton's campaign has a relationship with him? Nice!

[Debi]

38. Hah! Today must be opposite day! n/t

[x-g.o.p.er]

27. So BIll had nothing to do with ruining himself? n/t

[IndianaGreen]

31. Oops! The British press is now onto Hillary's dirty tricks!

Do I hear a fat lady clearing her throat?

[Stephanie]

40. They've been onto her since October 23 2007.

That's when the article came out. I guess Hillary forgot it was out there. Or nobody told Maggie Williams.

[redqueen]

41. Or the half of DU who's having apoplectic fits that anyone would

care about Drudge.

Makes one wonder if they have to practice missing the point...

[redqueen]

42. Kick for more comments. (nt)

[Stephanie]

45. You won't find a lot of comments from Hillaryland on this.

Once they are busted they tend to stay away. All you will hear is *crickets* from Camp Clinton on this topic.

[alteredstate]

43. Yuck.

[sniffa]

44. And here's the Buzzflash on it

which seems to be the original story (one day prior)?

Hillary Clinton Campaign Connection to Drudge Report Detailed by International Herald Tribune (NYT) in October of 2007

An International Herald Tribune story of October 22, 2007, covers the irony of the Clinton campaign feeding stories to the Drudge Report as part of its strategy. (It was a repost from the New York Times, which owns the IHT.)

And the Clinton campaign wasn't hiding their new found interest in using Drudge to get attention for stories. They had a designated "liaison" according to the International Herald Tribune:

Clinton's communications team, led by Howard Wolfson, is not leaving Drudge to the Republicans. Five current and former Democratic officials said Clinton has on her side the closest thing her party has ever had to Rhoades in Tracy Sefl, a former Democratic National Committee official. The officials said that Sefl had established a friendly relationship with Drudge and that Clinton's campaign often worked quietly through her to open a line of communication with Drudge.

Though liberals say Drudge's ideological imbalance remains plain, Republicans, who viewed the site as theirs in campaigns past, say they are noticing what they believe to be more Democratic driven, often Clinton driven, items on it.

And, as New York magazine reported recently, it has escaped no one that Drudge has sometimes mentioned Clinton favorably on his syndicated radio program, even if no one really knows whether his comments reflect admiration for her or simply a recognition that keeping her in the news is good for his business.

The International Herald Tribune story begins with a telling anecdote:

As Senator Barack Obama prepared to give a major speech on Iraq one morning a few weeks ago, a flashing-red siren alert went up on the Drudge Report Web site. It read, "Queen of the Quarter: Hillary Crushes Obama in Surprise Fund-Raising Surge," and, "$27 Million, Sources Tell Drudge Report."

Within minutes, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's fund-raising success was injected via Drudge into the day's political news on the Internet and cable television. It did not halt coverage of Obama's speech or his criticism of her vote to authorize the war in 2002, but along the front lines of the campaign - the hourly, intensely fought effort to capture the news cycle or deny ownership of it to the other side - it was a telling assault.

Clinton's aides declined to discuss how the Drudge Report got access to her latest fund-raising figures nearly 20 minutes before the official announcement went to supporters. But it was a prime example of a development that has surprised much of the political world: Clinton is learning to play nice with the Drudge Report and the powerful, elusive and conservative-leaning man behind it.

So, today's non-denials from the Clinton camp notwithstanding, it is clear that the campaign has cozied up to Drudge -- even if he trashes the senator from time to time -- in an effort to make use of his vast audience, and to use them to their advantage to the extent that they can.

That's not coming from BuzzFlash; that's directly from the International Herald Tribune, in an article reposted from the New York Times.

The author is the respected NYT journalist Jim Rutenberg.

THE BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/editorblog/054

[Stephanie]

46. Yep - the same NYT article that's posted above.

How dense is her campaign? They know this stuff is already out there, why do they pretend we don't know she's been leaking to Drudge?

[tabasco]

49. Well, there's a shocker. Not.

Once a politician starts scraping the bottom of the barrel, they tend to fall in and scrape it quite clean.

[Stephanie]

50. Denial is not a river in Egypt.

Sorry, friends. She did it.

[robbedvoter]

51. It must be true, cuz we saw the result of this, right?

I mean, thinking that Obama had a deal with MSGOP BEFORE kicking Faux to the curb would be pure speculation, but this Drudge love affair - we saw it EVERY DAY!