One report Cameron saw that Clinton's pastels are a new campaign tactic was apparently his -- and it was false

Written by Matt Gertz

Published


During the August 12 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday, Fox News chief political correspondent Carl Cameron asserted that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) is conducting a “charm offensive” in which she “has gone out of her way to be more likable.” He added: “We've seen stories about how she's brightening up the pastel colors and trying to put a little bit more of a smile on.” However, the Daily Howler's Bob Somerby noted the next day: “Using Nexis, we can find zero 'stories' in the past three months about how Clinton is 'brightening up the pastel colors.' (We searched on 'Clinton AND pastel OR pastels.')” Indeed, Cameron may have been referring to his own report slightly more than three months ago, in which, as Media Matters for America documented, Cameron himself claimed Clinton was “wearing bright colors, smiling constantly, as if to deal with what polls say is a likability problem.”

As Media Matters also noted at the time, Clinton had smiled and worn bright-colored clothing in numerous prior appearances.

From the August 12 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday:

WALLACE: Let's talk about Hillary Clinton. I'm not sure, Carl, that she would have said, “I'm your girl,” at the start of the campaign with all the questions about a woman president. It seems to me to show an increasing confidence.

CAMERON: There is a level of confidence -- and her charm offensive that has not gotten a great deal of attention. For months, Hillary Clinton has gone out of her way to be more likable.

The campaign and she know full well that if there is a liability and a problem in her candidacy, it's that so many people won't even think about the possibility of voting for her. Well, we've seen stories about her showing a little bit of cleavage on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

WALLACE: Oh, boy.

CAMERON: We've seen stories about how she's brightening up the pastel colors and trying to put a little bit more of a smile on.

That's clearly working, and part of it is pointing out that both Barack Obama and John Edwards, who had set out -- Edwards' campaign in 2004 and Obama's this time around -- as unifying Democrats who would be positive, optimistic, and idealists are now attacking her regularly.