The Discerning Texan

What is Hillary Hiding?? And How Much? :

To say the cat's got Hillary's tongue doesn't begin to address the mystery of why someone who wants to be President can't speak spontaneously more often. When the goin' gets tough, Clinton sends out a messenger or a carefully crafted printed statement. Would the imperial candidate be an imperial President? Is the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain?

Wolfson - naturally, he spoke for her when I called - argues that she talks with reporters often. Granted, she has chats with reporters in primary states about local issues and she has an occasional sitdown with her favorite friendlies at The New York Times. Sometimes reporters on the campaign trail can get close enough to shout out a question - if they can fight through the autograph seekers, schoolchildren and Secret Service agents.

But Clinton hasn't had a full-scale press conference since last January, of the kind where she takes questions on virtually any subject from any reporter. It's the sort of thing that Bush now does about once a month and Clinton's hidey act seems to be unique among the major candidates.

Sometimes she goes to great lengths to make sure she doesn't get cornered. As Daily News Washington reporter Michael McAuliff wrote on his blog last week when the Norman Hsu fund-raising scandal was boiling over: "How much did Hillary Clinton not want to answer questions this afternoon? Usually, when she needs to, she can use her Secret Service detail's security concerns to shield herself from reporters." But with eight or nine reporters wanting to ask her questions, more muscle was needed, and it appeared. Wrote McAuliff, "Mysteriously, a phalanx of union men materialized just before her arrival and physically blocked reporters from getting close enough to ask a question."