NPR retracts false "Hillary Tip" story

[Clintonista2]

Editor's Note: Since this story aired, Hillary Clinton's campaign contacted NPR to say that the campaign paid Maid-Rite a bill for $157 the day of Clinton's visit and left $100 in tip money. NPR contacted Maid-Rite manager Brad Crawford, who confirmed that a bill was paid and tip money was left. Crawford, who was not in the restaurant at the time, said that he believes a campaign staffer left the money with one of his employees, but "where Hillary was sitting, there was no tip left." Neither Anita Esterday nor the manager on duty that day were available for comment as of noon Thursday.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16099751

[ronnykmarshall]

1. And yet the usual suspects are having orgasms over it.

Don't hold out for anyone to say they made a mistake when they shit themselves in glee over the false story.

[Lucinda]

6. And the tip wasn't left correctly !!!

:rofl:
It never ends.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

9. It wasn't left where she was sitting... forward, and to the right... forward, and to the right...

[Lucinda]

15. Oh....that explains it

I thought she was supposed to cram it in the waitresses pocket

[Quantess]

45. Is that a double entendre? (eom)

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

2. K/R

[flordehinojos]

3. in some restaurants the tip is left inside a cookie jar at the cashier's counter ...

and somehow ... there was a tip left, a bill paid, and the rest of the story has the smell of poppy's promised hell to hillary ... might the manager who wants to make it clear that where hillary was sitting there was no tip left be a poppy bush paid swiftboater? one never knows, but ponder the possibilities.

[jmp]

4. "Crawford, who was not in the restaurant at the time ..."

In other words he is at best uninformed.

"... said that he believes a campaign staffer left the money with one of his employees"

Believes? First sign of a liar is hedging.


"Neither Anita Esterday nor the manager on duty that day were available for comment as of noon Thursday."

How convenient. I guess they haven't been able to flip them yet. :eyes:

[Clintonista2]

7. Dont look now...

Your desperation is showing! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

[jmp]

11. I find it amusing that you are calling the working stiff a liar ...

And taking the word of a manager who admits to not having been there ... who "believes" that the bill was paid.

Actually I would find it amusing if I didn't know who the professional Clintonites on DU are.

[Clintonista2]

14. The working stiff agrees with me.

"Maid-Rite manager (owner? huh?) Brad Crawford, who confirmed that a bill was paid and tip money was left."

He doesn't "believe", he "confirmed." Businesses keep transaction records. Your inability to understand basic financial procedures does not surprise me, though.

[jmp]

17. Crawford was NOT on duty.

Try to keep up. The waitress spoke up ... the stuff hit the fan ... and Clinton and her PR team are working hard to bury the truth.

[Clintonista2]

18. What does not being on duty have to do with anything?

It doesn't mean he can't easily check the transaction records. Why are you accusing an honest man of lying? Are you really willing to go that far over this idiot matter?

And adding pre-emptively: Unlike you, I'm not calling anybody (the waitress) a lyer. Just because she didn't recieve any tip money, doesn't mean it wasn't distributed improperly. You, on the other hand, are straight up accusing the manager of lying. Very sad.

[jmp]

19. Yeah, I'm way over the top for suspecting him of lying ...

While you merely suspect others of stealing the tip money.

[Clintonista2]

21. Yes. It's very possible someone stole the tip money.

Unlike you, I'm not directly accusing anybody of anything without any proof.

[jmp]

27. No one in particular anyway.

lol :)

[JackORoses]

58. that's convenient...They did leave a tip, but it was stolen

sounds much better than 'They didn't leave a tip'

[ShortnFiery]

40. Oh please! Manager is not equal to HOURLY Working Stiff. ... they're er... MANAGEMENT!

;)

[ShortnFiery]

39. Excellent point! If the manager says a tip was left, although the working stiffs never seen it ...

then, by GAWD, there was a tip left. :eyes:

Can we say damage control? ;)

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

8. I tried to figure out if this is a joke, then gave up.

[Clintonista2]

10. yes, he is a joke. nt.

[LanternWaste]

55. I think it was Benjamin Franklin

I think it was Benjamin Franklin who consciously attempted to qualify all his statements with, "I believe...", "I think...", "I am of the opinion that..."


(Source: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin)

[DURHAM D]

5. So if I understand the story correctly -

Someone from the restaurant said the meal was comped even though it was paid for...

I think we need an IRS investigation as someone is hiding income as well as tips.

[jmp]

12. Or someone is re-writing the facts ...

After the fact. This smells real bad.

