Reply #24: Her denial of it is more problematic in my opinion.

[davsand]

As I said yesterday, it is fairly common for a campaign to "place" people with specific topics in the audience (just as it is common for special interest groups to plant people to ask specific questions that they want to see covered.) In many cases it is more a matter of making sure your candidate gets the points covered that the campaign is needing to hit. Sometimes it is a matter of damage control--making sure your candidate doesn't get caught by surprise with a controversial or "hot button" issue. I have seen it done pretty routinely in local races as well.

What I find so problematic is the denial of it. That indicates either a dishonesty or else a lack of control of your campaign--and neither of those scenarios is something you want to see out of a candidate at this level.

I expect this one is probably not a big deal to most voters when it is all said and done, but it really does create a distrust in some people's minds. It could be enough to sway the vote to somebody else in a few cases, and that is a serious mis-step in a pretty close race like the Iowa caucus. It might end up costing a few percentage points that the campaign can ill afford to give up.

I do want to say, however, that I am in Illinois where corruption and dirty politics are a way of life for both parties. It isn't pretty but it is a reality.

Regards!




Laura