Hillary plants; Schneider bloviates

Published Nov 14 2007, 02:35 AM by Adam Reilly

According to CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider, Hillary Clinton's use of a planted questioner evokes memories of Bill Clinton's dishonesty:

"It's the same criticism often made of her husband," Schneider said. "Most Americans never felt Bill Clinton was honest and trustworthy, even when he got elected in 1992 -- with only 43 percent of the vote. His critics called him 'Slick Willy.' ... Will her critics start referring to the New York senator as 'Slick Hillary?'"

Boy, Bill, that's a great question.

Don't get me wrong: the use of pre-screened questioners is completely lame. Sadly, though, stage-managed Q-and-A's are pretty common in politics. If and when another campaign gets caught in the act, will Schneider see it as evidence of a fatal flaw?