Was Hillary Clinton's audience plant a big deal?

Question

What do you think?

Here's my opinion - its not a huge deal, but in a way it is. It kinda has the stench of the Bush administration's manipulation and control tactics. Also, candidates need to show some guts. If Hillary thinks global warming is an important issue, then say outright, "Before I take your questions I'd like to talk about global warming..." , by having an audience member ask the question its like giving the candidate an 'out' - if it doesn't play well in the polls they can say, "hey I was just answering a question". Very cowardly.

I know there's some question about whether hillary knew or not, but just asking for opinions on the idea in general. I think its insulting when politicains try to manipulate people in ways they think we care about.

I don't know for a fact whether Bush did the 'planted audience member' trick, I was just comparing the idea of tightly controlled information over honest discourse. Also there was the Jeff Gannon story in the white house press core, who many believe was a republican plant.

homegirl -

can you answer why you do that with an audience plant? Like I say above, if the speaker thinks an issue is important, why not just say, "I believe this issue is important..."

Answer 1

We are still a ways off from the primaries, the gloves haven't even been thrown-off yet, and Hillary is one minor misstep after another. Hsu, planting questioners, riding both sides of illegal immigrant drivers licenses, "fake" accents, flags falling, etc...

If she doesn't implode before or during the primaries, she will be utterly destroyed in the general election when people will no longer play nice and allow her to "get her facts (lies) straight". The weight of trying to remember what she "stands for" will drag her down.

If you can't think this through, whether you end-up agreeing with my argument or not, without thinking, "but Bush lies and can't speak clearly and is a manipulator," you may be wise to remember one thing: Hillary is not running against Bush.

Answer 2

I shall attempt some bi-partisan type answer. Does it matter to you that a candidate appears to cheat? If you are so set on the Bush Administration and it's failures? Why would you wish for more of the same.

Clinton carries baggage as she runs now for President. Much of that load is deception. The idea that she and her Husband do have a long recorded history of altering, adapting and denying the truth. See if WJ Clinton told the truth he made a bad call with an intern, the nation would have understood. Instead he lied during a criminal investigation. Went on TV and lied to a Nation. Here we have Mrs. Clinton pleeding the fifth.

Do you want a President who can not monitor her Campaign staff, can not keep records straight regarding funding and them accepts no responsibility for any of it? Seems to me you have Bush multiplied by a thousand. Times two. Because you get the bad Bill along with any of the good. How they react under pressure is key. And they do not do well. Time and time again. Putin , Musharraf nor any World Leader will excuse her for the gender, poor abused card she plays. More likely use it against her. Then where will the USA be?!

Hope that helps. Thank you.

Answer 3

It is done all the time during my involvement in community issues we always planted several people in the audience to ask the official or candidate the questions we wanted answers to.
Maybe Hillary's staff wanted to be sure she had an opportunity to answer that particular question.
However, I do agree it is a tactic used by Bush and should be avoided in the future. But remember you can't get near a Bush event unless you are screened, if you don't pass you are penned up with the other dissidents and labeled "unpatriotic". You might even get arrested.

Answer 4

It only became a big deal when Hillary lied about not knowing anything about it. How is anyone supposed to believe that she had no knowledge about planted questions when this has been one of the most tightly run campaigns in history. It's just like the way she lied about not knowing where the money was coming from. Sure, there's lots of people on welfare who have contributed the absolute maximum amount of money to presidential campaigns.

Answer 5

I think it is a big deal.

To think that she is clearly unaware of the planting is unrealistic. The act stands as a symbol of her own ethics. She should not be held to a lesser standard that anyone else. She is the candidate for the office. I think we are asking the wrong question... We should be asking, "Are you aware of an audience loading tactic in your campaign ?" Or the like. She very well may NOT have known of that particular female in the audience, but I'm sure this is a common way of stacking her deck in such small town, community question/answer sessions. She will take any advantage she can get. Shady campaign donations too.

And yet. The media still loves her.

Answer 6

Check out the link I've provided. Remember when Bush-Cheney Corpses-To-Cash, Inc. staged a press conference with the troops they supposedly support? Whoops!

Where was the massive madia freak out then?

Answer 7

By itself, it's not a big deal but, it is one more click in the Clintonian pathology for lies.

It is a pattern of deceitfulness that we have all come to expect.

Obama is right......one must come to the conclusion that a vote for Hillary as a vote for change is a wasted vote.

Hillary only exists as a viable candidate because there are so many young people who did not fully experience the Clinton years. If they had, they would never consider a return to that duplicity.

Answer 8

Yes it is a big deal, and the fact that President Bush cannot run again nullifies your statement about him doing it, if you are prepared to accept Hillary Clinton and all the corruptness that goes with her then you should look at your own MORALS.

Answer 9

Our political system is DOA and we need to opt for a complete reform towards how we elect officials.

Doing away with political parties; corporate donations and lobbyists is a start towards taking our government back.

Answer 10

It's fraud, plain and simple. The fact that others have done it, though not in this campaign, doesn't excuse it either. Don't let politicians lower the bar on what is acceptable ethics. We deserve better than what we've had or what we've got.