Clinton Talks About N.H. Hostage Ordeal

Says Calling Hostages' Families Was Hardest Part Of The Crisis

(AP)  Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that calling the families of the campaign staffers taken hostage at her Rochester, N.H., office last week was the most difficult part of the ordeal.

"Those were the most emotional moments, I have to tell you, calling them in the first instants to tell them what had happened," she told reporters after a campaign stop in eastern Iowa.

Clinton said that while it was a traumatic experience for her staffers, "they performed magnificently under pressure."

"They were cool, they looked out for one another," the Democratic presidential candidate said. "They kept this man occupied. As you know from the press reports, he was demanding to speak with me and kept threatening if I didn't speak with him somebody would get hurt."

The confrontation Friday started when Leeland Eisenberg walked into the campaign office and claimed he had a bomb. It ended about five hours later with no one hurt. The 46-year-old from Somersworth, N.H., was scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon on four counts of kidnapping, one count of criminal threatening and one count of fraudulent use of a bomb-like device after he allegedly took three Clinton campaign staff members, a volunteer and a child hostage.

According to police, Eisenberg had road flares strapped to his chest and demanded to speak to Clinton, who was in Washington. He said he wanted assistance getting mental health services.

"I offered to talk to him," Clinton said Sunday. "I offered to go up there and meet with him. I offered to do anything to help this end peacefully." But law enforcement officials said "I absolutely could not talk to him."

Clinton, who flew to New Hampshire the same day to meet with the hostages, their families and law enforcement, said: "It was a very tense and difficult day. Thankfully, it ended well."

[samthetvcat]

"As you know from the press reports, he was demanding to speak with me and kept threatening if I didn''t speak with him somebody would get hurt . . . But law enforcement officials said "I absolutely could not talk to him."

This isn''t just a political manoever, she''s also mounting a legal defense against any potential negligence claims by the hostages (refuting breach of duty and causation). Always looking out for number one . . . geez, and the crazy guy is apparently something like a two-time convicted rapist! I can''t believe she left them with him for 5 hours when a call could have ended it at any time.

People can trash Obama all they want, but people are still going to judge Hillary based on her actions . . .

[hip323773]

what a shame Barack raps hope and and ethics, while throwing mud since the last 3 months, breaking PAC rules, preaching no lobbyist funding while taking money from lobbyist during senate campaigns...offering money to early primary state campaigns...looking up old clinton videos to attack hillary while preaching to steer away from old politics.....WHAT A PHONY.....NOT WHAT AMERICA NEEDS COS ITS BEGINING TO SOUND TO ME LIKE A ONE-TIME TEXAS GOV. that promised change in washington but turned out to be the biggest Joke of all time....What the country needs is a tested group of smart people that will fight for America as always..

[samthetvcat]

"I offered to talk to him," Clinton said Sunday. "I offered to go up there and meet with him. I offered to do anything to help this end peacefully." But law enforcement officials said "I absolutely could not talk to him."

Just what I suspected - the press conference wasn''t just about giving thanks, she was also pointing the finger at them just in case people started to question why she didn''t just pick up the phone and call her own campaign office and tell the guy to let the hostages go.

Give me a break - well if she''s letting the police from any town USA dictate her priorities, then what the heck do any of us need her for? Never going to win . . .

[mudrose-2009]

Just like her to make someone else''s ordeal her own. Is there anything about this Boob that isn''t contrived?