Des Moines Register suggested Clinton stole Vilsack anecdote
In a July 11 article headlined "Hillary uses story Vilsack had told," The Des Moines Register reported that "Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has borrowed an anecdote about the war in Iraq from former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. Clinton told an audience of more than 300 people in Des Moines Tuesday [July 10] about Bruce Smith, the West Liberty man killed in Iraq in 2003 when his helicopter was shot down." The headline suggests that Clinton tried to pass off Vilsack's story as her own. Absent that suggestion, which is false, there is presumably no story. In the fifth paragraph, the Register reported that "Clinton said Vilsack had told her the story." However, the article did not make explicit that Clinton's acknowledgement of Vilsack as the source of the story actually came during her July 10 speech in Des Moines.
Indeed, Clinton prefaced the anecdote by saying, "My friend Tom Vilsack told me about Bruce Smith and his courageous wife, Oliva." From Clinton's speech:
I want to end by telling you about one of those service members -- a Chief Warrant Officer in the Iowa Army National Guard, named Bruce Smith, from West Liberty, Iowa. My friend Tom Vilsack told me about Bruce Smith and his courageous wife, Oliva. Bruce was deployed to Iraq, in November 2003 the Chinook helicopter he was piloting was shot down near Fallujah. Bruce had to make a split-second decision about how to maneuver the helicopter. One choice would possibly save his life. The other would possibly save his crewmates. Bruce chose to save his crew. And while he and his co-pilot were killed, 17 members of his crew survived. His wife, Oliva, has said that in those few seconds, those 17 men needed Bruce more than she and her children would need him for the rest of their lives.
From the July 11 edition of The Des Moines Register:
Hillary uses story Vilsack had told
The former governor's account tells of the loss of an Iowan in combat.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has borrowed an anecdote about the war in Iraq from former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.
Clinton told an audience of more than 300 people in Des Moines Tuesday about Bruce Smith, the West Liberty man killed in Iraq in 2003 when his helicopter was shot down.
Smith and his widow, Oliva Smith, were fixtures in Vilsack's standard speech during his brief campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination this year.
"Bruce chose to save his crew. And while Bruce and his co-pilot were killed, 17 of his crew members survived," Clinton said, even borrowing Vilsack's phrasing, during her speech in Des Moines about ending the war. "His wife, Oliva, has said, in those few seconds those 17 men needed Bruce more than she and her children would need him for the rest of their lives."
Clinton said Vilsack had told her the story, one he often used to end his remarks. Vilsack, as governor, called to convey condolences to Oliva Smith, who told him witnesses said her husband maneuvered the helicopter to protect the passengers after it had been hit. Smith and his co-pilot were among 15 aboard who died in the crash.
Vilsack endorsed Clinton in late March, a month after abandoning his own campaign.
The weblog JustHillary.com linked to The Des Moines Register story, tagging it "HILLARY BORROWS A WAR STORY."
Can we spell N-I-T-P-I-C-K? The article says Clinton said Vilsack told her the story, and the headline suggests nothing more. She used the story Vilsack told her. The article clearly says the same.
I think the use of the word "stole" in the MMFA headline is quite the liberal interpretation of what the Des Moines Register actually wrote. Why should I be surprised?
I don't think so. All you have to do is look in the comments section of this article to see someone post :
"She stole this idea because she can't think of
anything on her own"
The article leaves the impression that she tried to pass off the story to the audience, not the readers of the article, as a story of hers. This is simply another brick in the "Hillary isn't genuine" "fake southern accent" wall. Hence the terms "were fixtures in Vilsack's standard speech" and "Even borrowing Vilsack's phrasing". No where in the article does it state Hillary told the audience it wasn't her story but in the speech she clearly says "My friend, Tom Vilsack, told me about Bruce Smith...". Odd that was left out of the article doncha think?
I'm not so sure. It seems to me that this article makes very good Hannity-bait. It's the kind of thing he loves to read on his radio show.
Don't be surprised if we read another MMfA article about Hannity pushing the "Hillary plagiarized" meme in a day or two.
Don't worry, Hillary can overcome this problem the way her namesake Sir Edmund Hilary climbed Mt. Everest.
the editor beter be careful or he will end up in fort marcy park dosent he know about clinton inc's secret army of ninjas all ready to spread out across the country and kill anyone who gave anybody else money or every said anything bad about her
dam it i have said too much i may not be on here for a while tell my mother i love her
better , sorry i type too fast with big fingers and dont bother checking
Stole?
Huh?
MMFA is editorializing like crazy here.
