NYT: Clinton Finds Way to Play Along With Drudge (Hillary camp leaking info to sludge?)

[jefferson_dem]

October 22, 2007
Clinton Finds Way to Play Along With Drudge
By JIM RUTENBERG

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 — As Senator Barack Obama prepared to give a major speech on Iraq one morning a few weeks ago, a flashing red-siren alert went up on the Drudge Report Web site. It read, “Queen of the Quarter: Hillary Crushes Obama in Surprise Fund-Raising Surge,” and, “$27 Million, Sources Tell Drudge Report.”

Within minutes, the Drudge site had injected Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s fund-raising success into the day’s political news on the Internet and cable television. It did not halt coverage of Mr. Obama’s speech or his criticism of her vote to authorize the war in 2002, but along the front lines of the campaign — the hourly, intensely fought effort to capture the news cycle or deny ownership of it to the other side — it was a telling assault.

Mrs. Clinton’s aides declined to discuss how the Drudge Report got access to her latest fund-raising figures nearly 20 minutes before the official announcement went to supporters. But it was a prime example of a development that has surprised much of the political world: Mrs. Clinton is learning to play nice with the Drudge Report and the powerful, elusive and conservative-leaning man behind it.

That man, Matt Drudge, came to national prominence a decade ago as a nemesis of the Clintons who used the Web to peddle, gleefully, the latest news and rumor generated by the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

That people in Mrs. Clinton’s campaign orbit would tip off the Drudge Report to its fund-raising numbers is in part a reflection of her pragmatic approach to dealing with potential enemies, like Newt Gingrich or Rupert Murdoch. But it also speaks to the enduring power of the Drudge Report, which mixes original reporting with links to newspaper, Internet or television reports far and wide.

<SNIP>

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/us/politics/22drudge.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

[Kahuna]

1. Well!

:popcorn:

[MethuenProgressive]

48. Yeah. Right. Her numbers were leaked to stop media coverage of Barack.

The abandoned cat story made more sense... :eyes:

[MonkeyFunk]

2. I'm sure every candidate

has Drudge's number.

Clinton's a smart campaigner!

[rodeodance]

7. and each campaign has to work to get his attention on matters that count to them.

[jefferson_dem]

10. So the ends justifies the means?

Ok. Remember, it's other Democratic candidates who have been targets of this alleged collusion between Hillary and Sludge.

[rodeodance]

14. The Drudge machine is out there----the campaign is taking advantage of it.

[John Q. Citizen]

19. Dirty money is out there, deals with slime bags are out there, mafia hit men are out

there; I could go on about what's out there.

Do you feel that taking advatage of what "out there " is all well and good?


If Hillary get's some fleas, well, fleas are out there too.

[Colobo]

22. Had Obama done it, many would be going nuts right now.

The hypocrisy has no limits.

[John Q. Citizen]

23. I know. It's amazing just how much corruption, ditry tricks, rightwing legislation,

war mongering, and hypocracy some Dem voters are willing to put up with so that we can supposedly defeat a corrupt, dirty, rightwing, war mongering, hypocritical as yet named Republican.

I'm sure glad my candidate doesn't daily embarrass me with shit like this.

Dennis Kucinich has made me proud, all day, every day.


I guess some folks just believe it takes a Republican to beat a Republican.

[MonkeyFunk]

25. Not me

I'd think it was smart.

[RaleighNCDUer]

41. So you thought it was as smart as Kucinich going on Fox?

When Hillary, and others, were keeping Fox at arms lenght?

[MonkeyFunk]

42. I had no objection to him going on Fox

[Colobo]

15. It does as long as we are not talking about Obama.

[MonkeyFunk]

24. It would be stupid

for any candidate to ignore media that we may not have much affection for.

[Donnachaidh]

30. "smart" campaigner? Hardly!

Willing to reach out to each and every scumbag out there -- yeah. And Drudge is in the lowest echelon of low. What's next? French-kissing Bill O'Reilly on his show? Exchanging fashion tips with Michelle Malkin? Doing the Tango with Rush Limbaugh? :puke:

[MonkeyFunk]

33. Of course she's a smart campaigner!

She's doing very well, if you hadn't noticed.

You really think she's the only Democrat with Drudge's number? How charmingly naive.

[geek tragedy]

3. The Clintons couldn't beat 'em, so they joined 'em.

Anyone doubt that the Clinton campaign came up with the Edwards haircut story?

[rodeodance]

5. I think it is a wise move on her part:

........But, typical of a campaign with a reputation for exploiting every advantage and trying to neutralize every disadvantage, Mrs. Clinton’s communications team, led by Howard Wolfson, is not leaving Mr. Drudge to the Republicans. Five current and former Democratic officials said Mrs. Clinton has on her side the closest thing her party has ever had to Mr. Rhoades in Tracy Sefl, a former Democratic National Committee official, who has established a friendly relationship with Mr. Drudge — and through whom Mrs. Clinton’s campaign often worked quietly to open a line of communication.

That effort has helped to mix some positive stories in with the negative fare about Mrs. Clinton that Mr. Drudge still serves up regularly, they said, though Ms. Sefl’s fingerprints are usually impossible to spot.

