The politics of Hillary's Planting Questions: [View All]

[EV_Ares]

The reports of a planting pattern come at a tough time for Clinton, who was widely criticized for being evasive during the last presidential debate. Faking questions is a particularly serious charge in Iowa, where caucus-goers are notoriously proud of their unique democratic process. (Howard Dean lost support when his earlier complaints about the caucus emerged late last cycle.)

And some Democratic activists say faking interactions with the public is reminiscent of the Bush administration's manipulative tactics. Liberal bloggers have already begun comparing Clinton's town halls to the recent fake "news conference" staged by FEMA.

The flap moved John Edwards to weigh in on Saturday after his speech to the Farmers' Union. "That's what George does: George Bush goes to events that are staged where people are screened," The Politico's Ben Smith reported. "That's not the way democracy works in Iowa," Edwards added.

On Fox News, pundit Alan Colmes tried to defend Clinton's practices by drawing a parallel to the current President. "This is much ado about nothing," he said during his Friday broadcast. "George W. Bush ran carefully controlled town hall meetings during both of his candidacies." For many Democratic voters, that is part of the problem.

From The Nation: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071126/melber