by Frank James
If a politician wants to score points with the public, it never hurts to beat up on the media, something which President Clinton, a politician with few equals, knows and demonstrated yesterday when he got gnarly with Jessica Yellin of CNN.
Yellin asked Clinton a legitmate question. If the former Democratic Party state chair likens the tactics used by a former president of his own party to those once used by Lee Atwater, one of the most fearsome Republican political strategists, that certainly needs a response from the accused.
Surely, if CNN had just reported the comments of Dick Harpootlian, the former South Carolina party chair, without offering Clinton a chance to repond, that would not only have violated journalistic ethics but it would have no doubt angered the former president, and justifiably so,
So this was clearly a case where Yellin was damned either way.Meanwhile, Clinton produced really great video, which is never a bad thing for a news outfit. So she was damned and blessed at the same time.
It actually looked like Clinton was enjoying the chance to take it to the reporters. When it seemed like he was going to break off the diatribe, he got revved up again and back in the reporters’ faces. He seemed to relish a similar tongue-lashing he gave a California TV reporter before the Nevada caucuses.
Maybe reporters are actually scratching an itch he’s had since he left the White House and the arena of the presidency with all of its public battles and contest of wills. Maybe using reporters as punching bags is good for stress relief.
It certainly appears that way. If so, no doubt we’ll keep doing him the favor since it works for us too.