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NARR: At the democratic presidential debate last month, here's how Sen. Clinton responded to a question from moderator Brian Williams:
SOUND: Clinton clip from the debate. WELL COULD I JUST POINT OUT THAT IN THE LAST SEVERAL DEBATES, I SEEM TO GET THE FIRST QUESTION ALL THE TIME. AND I DON'T MIND…I'LL BE HAPPY TO FIELD THEM. BUT I DO FIND IT CURIOUS, AND ANYBODY WHO SAW SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE MAYBE WE SHOULD ASK BARACK IF HE'S COMFORTABLE AND NEEDS A PILLOW. (:16)
NARR: Clinton was referring to a Saturday Night Live debate skit in which members of the media acted like excited school children meeting their celebrity hero while in Senator Obama's presence - then grilling Sen. Clinton with tough questions. Daniel O'Donnell, an Upper West Side Assembly Member, watched the real debate and the subsequent media coverage following Clinton's recent wins in the Ohio and Texas primaries. He's an ardent Clinton supporter. He doesn't believe that gender or race has been a factor in the media's coverage, but says it hasn't been fair. Just watch how the media covered those contests.
ACT: O'DONNELL: SO IF YOU CAME HOME AND ONLY WATCHED IT FOR 20 MINUTES, WHAT YOU WATCHED WAS HER BEING FAR AHEAD AND HAVING THESE PUNDITS SAY WELL, SHE'S NOT GONNA HOLD ONTO THIS LEAD, WELL, HE'S MORE POPULAR AMONG WHOEVER IT IS THEY CLAIMED HE WAS MORE POPULAR AMONG, AND IN THE END, THE NUMBERS HELD UP.
NARR: Sen. Clinton may have made the political comeback of her life with her primary victories in Ohio and Texas - even President Bill Clinton said she needed to win to stay in the race. But O'Donnell wasn't happy with the way the media characterized the wins.
ACT: O'DONNELL: SHE WON A RESOUNDING VICTORY, AND WAS TREATED LAST NIGHT ON TV, ON CNN, AS IF SHE BARELY SQUEAKED IT OUT.
NARR: A spokesman for the Obama campaign in New York, Marc LaVorgna, doesn't think the press is being harder on Clinton because she's a woman - or that they're so enamored with Obama and the idea of America electing its' first black president that the press is withholding greater scrutiny. He thinks both candidates are getting their fair share. Except when Obama, a Christian, still has to deny that he's a Muslim.
ACT: LAVORGNA: I KNOW SEN. OBAMA HAS BEEN UNDER AN INTENSE MICROSCOPE THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE CAMPAIGN AND I'M STILL SEEING STORIES THIS WEEK ON THE FRONT PAGE OF NEWSPAPERS, WHERE HE IS STILL BEING FORCEDTO DISCUSS HIS RELIGION WHEN IT COULD NOT BE ANY MORE CLEAR.
Senator Obama's camp hasn't been too critical of the media. But after Ohio and Texas made this a race again, Obama accused the media of caving under pressure, and suggested Clinton hasn't been examined as much as she claims. David Birdsell, professor and Dean of Baruch College's School of Public Affairs, says Sen Clinton has been getting asked the first question more often at debates. But he doesn't see a disparity in the coverage, unless you take a look at how the campaign was conceived.
ACT: BIRDSELL: YOU'LL FIND THAT THEY'RE BEING TREATED REASONABLY EQUALLY GIVEN, AND THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ASTERISK, GIVEN VERY VERY DIFFERENT CAMPAIGN NARRATIVES AND DIFFERENT TRAJECTORIES FOR SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN THESE TWO CANDIDATES.
NARR: Sen. Clinton may be getting greater scrutiny, but it has to do with her initial status as the front-runner. Birdsell says her campaign started off strong with an air of invincibility. Expectations were high, and Senator Clinton was expected to waltz into the nomination. But that didn't happen, for various reasons. He says this primary, with either a woman or an African-American as the nominee, is historic. Birdsell doesn't believe the press is being sexist, racist, or trying to expose Obama as a Muslim.
ACT: BIRDSELL: EVERYBODY LIKES A CAMPAIGN TRAJECTORY THAT SUCCEEDS UNTIL THAT GETS BORING AND THEN YOU LIKE TO SEE IT FALL APART.
NARR: The media coverage of the democratic candidates can be debated, but Birdsell thinks the democrats need to have this contest settled as soon as possible. The delay could be seriously damaging to the democrats - if continued bickering between the two camps depresses voter turnout from either in November's presidential election. That's a scenario that would have at least one person - Republican nominee Sen. John McCain - thanking the press all the way to the White House.
SOC: Kyle Murphy, Columbia Radio News
Bounced time: 3:51
Total time with intro: 4:10