Sunday, August 05, 2007

Hillary Clinton Walks Into Liberal Lion's Den at Yearly Kos (Video)

Seven of the eight Democratic 2008 candidates are grilled before the Yearly Kos liberal audience at the Presidential Leadership Forum. Hillary Clinton defends her policy of accepting lobbyist money . . . but it's still true that John Edwards and the progressive movement continue to push her to the left.

(Hat tip to TPM)

SF Chronicle -- Clinton gains respect at gathering of bloggers:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton faced a convention Saturday of 1,400 politically influential online activists who don't particularly like her. Yet she emerged from the presidential forum here at the Yearly Kos convention with a little more respect - if not love - from the liberal bloggers. . .

Then again, Clinton has nowhere to go but up with this crowd. She received 9 percent of the vote - narrowly nudging "No Freaking Clue" - at the last straw poll on www.dailykos.com , the 500,000-visitors-a-day blog from which the convention borrows its name. Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., won that straw poll, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was second. . .

Even more so than in the recent YouTube/CNN debate, the looser atmosphere cultivated Saturday - fueled by uninhibited cheering, jeering and standing ovations - seemed to somewhat dislodge the candidates from their usual sound-bite answers.

It was an audience that opened the proceedings by singing "Happy Birthday" to Obama, who turned 46 Saturday, booed New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for saying he'd support a balanced budget amendment, and cheered Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., for boasting how he took on Fox News commentator - and Yearly Kos basher - Bill O'Reilly last week.

Posted by egalia at