tags: citizen reporting, politics, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, US Presidential bid, WNYC, Brian Lehrer Show, Ethan Hova, Huffington Post
This morning, I was listening to WNYC, the local NPR affiliate and my favorite radio station in the world. On the Brian Lehrer Show, he was interviewing Ethan Hova, a reporter at the liberal online newspaper, the Huffington Post. Hova is organizing a "citizen reporter" story where a group of us get together and determine the value to Hillary Clinton of having a former President of the United States as a spouse.
To do this research project, Hova has already done a fair amount of background research and he is delegating small pieces of this project to members of the public who will either research the data on the web (or from other sources) or subject the data to number crunching. Each piece of the story is estimated to consume approximately 1-2 hours.
They accepted me as a volunteer to participate in the data analysis and writing of this article (since I am not limited in the amount of time I can dedicate to this project), so I am interested to read your comments about this as I work through the analysis and writing of the report. The report will be nearly completed by Monday, 12 November 2007, when it will be discussed on Brian Lehrer's show on WNYC.
Why would I participate in this project when it appears that I am helping liberals to cannibalize one of their own? Because I am interested in the process itself; I am interested to write about the process for you to read about and comment on, and I am also interested to make sure that the report itself is fair and does not end up as an indictment of Hillary, Bill, the Democratic party or of liberalism itself. I mean, let's be realistic here: if Bill Clinton has been a monetary aid to Hillary (and who can doubt that he is), how much more of a monetary help is it to have a former president of the United States as your father AND a governor of an electorally-blessed state, such as Florida, as your brother? Especially when that former president of the United States also was the former head of the CIA and that current governor of Florida oversaw a huge presidential voting scandal, as well?
Anyway, those are questions that can also be explored further, and I'd bet that, once started, this "citizen reporter" scenario will become more likely to occur in the near future. Anyway, I think this will be an interesting learning experience for all of us. So please, follow the links, read up on this and write your thoughts out in the comment section for me to respond to and to think about.
UPDATE: To be absolutely clear, I am an undecided voter; having not chosen anyone yet whom I would support in this presidential race. I am politically liberal, and will likely vote for a Democrat (if I vote at all, that is).
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(a) Bill delegated about 1/3 of the responsibilities of being president to Hillary (with Bill & Gore handling the other 2/3). This gave Hillary a degree of experience the other cannidates cannot match.
(b) Bill listened to Hillary. In America, that's a big no-no - and it made hundreds of millions Americans percieve Hilary as a big bad bitch. (Sorry - that's the word they use.)
(a) would be great if Hillary gets elected, but no-one considers experience when voting. (b) is a huge disadvantage at the polls.
I am not supporting anyone in the Democratic primary race. In fact, I live in Georgia, in a red county and am considering voting in the Republican primary just to try and get the least wingnutty candidates nominated. I lean towards Hillary, and yes, it is partly because I want a woman President. I do have deep reservations about her corporate ties and I won't be devastated if she doesn't get the nomination.
So, I have been sent fundraising emails from Bill, and I've ignored them, just like I've ignored such things from other campaigns. I have a limited amount of money to donate, and that limited amount will probably go towards State candidates. However, if I had the means and opportunity to attend a fundraiser where I was guaranteed to meet Bill, I'd be there in a shot. I also think I would pay to see Bill as First Lady, and the idea of some of our craziest citizens swallowing their tongues in a fit over it really appeals.
Please vote, GS, even if (as I fear) Hillary is the candidate. No matter how bad the dem, the 'pub is bound to be far, far worse, and what we get when we fail to vote is what they give us - and they give us corrupt Republicans who hate America. Don't let them spoil politics, and don't let them run you off. I hate to be advocating a lesser-of-two-evils approach to voting, to thinking about elections, but I think it really must dominate our thinking with the power structures we've got. I hope for a better system, and I work for that better system, and I hope and work for better candidates - but when it comes down to it, I'm pulling the lever for whoever the Democratic candidate is, and I hope you will as well.
Do you mind if I make things more difficult? It involves counter-factuals.
The question "how much has Bill helped Hillary?" deserves the counter-question "compared to what?". I assume that all of the candidates' spouses are helping in the campaigning, one perhaps needs to compare with their effects too. In addition, many of the opportunities for fund-raising would have gone ahead without Bill Clinton, he would have been replaced by a lesser star (Ken Starr? OK, perhaps not), so the comparison should be to other, similar, fund-raisers.
I guess the point is that to get a meaningful answer (i.e. one that you could get past a statistician without giving them seizures) would be difficult, although not impossible. You would also need a lot more data.
Bob
Hillary is my candidate of choice (unless Gore enters the race, which is unlikely).
She's smart, rational, thoughtful, seasoned, and articulate. That Bill is her spouse is a bonus in all ways, because he is also all those things. Additionally, his charm is so inclusive, and his record as president so strong, that when he speaks you listen.
Raising funds for Hillary should be his primary responsibility as part of her campaign machine. He's a natural, and has intimate knowledge of the candidate.
So, I say that Hillary's campaign coffers aren't gaining extra weight because her husband is a former President of the United States, but because he is Bill Clinton.
I want to add something here after further thought. I really respect Hillary Clinton and I have been impressed by her campaign. One of the things that has deeply impressed me is how she has kept Bill out of her campaign and has let us get to know her out from under his shadow.
It was a good primary strategy and a brave one, when she could have broken out the Big Dog and walked away with the nomination. I don't expect her campaign to continue this into the general, but I've liked it in the primary.
Not that Bill has completely stayed out of it. I have been highly entertained by how he pokes his head up at the most opportune times.