In April, Mr. Drudge scored exclusive access to a first round of Clinton fund-raising figures. In later months, he highlighted a campaign strategist’s prediction that Mrs. Clinton would win over even some Republican voters, polls showing her lead widening and articles chronicling her success in winning over previously skeptical voters.

[MonkeyFunk]

36. The Clintons couldn't beat whom?

They've beat all comers for the last 15 years! LOL!

[geek tragedy]

54. Who controlled Congress during their first tenure? n/t

[MonkeyFunk]

60. democrats for two years

republicans for the rest.

What's your point? Neither Clinton was running for Congress in the 90s.

[MonkeyFunk]

37. Again...

who couldn't the Clintons beat? That statement is just absurd on its face.

[rodeodance]

53. There is a vast difference between joining drudge and USEing them to the

campaigns advantage

[rodeodance]

4. Both sides are playing the game with Drudge:

.....Aides in both parties acknowledge working harder than ever to get favorable coverage for their candidates — or unfavorable coverage of competitors — onto the Drudge Report’s home page, knowing that television producers, radio talk show hosts and newspaper reporters view it as a bulletin board for the latest news and gossip.

Because of the sheer number of people who look at it and because of the attention it gets from the media, what appears on Drudge can, for a few minutes or an entire day, drive what appears elsewhere, making it, “a force in the political news cycle for both the press and the campaigns,” said David Chalian, the political director at ABC News.

Nielsen/NetRatings has clocked three million unique visitors to the site over the course of a month, and the Drudge Report said its users clicked onto the site a combined 16 million times in the course of a single day last week. The site’s influence, which is not limited to politics, has survived the proliferation of blogs offering all manner of news, analysis and gossip, as well as the advent of one-stop shopping political sites like Politico, which has a big staff of established political reporters. What sets Drudge apart as much as anything is its ability to attract well-placed leaks and traffic in the freshest and rawest material — though sometimes including what some have considered smears.

On the Republican side, a generation of campaign consultants has grown up learning to play in Mr. Drudge’s influential but rarefied world. They have spent years studying his tastes and moods while carefully building close relationships with him that are now benefiting some Republican presidential campaigns — and that others are scrambling to match. ........

[Harper_is_Bush]

6. If it's true then so what? It's pretty standard in politics to try and steal your opponents thunder

[Bitwit1234]

8. So here you go after someone who posts an unflattering item about Obama

and then you back stab another one on Hillary. I guess the republican shows......I can do it, but you can't.

[jefferson_dem]

11. What are you talking about?

This is a fucking Page 1 story in the NYT. Get a grip.

[cuke]

55. You must have missed the thread on Hillary's cat Socks

[Carrieyazel]

9. She's out of her mind. And not smart. Sludge was the site that first posted the Monica business.

that nearly destroyed her husband's presidency. She can't go elsewhere????

[rodeodance]

12. As the story points out----Dems (including) Clinton are learning to exploint Drudge to their

advantage.

......Though liberals say the site’s ideological imbalance remains plain, Republicans, who viewed the site as theirs in campaigns past say they are noticing what they believe to be more Democratic driven — often Clinton driven — items on it. And, as New York magazine reported recently, Mr. Drudge sometimes mentioned Mrs. Clinton favorably on his syndicated radio program, even if no one really knows whether his comments reflected admiration or simply a recognition that keeping her in the news is good for his business.

“It seems to me that after the 2004 election, the Democrats realized the impact that the Drudge Report has, and made it a priority,” said Jim Dyke, a strategist for Rudolph W. Giuliani’s presidential campaign and the communications director for the Republican National Committee in 2004.

The Democrats have come to believe, Mr. Dyke said, what Republicans have always thought: “No single person is more relevant to shaping the media environment in a political campaign.”

[MonkeyFunk]

27. Drudge reports almost nothing on his own

it was the National Enquirer that broke the Lewinsky story. Drudge may have gotten a heads-up on it, but it wasn't his story.

Nonetheless, I doubt there's a candidate who doesn't have Drudge's number and isn't trying to figure out how to best use him.

[jefferson_dem]

31. Wow. I haven't seen this many apolgetics for that cesspool-of-a-website since...

well never.

Ack!

[MonkeyFunk]

34. I've said nothing about Drudge's merits

I'm saying that any candidate who refuses to take advantage of media that we may not like would be dumb.

I can assure you, Clinton is not the only candidate with Drudge's number.

[cuke]

56. jd has had not problem taking advantage of right-wing propogandists

Yesterday, it was about how Hillary "dumped" Socks. jd doesn't mind right-wing propogandists when they attack Hillary. He only complains when Hillary uses them to HER advantage

[jefferson_dem]

58. LOL! Like you know.

Seems you think you've got everything all figured out...given the entire month that you've been a registered user here.

Whatever. Move along now...

[cuke]

59. I'm glad you dont deny using right-wing propoganda

and it didn't take long to notice how happy you are using right wing propoganda

[Colobo]

13. Now, let's attack the NYT!

:sarcasm:

[jefferson_dem]

18. Right. Let's watch to see how many of our fellow DUers defend sludge and slam the "Old Gray Lady."

Disgusting.