[rinsd]

13. Yes, your post is quite pungent.

[CyberPieHole]

16. Yet, some of the BHO supporters piled on this story with a vengance...

even some, who try to pass themselves off as unbiased.:eyes:

[Apollo11]

20. Does everyone buy this "new" version of the story?

NPR contacted Maid-Rite manager Brad Crawford, who confirmed that a bill was paid and tip money was left. Crawford, who was not in the restaurant at the time, said that he believes a campaign staffer left the money with one of his employees

This manager has obviously been asked by the Clinton campaign to help them kill this story.

This guy is "confirming" what he "believes" might have happened while he was "not in the restaurant".

I would like to take this opportunity to confirm that I believe that Jessica Alba took a shower this morning. But unfortunately I was not there at the time! B-)

[maddiejoan]

22. Idiot

He's CONFIRMING the bill was paid and a tip was left --then he's stating he believes it was left by a campaign staffer. He wasn't there --can't know who left it --just that it was left.

Could have been Hillary herself for all he knows --or a supporter.

All he can CONFIRM is that a tip was indeed left.

Get it?

[Apollo11]

23. Either you are being paid by the Clinton campaign ...

... or you should ask them for a tip! B-)

Yeah - I'm a real idiot for imagining than sometimes campaigns try to spin stories to make their candidate look better. Or at least - not look bad.

[Clintonista2]

24. No, you're an idiot because

You're accusing an honest man of being a liar. You need to apologize, sir.

[Apollo11]

26. I never accused him of being a liar

Either he is telling us what he thinks probably did happen when he was not in the restaurant.

Or he is helping the Clinton campaign to spin this story in a way that helps Hillary.

I am not saying I know for sure. It's either one or the other.

I sure hope nobody here is accusing the waitress of being a liar.

Unless you were in the restaurant on the day, you don't know what happened.

[maddiejoan]

25. I'm a Kucinich Supporter

--though I'll happily vote for whoever gets the nomination.

What I can certainly claim is the ability to read a story and form my own opinion.

You seem to be more the sort to jump on whatever piece of meat the media throws you if it agrees with your agenda.

[Apollo11]

28. Forming an opinion is not knowing the truth

We weren't in the restaurant so we don't know what happened.

It looks like different people have said different things.

But it also looks like someone wants to kill this story.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

29. Yes, NPR wants to kill it because they are EMBARRASSED

[Clintonista2]

30. "This manager has obviously been asked by the Clinton campaign to help them kill this story."

Forming an opinion is not knowing the truth.

[gorekerrydreamticket]

32. Tip-gate.....n/m

[maddiejoan]

31. what part of the word CONFIRM

do you not understand?

[Apollo11]

36. I can imagine someone from Clinton's campaign using that word.

Like for example in this context:

"Hey, Mr Crawford, we need to to call NPR and confirm to them that we paid for everything plus we left a $100 tip for the wait staff. That would really help us out a lot if you could do that for us. By the way, the check is in the mail. Thanks for helping us out with this. We really appreciate it."*

I don't know. Maybe they even promised that Hillary will come back to his restaurant when she is President?

Maybe I am just suspicious of the guy because his name is Crawford. You know - as in Crawford, Texas ... :eyes:

* Not an actual quote but just what I imagine that someone might say in this kind of situation.

[leftynyc]

37. Your desperation is hilarious and

most pathetic. And Hillary is not my first choice. You Hillary haters just keep sounding like the right wing pukes you supposedly hate so much.

[Apollo11]

38. Being suspicious of spin does not make me a Hillary hater.

It makes me a truth seeker! B-)

[2rth2pwr]

49. um..

"Today is National Stupid Day and I see you are celebrating!"

[redqueen]

56. Wow.

Nasty.

[hughee99]

33. Come on, it's obvious what happened here...

The Clinton campaign paid for the meal and left a sizable tip in private at some point during the day, at which point absentee "management" (Brad Crawford) who wasn't even there, let alone did any actual work, screwed the "little guy" (the waitress) who actually did all the work, and kept the profits for himself (the tip). Since the waitress wasn't able to see the "books" (receipts), she blamed the customer for screwing her, instead of the management. Doesn't this sort of thing happen all the time?

[Sal Minella]

34. Easy for me to believe a tip was left.

Harder for me to believe the wait staff will ever see any of it.

Yes, I have worked as a waitress.

[Apollo11]

35. That's why you should always tip in cash directly to the person you want to tip.

When I go to a restaurant, even if I pay the bill with a credit card, I always leave the tip in cash.

I either hand it to the waitress/waiter directly. Or leave the money on the table.

Maybe I am a naturally suspicious kinda person that I don't trust managers? :eyes:

[ShortnFiery]

41. Excellent Points!

:applause: I also leave my dining tips in cash since I rarely eat at five star restaurants where "the gratuity" is automatically tallied to the bill.