This is beyond nit-picking, this a sad attempt to make something out of nothing
Has acute paranoia overtaken the staff here ;-)
You're quite wrong. MMFA is correct to point out this blatant attempt to pull a phony 'Joe Biden' on Hillary Clinton.
Remember when Biden was accused of copying someone else's words and ideas? It hurt him very much. This is the same thing. It's a dishonest tactic designed to discredit Hillary. And it's only the start, too.
It's the article that makes something out of nothing. MM is just pointing it out. It is part of a larger pattern.
I'm with you, but I also think both parties are guilty, albeit of different offenses.
MMFA: "The headline suggests that Clinton tried to pass off Vilsack's story as her own. Absent that suggestion, which is false, there is presumably no story."
I think MMFA is reaching to find a "gotcha" about stealing where there really isn't one, but they are correct that the Des Moines Register was reaching to find a story.
Well, we here in Iowa just love it anytime someone famous talks about us. The local news in Des Moines is the worst at reaching for stories that include a famous person talking about Iowa.
I'll take that further. It's not just a nitpick, but a reading of something that simply isn't there. By the way, further down, the article even states that Vilsack is supporting Clinton.
The article is a bit of a funny one. It's more the type of news I'd expect to see on our small town paper, not a large city. Of course, I don't know much about De Moines other than alot of credit card solicitations coming from there; I've never been there.
Wrong, Tommy, the article does not clearly say that Sen. Clinton did not steal the story. To have been clear about it, the article would have had to note that the Senator attributed the story to Sen. Vilsack in her speech. The article is quite ambiguous in this regard, and the proof of that is the 4 (out of 9) comments referring the Sen. Clinton as having stolen the anecdote. MMFA is right about the headline - one can easily and reasonably infer that the headline was meant to suggest something nefarious or, at the least, disingenuous on Sen. Clinton's part. (Indeed, there were a couple of comments on the disingenuous aspect, too.) Whether intentional or not, the ambiguity in the article and its headline portrayed Sen. Clinton as either dishonest or disingenuous, or both.
You're right, Linus. It was designed to deliberately discredit Hillary, and it's a lie. Good work, MMFA.
Not through the paranoid prism of MMFA... Don't you know all media is conspiring to get every Democrat? Where you been?
Then the next time a Repub or a neocon screams "liberal press" you will apply the same conspiracy principles, eh?
Touche'.
My remark was completely tongue-in-cheek.
There are just more important issues in the media world today than this. To me this is so minor I do not believe it is worth a response.
Yet you respond. As my post above stated, this is lending to the "fake" Hillary narrative. No where in the article does it expressly say she told the audience the story wasn't hers. That is the problem.
The article clearly states that Clinton said Vilsack told her the story. Did you miss that?
Again, if you read my posts and the article, yes the article states that Hillary used the story originally told to her by Vilsack but the article does NOT say that she told the audience that. Instead the article makes it look like she tried to pass off the story as her own and the author fact checked and found she took it from a supporter. By just quoting the one line of the speach where Hillary attributes the story to Vilsack before she tells it would have cut his coulmn in half.
Whatever.......the headline here is ridiculous and is clearly not supported by the article which makes no such suggestion of "theft". It's manufacturing a thread topic for it's own sake, it's absurd.
We will have to agree to disagree but already right wing blogs are slectively quoting this article like flies on feces about Hillary stealing someone elses story to seem more like common folk. That alone proves my point of how this article was poorly written and the MMFA headline is right on target.
Instead of "stole" would you be happy with "took without asking"?
Here's a little hint for you.
The Des Moines Register is a liberal newspaper. Read the opinion page every day and it reads like move-on.org. They support Hillary and they support Obama.
The story was about Hillary relating a story about a local war hero told to her by the recent governor of Iowa. The story is how a national candidate was talking about the locals.
Good grief, what a joke when Media Matters starts ragging on the Des Moines Register, infamously famous in Iowa for its progressive viewpoints.
I'd love to see what passes for "progressive" in Iowa.
Kind of like the L.A. Times is always being called "liberal," when they are absolutely clamoring for California to be redistricted to help the shrinking Republicans-- all in the name of "balance."
I agree, which is why I, too, am refusing to respond to this. I urge others who share our opinions on this by not responding likewise.
I refuse to respond to your request.
I will not respond to your response.
I refuse to acknowledge either of your non-responses.
I am completely refusing to even recognize your posts, and am condemning Hillary for stealing the Vilsack antidote, in support of those who may have been stricken with Vilsack poisoning recently, with no relief available.
