The American Spectator

The Spectacle Blog

Wow, it was just yesterday that I cited Russert's question during the Oct. 30 as the beginning of Hillary Clinton's downfall, an incident also noted today by Michelle Malkin. Let's roll that video again, and notice how Russert comes back with the follow-up question:

From the transcript:

Russert: Senator Clinton, I just want to make sure of what I heard. Do you, the New York senator, Hillary Clinton, support the New York governor's plan to give illegal immigrants a driver's license?
You told the New Hampshire paper that it made a lot of sense. Do you support his plan?
Clinton: You know, Tim, this is where everybody plays "gotcha." It makes a lot of sense. What is the governor supposed to do? He is dealing with a serious problems. We have failed. And George Bush has failed. Do I think this is the best thing for any governor to do? No. But do I understand the sense of real desperation, trying to get a handle on this? Remember, in New York, we want to know who's in New York. We want people to come out of the shadows.
He's making an honest effort to do it. We should have passed immigration reform.

Russert's follow-up pinned her down, so that she couldn't have it both ways. His ability to expose political doubletalk was the big reason why Tom Brokaw said NBC News "will not be the same without his strong, clear voice."

topics:
Hillary Clinton, NATO, Immigration