# Hillary Clinton's Presidential Campaign Discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 4, 2016, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873 "2016-05-04T11:09:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 71
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1403 "2016-09-18T05:05:32Z")
No it’s not. To get an idea of Woodward’s and his type’s methods, read George Stephanopolous’ bio. He admits that he got talked into revealing a lot of insider stuff, mainly by saying others had said such and such and would George like to confirm, and then George gives his side of things and before you know it, Woodward’s managed to piece together a pretty good picture of things based on several accounts of people in on whatever meeting he was trying to get info on, as well as a lot of confirmed quotes. Halperin and Elizabeth Drew have used the same methods. They work, and while I wouldn’t consider every single detail to be 100% reliable, it’s wrong to say they aren’t well sourced. It’s just that they aren’t going to tell us who squealed. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1404 "2016-09-18T05:41:34Z")
Since there’s no “link”–why don’t you show us exactly what Heileman & Helperin wrote? Then we can judge for ourselves. Get out your book & type in a few of the relevant paragraphs. The Dope allows brief quotations. If you’ve got the Kindle version of the book, you can cut & paste! ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1405 "2016-09-18T05:52:38Z")
Aside from being in Game Change, there are other sources of Sid Blumenthal pitching the birther story to the media: > **[Former DC Bureau Chief: Clinton Surrogate Pitched Me ‘Birther’ Story In 2008](https://dailycaller.com/2016/09/16/washington-bureau-chief-clinton-surrogate-pitched-me-birther-story-in-2008/)** > > Hillary Clinton surrogate Sid Blumenthal personally pitched a reporter on the President Obama ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1406 "2016-09-18T06:15:27Z")
Rachel Stoltzfoos at the _Daily Caller_? The same source is quoted in Breitbart… What happened to your copy of that book? You made it sound really interesting. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1407 "2016-09-18T07:16:01Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Rachel Stoltzfoos at the _Daily Caller_? The same source is quoted in Breitbart… Do I detect a hint of sarcasm, some faint suggestion that we do not hold the _Daily Caller_ in the highest esteem? Have a care! Of course, if it is skepticism that anyone with a name like “Rachel Stoltzfoos” actually exists… ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1408 "2016-09-18T13:48:58Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Do I detect a hint of sarcasm, some faint suggestion that we do not hold the _Daily Caller_ in the highest esteem? Have a care! > > Of course, if it is skepticism that anyone with a name like “Rachel Stoltzfoos” actually exists… They’re out there, just not in the phone books…the Amish don’t have telephones. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1409 "2016-09-18T13:51:15Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Do I detect a hint of sarcasm, some faint suggestion that we do not hold the _Daily Caller_ in the highest esteem? Have a care! > > Of course, if it is skepticism that anyone with a name like “Rachel Stoltzfoos” actually exists… Maybe she moonlights for “Card Services”. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1410 "2016-09-18T14:42:10Z")
Not \*all \*Amish are named Stoltzfus, btw. They have a bunch of Yoders, too. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1411 "2016-09-18T15:24:19Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Maybe she moonlights for “Card Services”. Oh god, she calls me ALL the time! ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1412 "2016-09-18T16:39:07Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That’s the nature of insider accounts. Bob Woodward’s books are no different. Good journalists know how to shake people down for info and compare it to what other people have said. Your demand for cites is nonsense, since anyone who went on record would never work for a campaign again. Halperin is an incredible hack, not a good journalist. Not even close. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1413 "2016-09-19T00:30:37Z")
The _Game Change_ books got excellent reviews, including from many politically-savvy reviewers, and deservedly so, I’d say. > **[Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a...](https://www.amazon.com/Game-Change-Clintons-McCain-Lifetime/dp/0061733644)** > > Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime \[Heilemann, John, Halperin, Mark\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime > **[Double Down: Game Change 2012: Halperin, Mark, Heilemann, John: 9780143126003:...](https://www.amazon.com/Double-Down-Game-Change-2012/dp/0143126008)** > > Double Down: Game Change 2012 \[Halperin, Mark, Heilemann, John\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Double Down: Game Change 2012 ---
**Author:** ![Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pearl_Clutching_Provocateur)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1414 "2016-09-20T00:21:52Z")
Are any of you worried that Hillary could only get 250 people to show up at her rally at Temple University? Even when they live stream her press conferences she only gets a fraction of what Trump gets. If you aren’t worried, why not? Do you believe there is little relationship between crowd attendance and votes cast? > **[Clinton tries to connect with young voters during rally at Temple University](https://www.phillyvoice.com/students-react-clinton-rally-temple-university/)** > > With just 50 days till the presidential election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton visited Temple University on Monday to talk about her plans to make college more affordable, support working families and push back against what she called her... ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1415 "2016-09-20T00:37:30Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Are any of you worried that Hillary could only get 250 people to show up at her rally at Temple University? Even when they live stream her press conferences she only gets a fraction of what Trump gets. If you aren’t worried, why not? Do you believe there is little relationship between crowd attendance and votes cast? > > [Students react to Clinton rally at Temple University | PhillyVoice](http://www.phillyvoice.com/students-react-clinton-rally-temple-university/) No, I don’t believe there is much of a relationship between crowd attendance and votes cast. All the crowd figures tell you is that people like to watch a spectacle, and that Trump is more entertaining than Clinton. Of course, the way he entertains the crowd at his rallies is by spewing outrageous statements, which serves to convince other voters to NOT support him. Regardless, the vast majority of voters will never attend a rally for either candidate. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1416 "2016-09-20T00:45:25Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Are any of you worried that Hillary could only get 250 people to show up at her rally at Temple University? Even when they live stream her press conferences she only gets a fraction of what Trump gets. If you aren’t worried, why not? Do you believe there is little relationship between crowd attendance and votes cast? > > [Students react to Clinton rally at Temple University | PhillyVoice](http://www.phillyvoice.com/students-react-clinton-rally-temple-university/) Yes. > **[Top 11 Nhà Cái Uy Tín Nhất Việt Nam Và Thế Giới (Tháng 6/2024)](https://bobmannblog.com/)** > > Tổng hợp top 11 trang nhà cái uy tín nhất Việt Nam và Thế giới hiện nay. Review top các web nhà cái uy tín xanh chín bậc nhất 2024. > [@](#): > > I have bad news for Sanders, Trump, their supporters and some in the news media fixated on the numbers at candidates’ rallies: The size of rallies has long been a flawed measure of a campaign’s vitality. Journalists often survey an arena brimming with enthusiastic supporters and mistakenly use a head count to gauge the campaign’s prospects. Candidates and their staffs are eager to bolster that faulty notion, sometimes feeding reporters exaggerated crowd estimates (there’s no evidence Sanders’ campaign has done that). > > Such a misreading happened in 2012 when spokespeople for President Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney bragged about the size of their rallies and pointed to enthusiastic crowds as indications of growing support. Consider this piece in Politico less than a month before the election: > > > [@](#): > > > > It may be his supporters, or it may be those getting a glimpse of the GOP nominee for the first time, but Mitt Romney’s crowds are getting bigger in the campaign’s final stretch. > > > > Since his strong presidential debate performance last Wednesday night, Romney has seen a bump in the number of people attending his rallies, which the campaign calls a sign of new enthusiasm in the final month of the campaign. > > > > In the past week alone, Romney’s campaign says at least three of its rallies have, per the campaign’s crowd counts, exceeded 10,000 people: an Oct. 4 event with country singer Trace Adkins in Fishersville, Va., which was Romney’s largest event ever at 14,000 people; a rally last Sunday in Port St. Lucie, Fla., that drew 12,000; and one in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, that fire marshals estimated also drew 12,000. . . > > > > “Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are more fired up about this election, and fired up about Gov. Romney,” Gorka said. “The debate helped crystallize that energy and it’s translating to our events.” > [@](#): > > Journalists like Vega, who follow Sanders, Clinton, Trump and other candidates, might wish to fortify themselves with Sidey’s 1968 “crowdsmanship” piece in Life and ponder the long history of candidates and journalists who read irresponsibly judged the success or failure of campaigns based on the size of their rallies. > [@](#): > > There are many situations in life where size does matter. Journalists would be wise to keep in mind that campaign rallies do not appear to be one of them. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1417 "2016-09-20T01:37:42Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Do you believe there is little relationship between crowd attendance and votes cast? Ron Paul never got close to a nomination. Bernie fared a bit better, but still fell way short. The number of people at a rally is a minuscule percentage of the electorate. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1418 "2016-09-20T01:41:02Z")
[Trump lies about ISIS fighters returning to the US.](http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/19/politics/trump-us-isis-fighters/index.html) I’m not comfortable with a presidential candidate doing the work of ISIS for them by spreading fear based on lies. There is a reason that ISIS wants Trump to win; He’s on their side of promoting a holy war. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1419 "2016-09-20T02:00:58Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > [Trump lies about ISIS fighters returning to the US.](http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/19/politics/trump-us-isis-fighters/index.html) > > I’m not comfortable with a presidential candidate doing the work of ISIS for them by spreading fear based on lies. There is a reason that ISIS wants Trump to win; He’s on their side of promoting a holy war. Trump serves ISIS; ISIS serves Trump. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1420 "2016-09-20T02:13:15Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Are any of you worried that Hillary could only get 250 people to show up at her rally at Temple University? Even when they live stream her press conferences she only gets a fraction of what Trump gets. If you aren’t worried, why not? Do you believe there is little relationship between crowd attendance and votes cast? > > [Students react to Clinton rally at Temple University | PhillyVoice](http://www.phillyvoice.com/students-react-clinton-rally-temple-university/) Ahem. > [@](#): > > …Clinton’s visit comes as the New York Times reports that support for Clinton has recently dropped among voters younger than 30. > > Yet, at about noon on Monday, as Clinton stepped onstage before about 250 people at Temple University’s Mitten Hall, if her support had dipped amongst young people, you couldn’t tell… A number of admiring remarks by students in attendance, and one very disparaging remark. By the by, did you notice the location, a hall at Temple University? Did it occur to you that a university hall seldom holds the human volume of a stadium? Now, I don’t know that the limit of attendance in this hall was 250, but I’ll bet you don’t either. Double down on didn’t even think to ask. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1421 "2016-09-20T02:51:58Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > … ISIS wants Trump to win I wasn’t aware. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873/1422 "2016-09-20T03:18:52Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I wasn’t aware. Cite? Even a good number of evangelicals are aware of that: > **[ISIS Wants Donald Trump to Win, Believe He's Best Chance for Apocalyptic...](https://www.christianpost.com/news/isis-wants-donald-trump-to-win-believe-hes-best-chance-for-apocalyptic-showdown-168880/)** > > Islamic State recruiters are praying to Allah and calling on him to ensure that Donald Trump wins the presidential election in November, according to an analysis of postings on messaging services > [@](#): > > Islamic State recruiters are praying to Allah and calling on him to ensure that Donald Trump wins the presidential election in November, according to an analysis of postings on messaging services used by the heinous terrorist outfit. > > Foreign Affairs magazine reports that interviews with IS (also known as ISIS or ISIL) supporters and recent defectors indicate that the jihadis are rooting for Trump to defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton because they think the Republican nominee will help lead the United States and the West toward destruction. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873.md?page=70) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-discussion/753873.md?page=72)