Hillary Clinton Tugs on Bond With Former Aide, Stephanopoulos - "I think you can vouch for that."

[jefferson_dem]

Clinton Tugs on Bond With Former Aide
By Katharine Q. Seelye

DES MOINES — During an interview on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton referred a few times to her shared history with her interviewer, George Stephanopoulos, who worked in the Clinton White House.

Mrs. Clinton often says that her time in the White House gave her the experience to be president. Mr. Stephanopoulos asked her on Sunday, just four days before the neck-and-neck Iowa caucuses, about a recent report in The New York Times that questioned the depth of that experience.

Mrs. Clinton said she disagreed with that conclusion and added: “You know, I can imagine what the stories would have been had I attended a National Security Council meeting. You were there. I think you can vouch for that.”

Mr. Stephanopoulos was in the unusual position of being able to do just that. He managed much of the Clinton message and no doubt dreaded answering questions about the degree to which the powerful first lady might be involved in national security or anything else.

But he did not vouch for her. And there was no reaction shot of him when she said that.

At another point in the interview, Mrs. Clinton again drew him into their shared history.

Discussing the difficult campaign ahead, Mrs. Clinton recalled: “You know, George, you and I went through an experience, in 1992, where Bill Clinton didn’t win anything until Georgia.”

<SNIP>

“That’s not a surprise to me, or to you,” Mrs. Clinton answered, immediately drawing him back into their circle of familiarity.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/clinton-tugs-on-bond-with-former-aide/

[rodeodance]

1. oh my--she is GOOD!!

[AtomicKitten]

2. It's the nudge, nudge, wink, wink school of thought.

[gateley]

3. Out of curiosity, is GS still pro-Clinton or did he become disenchanted?

Either way, it would have been a difficult interview I would think, having to maintain objectivity and treat Hillary like any other candidate.

Thanks.

[DURHAM D]

5. He is/was an unhappy boy - he was replaced by David Gergen. n/t

[gateley]

8. Thanks. nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

10. He Wasn't Happy But I Don't Think He Hates The Clintons

He certainly wouldn't be where he is now without them...

I also read that HRC can be very demanding of her staff...That's an observation, not a value judgement...

[NYCGirl]

11. He wrote a not very flattering to the Clinton Admin book a few years ago.

Here's a blurb from Library Journal:

National fame came early to Stephanopoulos, who by age 31 was President Clintons first director of communications until he was promoted to the vaguely defined, vulnerable position of senior advisor. He views Clinton as the best politician he has ever known, who could have accomplished much more if he were a better person. First Lady Hillary Clinton is portrayed as fiercely loyal and at times inflexible and ambitious. Ultimately, Stephanopolous fell out of favor for being a traditional liberal in an administration that increasingly believed that the era of big government was dead and also because he was a reputed news leaker, a charge he denies. The strengths of the book are also its weaknesses. An engaging, self-deprecating style, similar to that of Robert Reich, Clintons first secretary of labor (Locked in the Cabinet, LJ 4/1/97), is marred by an overabundance of italicized comments representing rejoinders that could have been used with devastating effect in confrontations but werent. A forthright honesty about his own faults dissolves into self-pity during an extended section on his fights with his major political foe, Dick Morris, the pollster who was brought on board to improve Clintons image but departed when his telephone antics with a prostitute were discovered. Stephanopoulos resigned at the end of the first term and recently condemned the Lewinsky affair as Clintons abandonment of presidential policies and more than a few trusted advisors in order to save himself. Overall, a fascinating if controversial insiders account of life inside the Clinton pressure cooker administration during its early years.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0316929190/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

[DURHAM D]

12. GS actually gives me the creeps.

He is so damn sanctimonious.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. He's Funny Though

I think there's an excerpt in the book where Steph says Dick Morris reminds him of the guy in a gangster movie who ends up with a cap behind his ear...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

14. He's Funny Though

I think there's an excerpt in the book where Steph says Dick Morris reminds him of the guy in a gangster movie who ends up with a cap behind his ear...

[Cameron27]

4. Smart move!

Good for Clinton.

[earthlover]

6. Objective reporting? Or free air time?

[gateley]

9. He's interviewed other candidates, too. So I give him the benefit of the doubt. nt

[adapa]

7. Link to interview--She was great

http://abcnews.go.com/thisweek

select Video Hillary; no formal, official role for bill

eta; I think this'll take you directly there
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4066505&affil=wmtw

[ruggerson]

15. I saw that

I thought it was actually a very smart way to disarm an interviewer. Didn't seem to affect George either way, though.