Senator Clinton On Fox: "We Have To Try To Take Them On"

by Josh Orton, Thu Oct 16, 2008 at 02:43:06 PM EDT

Just got off a blogger call that Hillary Clinton held to talk about the last weeks of the election.

During the Q and A section, I mentioned Obama's belief that the misinformation from Fox News is probably costing him 2-3% in the polls, and asked if she had any prescriptions for how Dems should deal with Fox News in the future:

HRC: Well look, I think that it's a reality you have to deal with. We're not going to see them disappear anytime soon. [Fox News] still has millions of viewers. And some of those viewers, at least according to the survey's I've seen, are not dyed-in-the-wool conservatives - but people who tune in to figure out what the other side is doing.
And I believe it's an opportunity for us to meet them head-on.
As you know, I did an interview with Bill O'Reilly, and last night after the debate I carried the Obama-Biden message in an interview with Chris Wallace. I don't think we benefit from ignoring the reality that they're there - we have to try to take them on and do so in an effective manner.
...
You're not going to be defeated or deterred by them, but you're going to go right after them.

Clinton also praised the rise of other news outlets, including "the increase in viewership for some of the other cable shows that present a different point of view."

Paging Dr. Maddow?

Update [2008-10-16 18:52:26 by Josh Orton]: It's worth mentioning that according to pollster Mark Mellman, in 2004 "Fox News viewers supported George Bush over John Kerry by 88 percent to 7 percent." Not sure how many swing voters Fox has this cycle, but it's probably not more than four years ago.

Update [2008-10-16 18:57:35 by Josh Orton]: Singer just sent me a similar Rasmussen poll from this year, showing that "Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Fox News viewers say they are likely to vote for John McCain."

Update [2008-10-16 19:0:44 by Josh Orton]: I'll be on The Young Turks at about 7:15 Eastern to talk about last night's debate and the recent Fox news aggression. You can check out the show on XM radio or online here.

Tags: Election 08, Fox News, Hillary Clinton (all tags)

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Re: Senator Clinton On Fox

Hillary knows how to deal with smear merchants, that's for sure.
And she's never been afraid to take them on, either.
I've really, really been enjoying seeing Rachel Maddow on MSNBC after the debates, she's so freaking smart, and a great foil to Buchanan.
I also get to listen to her radio show every afternoon on XM. She's almost as good as Sam Seder. :)

by skohayes 2008-10-16 02:56PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: Senator Clinton On Fox

Almost :)

by josh orton 2008-10-16 02:58PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: Senator Clinton On Fox

Speaking of which, guess who is on TYT right now?
Hi Sam!!!

by skohayes 2008-10-16 03:04PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: Senator Clinton On Fox

There's no need for Obama or Biden to go there directly.

You will NEVER see Bush on MSNBC or Dick Cheney ANYWHERE except Limbaugh.

by tad 2008-10-16 03:02PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re:It's classy of Hillary

to praisen the rise of cable shows that bashed her relentlessly during the primaries.

And when she appeared on FOX back then, it was seen by some in our party as just one more indication that she would "do anything to win." Well, she is no longer trying to win anything for herself, and she is still going to FOX so I hope she can now be seen for what she truly is-a tough, determined campaigner who is willing to contests votes anywhere and everywhere.

by half nelson 2008-10-16 03:06PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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meh. so long as there is a portal

someone's going to be looking to see land.

Fox News isn't Al-Jazeera, and more's the pity.

by risingtide 2008-10-17 07:59AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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FOX News was really cruel to

Hillary for years and now Obama is getting the FOX news treatment.

I do not think that Obama liked the Hannity hour show that showed pure crap about Obama.

by puma 2008-10-16 03:10PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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"Try"???

Sorry, no trying on Fox.

In the words of the nearly immortal Yoda.

"Do or do not. There is no 'try'"

by j royale 2008-10-16 04:09PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Podcast on this?

hey-where is the podcast fo this great ineterview or transcript? btd has some more stuff on it also!

by art3 2008-10-16 04:48PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Stop posting subject lines that are too LONG!!!!!

News Corp is done if Democrats win this election cycle.

by agpc 2008-10-16 05:02PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: Stop posting subject lines that are too LONG!!

Nah, they'll thrive as an opposition voice under an Obama administration (the same way that the liberal blogs have thrived under a Bush administration).

by the mystical vortexes of sedona 2008-10-16 06:10PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: Senator Clinton On Fox:

A while ago, I had an opportunity to suggest to Gov. Dean that Fox should be banned from the convention. He said in response, "We need to talk to their audience."

With all due respect, Governor, no we don't.

by stoic 2008-10-16 06:07PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Many are forced to watch Fox

Guys, one thing I never hear anyone say is how so many viewers have no choice in the matter. If you have a good cable plan you get multiple news channels, but if you have one of the cheaper plans you probably only get one, probably Fox.

I had one of the better plans with Dish Network for several years until 8 months ago I decided to get my shows mostly through my Apple TV, so I called to cancel the dish. Well they talked me into keeping the most basic plan for $25, just so I could still have the local network channels.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that plan only included Fox News! Yes, I was forced to watch Fox for six months until I gave in 3 months ago and upgraded.

What percentage of Dish customers do you figure have that plan? 10%, 30% ? Well, however many they are they are likely to be some of the poorest viewers.

Here's the dish channel plan lineup:
http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/whats _on_dish/programming_packages/comparison /default.aspx

Last thought: To me this is not just an issue of product placement and tiering. It is very suspect when a whole segment of your viewers is forced to watch one news outlet based on their socioeconomic status.

by mointhehead 2008-10-16 09:16PM | login to reply | 0 recs