Keith Olbermann: Up close and personal with Senator Hillary Clinton

[DeepModem Mom]

MSNBC: Up close and personal with Sen. Hillary Clinton
The Democratic presidential candidate talks about top political headlines
TRANSCRIPT
By Keith Olbermann
Anchor, 'Countdown'
Oct 11, 2007

"Countdown" host Keith Olbermann spoke to presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, about her name being mentioned consistently in Tuesday's Republican debate, her vote about the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, her opinion of former vice-president Al Gore and other political headlines of the day.

Below are some highlights from the interview.

KEITH OLBERMANN, HOST, ‘COUNTDOWN:’ The Republican debate the other night—you certainly did seem to come up fairly frequently. Do you think they’re doing you a favor, a campaign favor, an advertising favor, by mentioning you so often?

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, D-NY, 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I guess if you don’t have anything positive to say about yourself or your record or your vision for America, that might be an alternative, but you know, I’m running my campaign. I can’t worry about what they’re doing. It is something, though, that a lot of my friends have noticed, and one of them I thought, rather funny, who said to me, you know, when you get to be our age, it’s kind of nice to have all these men obsessed with you. I guess I could put that spin on it.

OLBERMANN: Senator, a lot of people were mystified, couldn’t fathom your vote on the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment that urged naming the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, since it’s part of their governmental military structure, no matter what we might think of that government. With one constitutional scholar on our program who wondered if just the vote by itself might not constitute a kind of declaration or even act of war. Do you think it’s one of those?

CLINTON: Absolutely not. And I think people have either misunderstood or decided to misrepresent the meaning of that vote. I believe in using pressure and sanctions as a tool of diplomacy, and that includes against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

There is no doubt that they are a key sponsor of terrorism and that they have been providing weapons and advice to the people who are attacking and killing and maiming Americans in Iraq.

But I’ve also been, I think, among the first when I went to floor in February, to say the president had absolutely no authority to take any action against Iran. And I have joined up with Senator Jim Webb to put that into law.

But it’s interesting to me, because a lot of the people who are saying that have seemed to focus all of their attention on me. We had a number of Democrats who did not vote to authorize the ‘02 resolution who have voted with me, including Senator Durbin and Senator Jack Reed and Senator Levin and others, because we want diplomacy used. In fact, in the resolution that actually was passed, the nonbinding resolution, it clearly said that diplomacy should be pursued.

I want the United States to begin diplomatic negotiations with Iran, but I want us to go with some leverage. And I think there is a possibility of either threatening to or naming the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and many of their leaders as terrorists, and thereby going after bank accounts and investments around the world, is important leverage.

So in fact, I saw that vote as moving us toward the kind of diplomatic negotiations that I have long advocated, which the Bush administration has refused to pursue.

OLBERMANN: What do you think of the “draft Gore” stories, and do you think that, even after all this time, you will wind up facing him in the primaries, still?

CLINTON: Well, Keith, I am so hoping that he wins the Nobel Prize. There isn’t anybody who deserves it more, for the work he’s done for the last 20 years or more on behalf of sounding the alarms in the world concerning global warming. So I’m waiting to hear the announcement from the Nobel committee, and I hope that they give that well-deserved honor to Vice President Gore.

You know, I think we’ve got great candidates running. We have a wonderful field. We don’t have to be against anybody. All you have to do is to find who you’re for. And I’m just going to keep doing the best job I can to earn the support of as many voters as I can reach.

VIDEO AT LINK: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21255520/

[incapsulated]

1. Well done. n/t

[Froward69]

2. Don't leave out the last part

when Olberman said. "the answer of my question she skilfully avoided" or something to that effect.
"She expertly avoided answering." thats it! I watched tonite she was talking allot, with out saying anything. still unimpressive.

[gateley]

3. I agree, and I was surprised how her responses seemed to be culled from

a pat reservoir of answers. If (insert question here) is asked, respond with (insert answer here), then wrap it up with "as I've proven/done over the years".

Of course being a Biden supporter, I was imagining how I thought he would have answered the same questions. Although I can't know for sure, when Olbermann brought up Graeme Frost I really really believe Biden would have gone ballistic and torn the R's a new one. Like all of us responded. I just felt as though Clinton used it again for an opportunity to deliver another selling point.

