Hillary Clinton Sets Herself Up For Late Night Comedians’ Punchline

Uh, oh. You just KNOW late night comedians Jay Leno and David Letterman are having their writers working on punchlines for THIS one and some will try to spin it into a story about her actually hearing voices:

ABC News’ Eloise Harper and Kate Snow Report: In McAllen, Texas this morning Senator Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., said she wasn’t giving up on her race for the White House.

Speaking about her work in South Texas as an organizer for George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign, Clinton said two strong Texas women inspired her — Congresswoman Barbara Jordan and Texas Governor Ann Richards.

Clinton said they taught her about courage and determination.

Fair enough. But here’s what comes next:

Then she suggested that she is hearing from them even as her campaign struggles to compete after a string of losses.

“I can hear their voices saying, ‘You keep going! You give the people a real choice about the future!’” she said at a campaign event.

It must be a SLOW news day at ABC.

It’s just a coincidence that both voices are from Texas women. While she is campaigning in Texas. Any politico would point to beloved local bigwigs, especially departed ones:

Jordan was the first black woman elected to the Texas state legislature and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973-79. She died in 1996. Richards, a larger-than-life Governor, passed away in 2006.

After eight losses in a row, Clinton sharpened her attacks on her rival today.

But in 21st-century America, with political satire rampant on the Internet, You Tubes, talk radio (left and right), cable shows such as Jon Stewart and Bill Maher, and even on those broadcast dinosaur programs known as late night network talk/comedy shows, her comment is a set-up for ridicule. And there will be some in the entertainment biz, old media and new media who will seize on it as her actually saying she hears ghosts.

She isn’t saying that, of course.

But a wiser campaign and candidate would not fall into the trap of giving political enemies and entertainment media types such a delightful gift.

A smarter campaign and candidate would have rephrased it in terms of inspiration and knowing how they’d feel.

This story isn’t a huge biggie but it will get a some play and notice. And it will suck at least some of the attention away from Clinton fine-tuning her stump campaign speech in light of her string of primary losses to Barack Obama:

“We need real results not more rhetoric. We need to get back in the solutions business,” Clinton said to the cheering crowd with a huge Texas flag behind her stage.

“There is a very important choice and a big difference in the candidates in this race. I am in the solutions business. My opponent is in the promises business. I think we need answers not questions,” Clinton said.

Here’s an answer we could use: where were the political instincts that have given comedians (and opponents) such a great opening? These folks, these folks, these folks and this guy and this guy will have fun with this one…

Some Other Comments On This Story:
–Michelle Malkin
–Kevin Drum
–Hot Air