There is so much evidence of Hillary Clinton’s corruption, you’d think even a reporter for a mainstream news outlet would have to stumble over enough to write or talk about it. But ever since her husband popped up on the national scene, the media has downplayed every scandal. Now, a new book on the Democratic presidential frontrunner examines why Hillary became a media darling before she even set foot in the White House.
Media Research Center President L. Brent Bozell’s “Whitewash” details the media’s efforts to protect the Clintons again and again. The White House travel office mess, “Filegate” and so many more illegal activities are shown in terms of the media’s enormous efforts to protect the Clintons. Bozell, whose MRC is famous for documenting media bias, shows how the Clintons were protected regardless of the nature of the offense, ranging from Bill’s offenses against his family to the abuses of power that best characterized the Clinton years.
Bozell spoke with bloggers yesterday at the Heritage Foundation about his research for the book, which compiles most of the lies and controversies in Hillary’s past - such as her business relationships with Webster Hubbell and Craig Livingstone - many of which her supporters seem to disregard.
“People either say…I had not idea or I had forgotten,” said Bozell, adding that he wrote the book to help conservatives see why the American people still support Hillary in spite of her past.
Bozell asks how Hillary became the Democrat to beat - when her personal political experience is minimal and marked with deception. Readers will recall shady business of the 1990’s, such as her involvement in Whitewater and "Travelgate."
Hillary’s shenanigans have been consistently discounted by major news outlets like CBS, NBC, ABC, The New York Times and The Washington Post. In fact, they have somewhat of a love affair with her. She is, in very real terms, their creation.
The book documents a study by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, which found that in the first five and a half months of 1999, the network evening news shows covered 33 stories on Hillary as compared to George Bush’s 20 and Al Gore’s 14. And, as Bozell, pointed out, the general public doesn’t investigate further than the 5 o’clock headlines running across the screen.
Bozell noted that there is not one Clinton scandal that was ever solved because “the media chose not to pursue the truth.”
When people consider the Clintons, they think one thing: Bill Clinton’s illicit relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Every other scandal was overlooked as Bill and Hillary perfected their ability to avoid straight answers. Though, as “Whitewash” contends, they were rarely asked anything but softball questions by media bigwigs - especially women - like Katie Couric and Margaret Carlson.
“Hillary Clinton is more adept at giving a one minute answer and saying nothing than anyone…because she knows the media won’t rate and judge the substance of an answer…,” said Bozell, noting the press’s habit of reporting how well candidates “performed” rather than the effectiveness of their answers.
Spending most of the past two decades in the media, avoiding confrontation and winning favor, Bozell warns that the Clintons could march back into the White House come January 2009. In fact, Bozell called them, “the most sophisticated, ruthless political machine in the history of man.”
And though her voting record practically mirrors that of ultra-liberal Ted Kennedy, the media has painted Hillary as a moderate - almost “conservative” at times.
Bozell said that means one of two things: that the mainstream media are lying or they are not lying. If they are lying, they are violating the trust the public mistakenly places in them. But if they aren’t lying, they must view Clinton’s liberalism as the norm in their world, showing how skewed their own bias makes their reporting and why they have pandered to the Clinton celebrity.
”Whitewash” is an essential read if only to stimulate discussion about Hillary’s past offenses. But it also provides a powerful tool to examine how Hillary’s personality will both drive the media and - inevitably - lead to further, possibly more serious scandals in the future.
When Hillary changes her mind, accepts improper campaign contributions, plants questions among student audiences, and continues avoiding straight answers to simple questions like whether or not illegal aliens should receive driver’s licenses, it’s easy to see that Hillary Clinton is running for President is the same flawed character she displayed as First Lady. The media, as Bozell proves, are still just as flawed, in just the same ways, as they were in Bill Clinton’s presidency.
