116 Days: For the Clinton Campaign Press Corps, Formal Press Conferences Are a Foreign Concept

[Cheese Sandwich]

116.

That’s the number of days since Hillary Clinton has held a formal press conference. And since it’s March Madness, here’s your context on just how long 116 days is: You can play the entire NCAA tournament — 68 teams down to one win winner — nearly six times in 116 days. Or… one could drive across the United States in 116 days. 29 times.

Mrs. Clinton did take questions in what can best be described as a pseudo-presser 28 days ago (March 1) at a coffee shop in Minnesota, but the session only consisted of a handful of questions and was relatively brief overall. Some may count that as a presser (or gaggle), but without a podium and at least five minutes of Q&A, it’s not what one could tout as an official press conference. So yes, it’s been quite awhile since the Democratic frontrunner (in some polls, but certainly not all) and superdelegate juggernaut has provided her traveling press corps true access. Here’s how Monica Alba of NBC News described her lack of openness on the trail on February 29th:

In the three months since (her last press conference), Clinton has held hundreds of events across more than 20 states. She did not formally answer questions from her traveling press corps once during that time.

As a result, reporters bombard Clinton on the rope line in the hopes of having a question acknowledged. That rarely happens amidst the incessant selfies and Secret Service officers keeping cameras at a distance. Organizers also tend to blast music after Clinton’s remarks so–in the rare event that she does answer a question–it’s hard to hear her response.

And that’s just the way it goes when attempting to coast to the nomination despite a relatively slim lead in the pledged delegate count (just 268 on that front) and losing the last three states that voted over the weekend (Washington, Alaska, Hawaii) by an average of more than 50 points. 50. The fear of Hillary’s handlers, of course, is that a majority of questions at such a presser will not focus on her plan to fight ISIS, fighting for the middle class or fighting a tireless Bernie Sanders in the primary, but instead on the FBI Primary. The L.A. Times reports that the bureau will be questioning Mrs. Clinton soon as sources tell the paper the bureau may be nearing the end of its investigation. Whether this will result in a recommendation for indictment is anyone’s guess…

http://www.mediaite.com/online/116-days-for-the-clinton-campaign-press-corps-formal-press-conferences-are-a-foreign-concept/

[RobertEarl]

1. She is scared

Scared of what she might say, so she's hiding away. Can't really blame her, she gets herself into trouble every time she speaks.

[AzDar]

2. ^ This. Hoping to coast in on name-recognition. Sorry, Hill...