BTW, If a restaurant is crowed, I also try to give the tip directly to the waitress/waiter. I've acquired this kind of cute habit of placing both the salt and pepper shakers on top of the bills so that it would not be *easy* (one fell swoop) for someone else to steal it off of the table.

[Sal Minella]

48. The waitresses smile at you when you walk in the door, though, I bet...

Good for you. I've heard of too many places where the tip jar got emptied out regularly but the wait staff never saw any of it.

Wish everybody would use your system.

[riqster]

43. That was my thought too

I always tip in cash, and make sure the actual server gets it. Sometimes the bus staff will steal a tip from the server, too. Hell, I've seen CUSTOMERS pocket tips that were left on tables.

[youthere]

42. Kicking for visibility.

[William769]

44. Thanks for bringing out the drowing rats!

:rofl:

[Broke Dad]

46. Re: NPR update this morning

A Hillary staffer brought out $20 yesterday (11/8/07) to the waitress at the Maid-Rite in Toledo after the story broke.

Clinton's original version was that the bill was paid with a credit card and a $100 tip was added on. The manager at the Maid-Rite pointed out their old credit card machine doesn't allow them to add tips. Then the Clinton campaign produced the alleged receipt showing the tip. Then the manager said that maybe the other employees pocketed the entire $100 tip. The waitress in the story said she has worked with some of these people all of her life and they would not pocket $100 without sharing with her. Then Thursday, the Clinton staffer shows up with $20.

NPR's reporter was drilled by Clinton's staff because he did not "vet" the story with them before going on air.

The truth is that the woman who waited on Hillary did not get a tip until yesterday, after the story broke. The rest is spin and intimidation by the Clinton organization when they made a mistake.

We do not need a nominee or a president who refuses to admit mistakes and then pulls a Nixon cover up and intimidates people who report the mistake. We have lived through that nightmare! Enough!

Hillary go back to New York!

[William769]

50. Explain away the credit card charge.

NPR got caught with their pants down! :rofl:

[PurityOfEssence]

47. Read the article: this is not a retraction, it's a clarification, and still no proof of tip

The manager, who was not there, "believes" that 3 of the 6 people serving that day were tipped by people from the campaign or affiliated with it.

What really smells is this:

Esterday, speaking to NPR from home later Thursday, said the Clinton campaign staffer who visited the diner apologized to her and said a $100 tip was left on a credit card the day of Clinton's visit. Esterday said the staff member said the money was meant to be shared.

"I explained to her that our credit card machine, you know, doesn't add on the tip," Esterday said. "And she said, 'Well, then, they left a $100 bill there.' And I said, 'Well, it didn't get divided up amongst us, because I had gotten nothing.'

Let's take a look at this:

The Clinton spokesperson states as a flat-out FACT that a $100.00 tip was added on to the credit card charge. When confronted that this is impossible, then the absolute FACT is shot back that a $100 bill was left. This person knows two absolutely contradictory facts and knows them instantly and without the slightest doubt. It wasn't five twenties, it was a hundred dollar bill, and that's a fact. For some reason, the campaign "declined" to bring forward the campaign staffer who supposedly left the money. Why? If they're telling the truth, that's the obvious method to advance their side of the story.

More than anything, this was simply clumsily handled. As soon as they realized they had a problem on their hands, they sent a staffer over to slip the woman a twenty. That just reeks of reality tampering. It was probably sincere, but it just comes off as haughty.

Anyone who's touting this clarification as a complete retraction of the story is engaging in DELIBERATE DECEPTION. At the end of this article, the manager, who wasn't there, says that he's under the impression that 3 of the 6 workers got some sort of gratuity, but he's not even certain of that, nor is he certain whether the people they served were with the campaign at all. The woman in question got nothing (until the campaign returned to make good) as far as this article states, so that's not a retraction at all.

Senator Clinton was using the plight of this individual for political gain; they should have been more careful. The adamant story about the credit card and then the $100 note smell of the standard habit of slapping down any criticism in a resounding fashion. The unwillingness to bring forward the actual staffer involved is just stupid; that makes them seem dishonest, just as coming back with a twenty seems a bit like third-grade damage control.

I'd say that the real lesson here is that the public is always watching and campaigns have to really watch what they do. Like most other political scandals, the initial act isn't so damaging, it's the cover-up and obfuscating that betray the self-righteous mindset.

Regardless, this story is NOT the blanket and complete retraction that so many Clinton supporters are chanting with glee that it is. THEY should examine facts before making pronouncements themselves, especially since that's what they're scoffing at others for doing.

