Did Hillary Clinton's media problems doom her campaign?

It's tough to look at the cavalcade of sexist comments assembled by the Women's Media Center of pundits mouthing off during the Democratic primary race, and not conclude that media-fed sexism played some role in Hillary Clinton's electoral troubles.

That said, this media critic doesn't think sexism was her biggest problem. Instead, I offer this humble list of the many ways Hillary Clinton blew it when it came to dealing with media during her campaign.

Underestimating the YouTube factor -- It wasn't just that she talked about dodging sniper fire when reporters who had been on the trip had video proof that she didn't. Or that her husband said something on a radio show and then tried to tell reporters that he didn't say it. It was that those about-faces and many more were immortalized on the Internet, allowing foes to pass them around like baseball cards -- endlessly reliving the worst hits of the campaign.

The Clintons, Bill in particular, seemed unprepared for the instant fact-checking and worldwide distribution that the smallest lies get online. It defused one of his biggest weapons, the ability to make any statement sound like the God's truth with his combination of personal charm and ex-Presidential authority. It also made him look whiny and evasive when complaining about press coverage that exposed his obfuscations.

Needless withholding of information that isn't damaging -- The Clintons gave Barack Obama weeks of free milage on criticisms that they refused to release their tax records until close the the filing deadline. I knew the Clintons were too smart to have anything really damaging in the material -- beyond the fact that they've made a lot of money outside the White House. But this dynamic is something Carl Bernstein dissects in his book about Hillary, A Woman in Charge. In the book, he describes how Hillary Clinton fed some of the trumped-up scandals which bedeviled their presidency, simply by her lawyer-like refusal to release documents which would have proven their innocence. If she becomes a VP nominee, expect a struggle with Obama over Bill releasing the name of donors to his presidential library.

Reliving the Whitewater/Lewinsky press dynamic -- I get that the Clintons feel persecuted by the press because of all the Mickey Mouse crap that went down during the Whitewater/Lewinsky/Impeachment debacle.  But when the dust cleared, the president had lied to just about everyone, and the lot of a politician is to endure constant vetting. Acting like a victim every time the press wrote a tough story on them, the Clintons just encouraged irritated journalists to nail them even harder. Isn't it better to pull a McCain and charm them into submission?

Still, here's the Women's Media Center's compendium of sexism on the TV pundit scene. It made my jaw drop, and I watch TV for a living.

Comments

[Omega83]

Hillary's biggest problem was her name - Clinton. As soon as Bill got back into the spotlight, she was doomed.

For whatever reason, we Americans seem to relish in nostalgia. In comparison to the Bush years, many had fond memories of the 1990's and Bill Clinton and thought they wanted it again. The problem came when his presence reminded people of all the negatives that came with being a Clinton.

What is Hillary without Bill? Does she ever win the Senate seat without first being First Lady? And what of this "experience" she claimed? Did it not also rely on the false assumption that being alongside the President as spouse?

There are plenty of women who have achieved great heights on their own merit and independence. The problem for Hillary is that she is not one of them.

If she could truly stand on her own without Bill, then after several public humiliations throughout their marraige, why is he still in the picture?

[Eric Deggans]

For John, who says he has no idea what Barack Obama stands for, here are some resources.

I think a great many people who say Obama stands for nothing or they don't know what he stands for are really just parroting an attack line used to devalue him as a candidate. He has made his position clear on a great many issues, and the information on those stands is readily available for anyone who takes the time to do a simple Google search.

To spare John that effort, I've done it for him:

Wikipedia has a list of his positions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Barack_Obama

The Web site OntheIssues has also broken down his votes and positions:
http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Barack_Obama.htm

Project VoteSmart has more information:
http://www.votesmart.org/npat.php?can_id=9490

The Boston Herald also has a thumbnail listing of his positions if these other sites are too comprehensive:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/2008/bios/view.bg?articleid=1063110

[harryo]

Anyone who's covered Hillary knows that her campaign treated the media like crap and because of that Hillary received few breaks from the media. Hillary rarely interacted with the media in the early part of the campaign and only made herself available when she realized she was behind, whereas Obama had frequent interaction with the press. Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire had similar records but McGuire received much more positive coverage because he maintained a positive relationship with the media while Barry treated the press like crap.

