Here at Reagan Airport, the print edition of The Hill has a front page story about on Hillary Clinton ... a reporter listened to an interesting conference call involving her senior advisers -- and on the third page along the right column, a second, would-be great story -- a blockbuster, in fact, with Alexander Bolton reporting that she did not attend a hearing she convened on the contentious Nevada issue of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump.
If true, it would be a major faux pas and not what the Clinton campaign needs to pivot away from a poorly-reviewed debate performance.
But Clinton did attend the hearing.
And Bolton's article is no longer online.
A copy was preserved on the 'winger site FreeRepublic:
The lede of the story reads: "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) skipped an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing Wednesday that she called for earlier this year." A withering quotation from enviro-critic and Yucca supporter Sen. James Inhofe is included.
Philippe Reines, Hillary Clinton's Senate press secretary, told this column: "Her presence at EPW is very much like global warming: just because Sen. Inhofe and Alex Bolton deny it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. As everyone can watch on YouTube, she was very much there."
Indeed, a headline in the Reno Gazette-Journal suggests that the hearing was a political boon: Clinton strengthens Yucca stance at hearing.
Bolton said in an e-mail that the Hill would print a correction.
And Matthew Dempsey, Inhofe's spokesman on the committee, issued this clarification:
Today, The Hill newspaper ran an article with several inaccuracies regarding yesterday's Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing focusing on Yucca Mountain. The article, Clinton Skips Senate Hearing She Called For, wrongfully states that Senator Clinton "skipped" the hearing. Senator Clinton did in fact attend the hearing as evident by the press release released by her Senate office that includes video they posted on You Tube.In addition, The Hill wrongfully reported that Senator Inhofe criticized Senator Clinton for not attending. The Hill mistakenly reported Clinton's supposed absence "drew a strong rebuke from Sen. James Inhofe (Okla.), ranking Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee."
In fact, the comments made by Senator Inhofe included in the article actually came from a July 24, 2007 press release from Senator Inhofe's EPW Committee office titled, Senator Clinton Fails To Ask ‘Hard Questions' About Yucca Mountain.
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Some blue state polls were out yesterday, allowing us to verify everything is as usual in California, Massachusetts (where everything is as usual) and Maryland (where it is too close for comfort). Full numbers and rundown here.
Posted by Daniel | November 1, 2007 10:37 AM