[rodeodance]

21. I am not defending Drudge--neither is the NYTs. My take on this story is that

dems--particularly Clinton are trying to 'use' the site/Drudge to its advantage.


.....Democrats have long known how the McCain campaign felt. And it is precisely why, a strategist close to the Clinton campaign said, her aides had decided to use the site more aggressively and capitalize on the line to him established by Ms. Sefl — now a vice president at the Glover Park Group, the former firm of Mr. Wolfson, Mrs. Clinton’s communications director, and an informal adviser to Mrs. Clinton’s campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe. Ms. Sefl had no comment.

At the same time, Democrats said they noticed an occasional Clinton-friendly tone from by Mr. Drudge, who recently said on his radio program: “I need Hillary Clinton. You don’t get it. I need to be part of her world.”

[AtomicKitten]

16. Surprised?

A marriage of dirty tricksters.

[MonkeyFunk]

28. dirty trickster?

Putting a story out to steal another candidate's thunder? It's done all the time, by all good campaigns.

[incapsulated]

35. rofl

Hyperbole much?

She is using Drudge just like he used her and her husband for years.

[AtomicKitten]

43. funny you think that is an exaggeration

[incapsulated]

44. I think it's politics and it's not "dirty tricks" either

I don't get all affronted when I see clever use of your former enemies for your own benefit.

Dirty tricks would be leaking nasty stories about your opponents to Drudge.

[AtomicKitten]

45. Well, one man/woman's "politics" is another's "dirty tricks."

nuff said

[incapsulated]

46. Good luck with your

Clueless newbie girlscout political campaign.

Because, honestly, those are the only people who would find something like dominating the news cycle by tipping off a well known online blog, even if the guy used to hound your ass outrageous. Who cares, he is read and starts a news cycle. And maybe, if you feed him some scoops, he doesn't spend so much of his time looking to nail you again.

It's practical and there is nothing dishonest about it. Giving reporters a heads up on a "I'm winning" story that just happens to hurt your opponent's spin cycle... I mean if that is beyond the pale, I don't know how you expect Obama to win. I doubt they view it as anything other than losing that round.

[AtomicKitten]

47. I recognize your retort from the "It's spelled Raymond Luxury Yacht ...

but it's pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove" school of thought.

Wink, wink.

[MonkeyFunk]

49. Where was the dirty trick?

Did you read the article?

Drudge ran the headline TWENTY MINUTES before the wire services got the same news.

The article doesn't even assert that the Clinton campaign tipped off Drudge - they just suspect it. The Campaign itself wouldn't discuss it

But let's say the campaign did tip off drudge. What's dirty about getting a story out 20 minutes before previously planned?

How is it a "trick"?

Do you think any campaign would say "oh, today's Obama's news day... let's just be quiet and let him have it to himself." Would the others do the same for Clinton? That's ridiculous.

There's no dirty trick discussed in this article.

[Nedsdag]

17. I'm SHOCKED, SHOCKED that she's doing this!

:sarcasm:

[Catherine Vincent]

20. Matt Drudge is such a slut.

Loose and easy with the gossip.

[w4rma]

26. Penn = Rove. And they both only use their skills against progressives and Democrats. (nt)

[jefferson_dem]

29. That would make Hillary=Chimpy...

Hmmmmm...

[w4rma]

32. I don't trust her. (nt)

[madrchsod]

38. jesus christ ,jimmy thinks matty is the man!

i mean matty is the go to guy everyone in washington goes to because he`s so famous!why? because he wears an old school fedora on his head cause he`s an old school reporter! yup he`s a real bull dog drummond,mike hammer,and boston blackie all rolled into one....ya matty is the man who knows where the bodies are buried... :rofl:

[bvar22]

39. The pure essence of "triangulation":

If you can't beat them, join them.


And it works....if you STAND for NOTHING.



"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans, family farmers, and people who haven't felt the benefits of the economic upturn."---Paul Wellstone

[MonkeyFunk]

40. The other poster wouldn't answer

Whom couldn't the Clintons beat? They've been kicking Republican ass for over 15 year.

So tell me, who couldn't they beat?

And a bonus question nobody else will answer: do you think clinton is the only candidate who has, or would, use Drudge?

[wyldwolf]

51. they blogosphere is still debating the best answer to your question.

KOS hasn't decided it yet.

[flpoljunkie]

50. As Jean Harlow, the great American actress and original Blonde Bombshell, once said...

"When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.”

http://thinkexist.com/quotation/when-you-lie-down-with-dogs-you-get-up-with-fleas/533950.html

[wyldwolf]

52. what have you got against Matt Drudge?

[cuke]

57. We;re not talking about Obama's homophobe

or did you forget about those fleas?

[rocktivity]

61. The Rethugs fully realize how pathetic their nominees are

They HAVE to "go all in" on Hillary--she'll be easiest to beat if she gets the nomination, and easiest to control if she wins anyway.

:headbang:
rocknation