[Robin 'Roblimo' Miller]

Eh. If your rival's a woman you attack her on woman-type things. If your opponent's black, you attack him (subtly) on racial grounds. If he's a white male you talk about his five o'clock shadow and how he's out of touch with women and minorities.

All the examples in that video were of smarmy cable TV talking heads trying to outdo each other in nastiness. Think back to the 4th grade playground. You could nyah-nayh someone for being too tall or too short, too dark or too light, too fast or too slow, too fat or too thin, too smart or too dumb.

McCain is old, short, bald, and has a bad temper. We'll see him get attacked plenty over these characteristics between now and November.

When you're an elementary school playground bully or a cable TV pontificator, you work hard to find insults that will make your victim go crying to the teacher. The specific nature of of those insults doesn't matter. All that counts is whether they work.

Like this: Hey, Deggans! You're fat, you're bald, you work for a newspaper that loses circulation every year, and that little goatee looks GAY! So why should anyone listen to you, huh? HUH?

[John]

Eric, I have been paying attention for the last 18 months and still have no idea what Barack Obama stands for. Perhaps you can tell us all what "hope" and "change" mean because they certainly aren't policies we can expect him to pursue. Obama is an empty vessel in which his supporters have put their desires into his meaningless words. They sound great when he says them but mean nothing if you actually listen to them. Congratulations to the democrats for nominating a fatally flawed candidate who will lose an election his party should have won.

[Whoever u want me to be!!!]

I think Hillary is in competition with her husband and it is the only reason that she would even want to be president of the U.S. anyway. I could also apply the same theory to the Bush's ...everyone wants to be like their Daddy when they grow up, the problem with this is... you end up with a Clone in the whitehouse, who screws things up as well! We don't need another Clone in the whitehouse ...bring in someone new, some diversity, some fresh inspiration, and more importantly, someone who will focus on whats going on HERE ... instead of in Iraq all the freakin Time!!!

[Ellie]

One of the oddest habits in media coverage is to refer to the candidates as "Obama" and "The Clintons". So bizarre. So Hillary cried once in public? How many times have both Pres. Bushes cried? The reaction to everything Hillary Clinton has done in public life has been microscopic, visceral and hateful, far beyond comparable issues for others. Many hated her just for the fact that she did not divorce Bill, as if he is the only guy ever to cheat on his wife. Seems to me there is an element of mass hysteria - or something - that comes into play.

Obama "lied" about which concentration camp his "uncle" liberated. He spent 20 years hob-nobbing with apparently radical clergy. His membership at that particular church is bothersome for two reasons, the first being radical and inappropriate demonstrations that his children likely witness. The other, with the level of apparent rage and racism, his alleged leadership did not bring about change in the church. What was he doing for 20 years?

He is a master at mathematical campaign analysis and might not be a close match for McCain. Same folks who elected GWB are getting ready to roll the dice again.

[Lin Young]

The Women's Media Center did a good job on the compendium of sexism on the TV pundit scene - and I'm glad to learn of this group. But those weren't the only examples of overt sexism during Hillary Clinton's campaign. A man never would have been treated with the disrespect shown Hillary during this campaign. Kudos to the woman for standing up so well to the constant abuse.

[Mike]

Everyone underestameats the generation X and gen Y vote this election. Remember these were the kids during Bill's terms and they were handed alot of hardships. Schools got worse, college got much more expensive, violent crime amongst teenagers skyrocketed. Many of them (democrats) would rather have voted McCain than another Clinton. Obama was able to reach out to these now 20 and 30 somethigns and motivate them to take part in the political process which frankly has abandoned them.

[neil]

Obama was a formidable candidate and Hillary ran a campaign that assumed she was owed the nomination as a right. She then turned negative and ran a sloppy campaign in which she demonstrated that she would DO or SAY anything to win which demeaned her standing.

[Eric Deggans]

If you don't know what Obama stands for after 18 months of campaigning, ten you haven't been paying attention...

[bob in florida]

now that the republician owned media has HILARY out of the race (the stronger of the two) they can go after OBAMA, who will be easy to defeat due to his lack of respect for the american flag and national anthem, lack of experience, association with racist ministers for 20 years.
no one really knows what he stands for or what his changes will be

[Fran]

I don't think that media Problems Doomed her campaign ... The fact that she doesn't have a personality,cried on TV, seems too desperate, cut down OBama every chance she got, doesn't seem human, comes off as being snobbish,and unable to get her facts straight is what Doomed it!