The problems I was having with my Vilsack responded to the penicilin treatments, and I have sworn off using the adultery offsets, so I foresee no more discomfort. Ergo, no need to respond with your wild antidotes.
Beach your logic and cold hard reasoning leave no wiggle room. Now would be the correct time to apply... The Tickler.
If we could just get rid of all these posts, then we wouldn't have people running into them.
I'll go with the, this is framing the argument kind of thing. Making Hillary the kind of person who would steal anything, even a joke.
I agree with MMFA. My first take upon reading the article was that Hillary used a story Vilsak had told, and essentially borrowed it. Sounds like a negative thing for Hillary, and the few other people I read it to. Used. Borrowed.
How did I get that impression? Maybe because of the headline. Maybe because of the first few paragraphs. Most people read only the headline and possibly the first three paragraphs. If you have to dig to get to the gist, then the writer has intentions beyond reporting, or is a poor writer.
Do ya think right-wing sites will point to this?? To late. JustHillary jumped on this.
Scooter, Frontpage magazine is requesting that you return to posting over there. They have a spot in the circle jerk they've been saving for ya.
I really, really am not trying to be rude, but it seems like Iowa and the DM Register are trying desperately to remain relevant now that there are several other states involved in early-primary play.
Clinton said Vilsack had told her the story, one he often used to end his remarks.
So what was this about the reporter not mentioning she had heard it from Vilsack? This is a non-story that could have used better research (i.e read beyond the headline and first paragraph...).
Again, the author does not make clear that Hillary told the audience this. Sometimes reading a handfull of comments can save you from asking a question that has already been answered.
I beg to differ. The bold text makes it clear that the author has stated that Hilary mentioned this to her audience. The only thing missing is the complete transcript, but then it wouldn't be an article if that were the case...
I don't think that it was intentional to paint her as a phony. I think it was just a poorly written article, that will now be twisted by the "Hillary is a phony" to support their cause.
That the article points out that Vilsack had told her the story many times just reinforces the implication that she is "stealing" it for her own purposes. If the article had instead said "Clinton mentioned in her speech that it was told to her by Vilsack", there would not have been the same implication.
I would not be surprised to see this poorly written article be referenced by rightwingers in their attacks against Clinton.
Oh my god! The Des Moines Register said something very obscure about Hillary! Stop the presses! Demand retractions! Panic! .... sense of perspective, people, 6 years into the new Vietnam, death daily....
Did any of the posters click on the link to the Des Moines Register provided by MMFA? If so then did anyone scroll down to the bottom of the page and read the comments? If not then here is a cut and paste of the comments:
Posted by: JMom
on Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:16 am
wonder what else old Tommy V is lending that hag
Reader Comment Posted by: Mr. French
on Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:07 am
Hillary Clintler is the phoniest person on the planet.
Anyone who would vote for her has got to be
mentally ill.
Reader Comment Posted by: tpb
on Wed Jul 11, 2007 7:59 am
I am surprised that she did not say SHE called the
widow in this story to express her condolences as
well. She is evil and anyone who would vote for her
is blindly following a bandwagon. C'mon speedy,
state some tangible reasons why you would possibly
give this evil machine your vote
Reader Comment Posted by: vamb
on Wed Jul 11, 2007 7:47 am
She stole this idea because she can't think of
anything on her own
Does anyone notice the very last comment by vamp?
Also note the timestamps on these comments?
You nailed it, harlequin. This is how the story came off-- Hillary the phony. And it was intentional.
Good work, MMFA. Without more of this, the Dems are going to get swift-boated every time.
Just as Republicans have the stereotype of being corrupt, true or not.
Democrats have the stereotype of being weak, true or not.
Wow, it should be a great Happy Hour Friday afternoon, what with all the w(h)ine MMFA is supplying today. Hope it keeps until Friday.
Ah yes Dulcinea, the weed of crime bares bitter fruit. Though its actually a melon comon in alykie mounds and fertilized by itenerate sheep impersonators.
Des Moine Register is an Iowa newspaper, and as such has to emphasize achievements by Iowans. Vilsack is an Iowan, and I strongly believe that Desmoines Register was simply telling Iowans about the Vilsack's involvement in a speech given by arguably the top presidential candidate in the United States.
I don't think the intention was to suggest Clinton stole his anecdote.
I agree. But I think it's good that MMFA documents this for posterity, otherwise only the "Hillary is a phony" crowd will use it.
Hillary Clinton would never steal someone's "story". She's got enough stuff gathered on her listening tours to be accurate in her own right. As stated, she attributed that "story" to Vilsack. End of story.