[William769]

51. And yet the waitress is not upset with Clinton, and even thinking about voting for her.

Can you say righteous indignation?

[PurityOfEssence]

54. So you agree: it's not a categorical retraction and it was mishandled

It certainly says a lot for Senator Clinton that the person in question would still feel inclined toward voting for her.

Like many instances of this sort, the incident itself isn't so interesting as is the handling of it pro- and con-.

This is probably just sloppiness on the part of the campaign at first, but the method of dealing with it speaks volumes: it's arrogant, ham-fisted and simply incorrect. This woman goes back to flatly state one "fact" that simply couldn't be, then counters with another "fact" that has a specificity that completly contradicts her first fact. Crush that bug.

This is just foolish damage control and makes them seem like the conquering phalanx they seem to so many of us. Stomp on ME; I'm an adversary. Stomp on other campaigns. Don't stomp on bystanders who got the short end of a sloppily handled stick. Bring out the actual person who put down this tip cash and get specific.

It's show biz: if you're going to capitalize on a person's plight, don't just blow through the place, grace her with a photo and not make sure you're buttoned down; these things come back to haunt you. It's perfectly easy for many to imagine a trampling herd of campaigners just running rampant through a place and not being responsible for their actions; it's the campaign's job to make sure such things can't be perceived. It's also perfectly easy for people to believe that the poor innocent downtrodden person cited in a speech was just used and nothing more; a story like this would fly in a second with any candidate.

What's truly base about this episode is the way it was handled by the campaign afterwards.

It's also tiresome to have people constantly DEMAND that their champion isn't the least bit amiss in any situations; they're perfection personified and any complaints are lies and raging hatred.

Yes, I can say righteous indignation, and I can also see it: it's tiresome to see so much of it in the frontrunner's camp. The sheer dudgeon of arrogance that anyone would question questionable actions is nauseating. The demand that all questioning be stopped and that further stories that bring nuance to the situation be dealt with like absolute absolution when they're simply not is hypocritical.

The bottom line is this: she's trying to sell herself as someone who truly cares about the working people, and she helps herself to the life story of one of them, yet her campaign can't even make sure that their tracks are covered and that they actually do well by these people. Instead of going back to this woman, tossing her a twenty and trying to get her to cry "uncle" by constantly repeating that it had been taken care of, they could have done a press conference, trotted out the actual staffer who paid the tip and made gentle fun of their detractors. That's just not their style, though.

[William769]

61. I agree that people on DU are making something out of nothing.

Which is usually the case with some here.

[BenDavid]

52. Just like 2000 all over again. In February 2000

Hillary Clinton had just kicked off her NY Senate re-election campaign.Out of nowhere, a story appeared on "The Washington Times" about a woman who was:a single mother - serving a (gratis!) breakfast to Hillary in a diner - stiffed out of a rightfully-earned tip. It was picked up by "The Drudge Report", then the national media, and enjoyed several days' notoriety.
Flash-forward to 2007; Hillary Clinton is in a tight primary race in Iowa.Once again, seemingly out of nowhere, a story appears - this time on NPR's "Morning Edition" about a woman who is: a single mother - serving a (gratis!) breakfast to Hillary in a diner - stiffed out of a rightfully-earned tip....also posted on Drudge....

DO YOU GET THE PICTURE? YOU SHOULD...

Ben David

[Broke Dad]

53. RE: This says a lot about the Clinton organization

Anybody else remember a presidential candidate or president deny making a mistake, change their story, cover up, and then intimidate the press when they reported the mistake, the denial and the cover up? Nixon? W?

Clinton's response horrifies me. If this woman becomes president, we will see the abuses of power by W perpetuated, not reversed. God help us if we have eight more years of secrecy, censorship and intimidation of the press.

[redqueen]

57. She's a great campaigner!

Can't wait to see the way her staff and supporters "handle" the next brouhaha.

[JackORoses]

59. I'll listen to the waitress who is continuing to say she received no tip,

over some Manager who wasn't present and is subject to outside pressures.

[Clintonista2]

63. Ok, you'll listen to the waitress?

“You people are really nuts,” she told a reporter during a phone interview. “There’s kids dying in the war, the price of oil right now — there’s better things in this world to be thinking about than who served Hillary Clinton at Maid-Rite and who got a tip and who didn’t get a tip.”

-Anita Esterday, the Maid-Rite waitress



http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/13532.html

[David Zephyr]

60. Fox News, which ran the story all day long still has not mentioned NPR's retraction.

What a surprise. Not!

[MethuenProgressive]

62. Neither have the anti-Clinton Usuals.

Just a coincidence of style, of course.