Clinton's Candid Campaign Conversations

By: Fernando Suarez
Topics: Hillary Clinton

(CBS)

From CBS News' Fernando Suarez:

PITTSBURGH -- In a late night discussion with the press, a beer-wielding Hillary Clinton mulled over the idea of challenging Barack Obama to a free-throw contest. Her idea came just hours after challenging Obama to a "bowl-off" during an April Fools' Day joke aimed at the press.

"He has already challenged me to basketball instead," Clinton said. "I know, I vaguely heard that from someone, and I said I'd have to train a while but I would take him on."

Clinton, who on occasion will visit the back of the plane (where the press sits), found comfort in discussing basketball after a long day of campaigning. The discussion unlocked memories of the "dark ages," as Clinton put it, of when she used to play the sport as a child.

"I had free throws down pat but they were all underhanded," Clinton admitted, pointing out "that's how I was raised to throw free throws."

"When I played basketball in the dark ages, young women could not play full-court basketball. So I would play full court basketball with my brothers and the boys in the neighborhood," Clinton said proudly.

Ever since the press began flying on the same airplane as Clinton, there have been discussions over whether her conversations on the plane should be off the record, meaning reporters could not report what she said. After several discussions, news organizations agreed that Clinton's comments should be reportable, same with Barack Obama, since both are public figures running for president.

And it is in these rare moments that both the press and the public get a glimpse at an unscripted, slightly unguarded candidate. But like everything else in an election, the visits have a purpose.

One campaign staffer admitted that Clinton's visits with the press help showcase her personal side, and her candid conversations allow the public to see a different side of her, including her wit and her personality. Her staff maintains that Clinton enjoys the visits and often does not alert them that she is making her way to the back of the plane, sending many of them scrambling out of their seats.

But whether her visits are calculated or not, they do offer the traveling press an opportunity to discuss a variety of topics outside of the campaign bubble and Clinton is rarely short of opinion. But sometimes these candid discussions leave the press scratching their heads like when Clinton was asked if she watched bowling on television, which led her to wax philosophically about the sociological wonders of the sport.

"Bowling alone you know, this is a big sociological phenomenon, bowling alone is a sign of our times, we could bring it back we could like transform the entire society. People would start joining leagues again they would feel a sense of community a sense of togetherness, exactly, bowling alleys everywhere on every corner, people setting pins again. End the automation, get the pin boy, there is no telling what could happen!"

Check, please.

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by madem02053 April 4, 2008 2:28 AM EDT: chuckling and you have to wonder about this comment: %u201CI had free throws down pat but they were all underhanded,%u201D Clinton admitted, pointing out %u201Cthat''s how I was raised to throw free throws"

Most of what she has done is underhanded - why would her basketball be any different.; Reply to this comment


by wwsword April 2, 2008 10:28 PM EDT: I guess this reporter didn''t stop to think "Putnam? That''s a name. Maybe I should go look it up to see what she''s talking about."; Reply to this comment


by rebal71 April 2, 2008 6:47 PM EDT: from Maya Angelou:

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I%u2019ll rise.

This is not the first time you have seen Hillary Clinton seemingly at her wits end, but she has always risen, always risen, much to the dismay of her adversaries and the delight of her friends.

In fact, if you help her to rise, you will rise with her and help her make this country a wonderful, wonderful place where every man and every woman can live freely without sanctimonious piety, without crippling fear.

Rise Hillary.

Rise.; Reply to this comment


by iequality April 2, 2008 4:48 PM EDT: Apparently the press is unaware of Robert Putnam''s book, "Bowling Alone," on the collapse and revival of the American community. That''s obviously what Hillary Clinton was referring to. It''s sad the press is so uninformed about contemporary culture. These glitches turn up regularly in the media, too often exposing a reporter''s ignorance instead of offering an intelligent, accurate account of an event.; Reply to this comment


by chrisrnps April 2, 2008 4:18 PM EDT: "Wow. Some Obama supporters are SUCH *holes. Do you hate your mother that much??? You''''re not helping your candidate."

I wouldn''t assume anything from what people anonymously post online; a lot of people anonymously posting this kind of *** seem to be Rush Limbaugh types trying to stir up trouble. I somehow doubt that person''s a Democrat at all, and that kind of sexist trash talk doesn''t have any place in modern society. Yuck. That kind of Archie Bunker bile wasn''t cool in the 1950s, and it''s not cool now. For the poster''s information, that kind of attitude is the polar opposite of what Mr. Obama and his campaign is all about! Let''s leave out the racism and sexism aimed at both sides and get to the issues and the merits of both candidates.; Reply to this comment


by sonja44-2009 April 2, 2008 3:34 PM EDT: Wow. Some Obama supporters are SUCH *holes. Do you hate your mother that much??? You''re not helping your candidate.; Reply to this comment