She has seemed more sincere and less contrived in previous interviews, which is why it was surprising to me.

[Inuca]

18. I happened to listen to

part of a speech she gave earlier yesterday in NH. Some of the answers she gave in the Countdown interview were almost word by word the same as in that prepared speech. The joke about how good it is for a woman of a certain age to have men obsses over her is one example. Another is patting herself on the shoulder for "passing" SCHIP 10 years ago.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. As of posting, there wasn't a full transcript up; just these excerpts. nt

[wyldwolf]

9. nope, he said "A Nobel winning answer there, Sen. Clinton..."

... not "the answer of my question she skilfully avoided" or nothing to that effect.

[Froward69]

15. actually it was the first thing he said after the interview.

I watched live, it got cut from the youtube vid.

[wyldwolf]

21. so did I and I didn't watch the youtube vid.

I Tivo'd and played it back... several times.

PLUS you can see it on MSNBC.com

You either misunderstood or you made something up.

[monktonman]

4. That having all these men obsessed with you thing

Really bugs me.
I dont know why, cant put my finger on it
but it bugs me none the less.

[Major Hogwash]

6. Do the other Democratic candidates get equal time on Olbermann's program, ever?

Or has MSNBC, a wholly owned subsidiary of NBC, a wholly owned company of the General Electric Corporation - who has BILLIONS of DOLLARS of DEFENSE contracts with the DOD - already written them off as potential nominees of the Democratic party?

Where's the in-depth interview with Mike Gravel?
Where's the in-depth interview with Dennis Kucinich?
Where's the in-depth interview with Bill Richardson?
Where's the in-depth interview with Chris Dodd?

Now you know why they got Imus off of the air so quick last spring!!

[incapsulated]

7. I dunno, do they?

:shrug:

[Berry Cool]

8. Actually, I have seen Edwards, Obama and Dodd on there

and wouldn't be at all surprised to see Gravel, Kucinich or Richardson.

They might have already appeared with me forgetting.

[Freddie Stubbs]

12. Second and third tier candidates merit second and third rate coverage

Hillary, Edwards, and Obama get more time because they have earned it.

[Froward69]

14. only because they have name recognition

[Major Hogwash]

17. Sez who? You? Gimme a break. Olbermann is a tool just as much as Matthews ever was.

And if that hasn't occurred to you yet, maybe you should sit down and wonder why it hasn't.

The other candidates don't get on Olbermann's program because GE doesn't want the Iraq War to stop.

[flpoljunkie]

10. Webb introduced his bill on 3/5/07. Hillary rushed to co-sponsor only after voting for Kyl-Lieberman

(In fact, Webb said that he found out that Hillary had co-sponsored his bill the same way we did--on the tube. Too bad, Olbermann did not inquire about the sudden rush to co-sponsor Webb's bill.)

S.759

Title: A bill to prohibit the use of funds for military operations in Iran.

Sponsor: Sen Webb, Jim (introduced 3/5/2007) Cosponsors (1)

Related Bills: H.R.3119
Latest Major Action: 3/5/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

COSPONSORS(1), ALPHABETICAL : (Sort: by date)

Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham - 10/1/2007

[MethuenProgressive]

11. Olbermann, and Clinton, did very well.

:kick:

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. She Was Poised, Profound, And Presidential

eom

[Froward69]

16. without truly answering any questions...

[Lucinda]

23. You don't see any answered questions in the OP?

[Inuca]

19. PROFOUND??? n/t

[applegrove]

20. She certainly has a handle on the details. Not a superficial candidate at all.

She goes to the meat of things.

[elizm]

22. Her hysterical/fake laugh was blatantly missing....

anyone else notice?

[goodgd_yall]

24. Because HRC says it's so, doesn't make it so---Bush revisited

"There is no doubt that they are a key sponsor of terrorism and that they have been providing weapons and advice to the people who are attacking and killing and maiming Americans in Iraq."

When Hillary talks about the leverage of going after bank accounts, then what she should do is support S. 970, Obama's co-sponsored bill, which is limited in its scope of putting pressure on Iran to not develop nuclear weapons. The Kyl-Lieberman bill went way beyond that and makes the link between Iraq and Iran's army. K/L Bill was a dangerous bill to have supported; it gives another mission to remain in Iraq with combat troops.