April 15, 2008
Hotline After Dark -- A Fight To The Bitter End?
Talk of Barack Obama's "bitter" comments continued to dominate TV last night:
All three network newscasts led with coverage of Obama's remarks.
ABC's Gibson: "Presidential politics is first. Because topic A continues to be what Barack Obama said
about rural and working-class Pennsylvanians. ... Hillary Clinton isn't missing a single opportunity to contend to voters that Obama is out of touch" ("World News," 4/14).
CBS' Couric: We begin tonight, though, with the bitter battle for the White House, and 'bitter' is the key word" ("Evening News," 4/14).
NBC's Williams: "Three members of the United States Senate are all accusing each other of being members of the ruling elite class in the this country. This started with something Barack Obama said about people in Pennsylvania where the crucial primary is a week from tomorrow" ("Nightly News," 4/14).
After the jump, more on WH '08 (KATHERINE LEHR).
THE ROAD GOES ON FOREVER AND THE BATTLE NEVER ENDS
"Hardball" hosted several PA Dem chairs to talk about the aftermath of Obama's comments:
Clinton supporter/PA Montgomery Co. Dem chair Marcel Groen: "I think outside in the suburbs where we are, it's not going to have a significant impact. What it will do is, I think there was a lot of building momentum towards Senator Obama. It stopped that."
Obama supporter/PA Lackawanna Co. Dem chair Harry McGrath: "Yesterday, we had our Lackawanna County Democratic breakfast that comes about once a year at this time, and I went around and talked to a lot
of people. And the word 'bitter' never came up. ... I think that in Lackawanna County, it's not going to have a great effect on the ultimate outcome of the vote here. ... I think the issues will speak for themselves, and I think this comment will come and go. I think it's more an issue that the press is playing up than it is on the street. And I take that, again, from my conversations just yesterday with about 250 party regulars" (MSNBC, 4/14).
Newsweek's Fineman: "I do think what this does is kind of freezes things in Pennsylvania. I think the bottom line of it, in terms of the horse race, is it probably means that this thing is going to go on
and on and on, and any hope that Obama had of trying to shut it down with a surprise victory in Pennsylvania is probably lost" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 4/14).
CNN's Crowley: "With Pastor Wright, we all thought this would have an affect on Barack Obama. And yet, you know, he got to a point where he just went right back up to where he was before. So this is a little different, because these are his words as opposed to someone else's" ("AC 360," 4/14).
Karl Rove: "There are two narratives here which he cannot allow to be developed for the general election, because both of them are destructive to him. One is that he's Adlai Stevenson, an elitist, smarter than everybody else, and feels that way. And the other one is that he is very left wing. The problem for him is, both are accurate narratives" ("Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 4/14).
WAR OF WORDS
FNC's Garrett: "Obama's defense is all about the adjective 'bitter.' Clinton's attack all about the verb 'cling.' Clinton advisers say this one word crystallizes what polls have long suggested, that small town blue
collar Democrats fear Obama doesn't now and may never understand them. Look for relentless Clinton attacks on this front, on the stump, and very soon on television" ("Special Report," 4/14).
CNN's Toobin, on Hillary Clinton's ad: "This is an absolute disgrace that she is running these ads. I think it is a fake issue. I think she is completely distorting what Obama said. And I think it's just shocking, frankly. ... You should never be shocked by anything in politics. But I think this ad is a disgrace" ("Situation Room," 4/14).
XM Radio's Joe Mathieu: "Expect an uber-ugly smack down on Wednesday night. The Democratic presidential candidates debate may be the last opportunity for Senator Clinton to really dig in on these bitter remarks. ... But I will tell you that Senator Clinton has to be careful not to overdo it" ("Race for the WH," MSNBC, 4/14).
Posted at 09:03 AM
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