Photo credits: ABC
Before leaving for church yesterday morning, I watched a few minutes of ABC’s This Week to see George Stephanopoulos baiting Hillary Clinton. Before hitting the off button on my remote, I had already concluded that Steph was overcompensating for his role in the recent Philadelphia debate that later drew thousands of attacks by Obamaphiles claiming ABC had mistreated their candidate. (Their candidate also did his share of whining out on the stump the next day.)
Alessandra Stanley’s piece in today’s NY Times offered a welcome correction to my brief glimpse yesterday of Hillary’s appearance on This Week. Comparing Hillary’s performance to Barack Obama’s showing on NBC’s Meet the Press, Stanley begins:
“Senator Barack Obama sat hunched on Sunday across the desk from Tim Russert on ‘Meet The Press’ on NBC and wearily endured question after question about his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
“Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton stood up from her armchair on Sunday to tower over George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” on ABC and merrily took on all critics, even the king of the Clinton-bashers, the talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh.
‘“He’s always had a crush on me,’ Mrs. Clinton said with a sly smile.”
Stanley vividly describes how the two candidates field their interviewers’ questions:
“Talk shows, even the more serious news programs, are never really about talk; they are about image and demeanor. Together, ‘Meet the Press’ and its rival ‘This Week with George Stephanopoulos’ provided an arresting tableau of the reversal of fortunes in the Democratic race. Mrs. Clinton was forceful, confident and at times even frisky as she easily deflected questions from Mr. Stephanopoulos and members of a town-hall-style meeting in Indianapolis. Mr. Obama, usually the one to see the humor in politics, instead looked grave and dispirited.”
At this point, all I could say was “Go, Hillary!”
Stanley extends her comparison to the talk show hosts:
“The anchors, on the other hand, did not reverse roles: as usual, Mr. Russert came out ahead in that Sunday talk-show contest. Mrs. Clinton gave ABC a more vivid and dynamic show, but it came at Mr. Stephanopoulos’s expense. Mrs. Clinton seemed to relish the opportunity to undercut him, a former adviser to her husband, with needling jokes and alpha-candidate body blocks.”
Stanley concludes:
“Television interviews provide snapshots, not full portraits, but that does not make them any less telling. Mr. Obama revealed that he was not impervious to pressure, while Mrs. Clinton once again proved that it takes more than a village to make her sweat.”
To read Ms. Stanley’s piece in its entirety (you owe it to yourself) go here.
Alessandra Stanley’s piece in today’s NY Times offered a welcome correction to my brief glimpse yesterday of Hillary’s appearance on This Week. Comparing Hillary’s performance to Barack Obama’s showing on NBC’s Meet the Press, Stanley begins:
“Senator Barack Obama sat hunched on Sunday across the desk from Tim Russert on ‘Meet The Press’ on NBC and wearily endured question after question about his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
“Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton stood up from her armchair on Sunday to tower over George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” on ABC and merrily took on all critics, even the king of the Clinton-bashers, the talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh.
‘“He’s always had a crush on me,’ Mrs. Clinton said with a sly smile.”
Stanley vividly describes how the two candidates field their interviewers’ questions:
“Talk shows, even the more serious news programs, are never really about talk; they are about image and demeanor. Together, ‘Meet the Press’ and its rival ‘This Week with George Stephanopoulos’ provided an arresting tableau of the reversal of fortunes in the Democratic race. Mrs. Clinton was forceful, confident and at times even frisky as she easily deflected questions from Mr. Stephanopoulos and members of a town-hall-style meeting in Indianapolis. Mr. Obama, usually the one to see the humor in politics, instead looked grave and dispirited.”
At this point, all I could say was “Go, Hillary!”
Stanley extends her comparison to the talk show hosts:
“The anchors, on the other hand, did not reverse roles: as usual, Mr. Russert came out ahead in that Sunday talk-show contest. Mrs. Clinton gave ABC a more vivid and dynamic show, but it came at Mr. Stephanopoulos’s expense. Mrs. Clinton seemed to relish the opportunity to undercut him, a former adviser to her husband, with needling jokes and alpha-candidate body blocks.”
Stanley concludes:
“Television interviews provide snapshots, not full portraits, but that does not make them any less telling. Mr. Obama revealed that he was not impervious to pressure, while Mrs. Clinton once again proved that it takes more than a village to make her sweat.”
To read Ms. Stanley’s piece in its entirety (you owe it to yourself) go here.
No comments:
Post a Comment