Wolfson to Vogue Mag: "We already have the women's vote in the bag. We don't need you anymore."

[sabra]

http://www.wwd.com/memopad/article/125990

<snip>

IF ONLY HILLARY HAD DONE VOGUE...: Speaking of Vogue, the magazine's contributing editor Julia Reed has long been its go-to writer for political coverage — "I did Barbara Bush. She was not into it, let me just say. André {Leon Talley} and I had a hard time styling her up" — but as she recalled in a recent interview, Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential bid was perhaps her toughest assignment yet. Reed, whose memoir of New Orleans, "The House on First Street," was published this week, interviewed Clinton for Vogue several times in past years, including a cover story. "Bill Clinton himself told me that that's his favorite picture of her, one of the Annie shots that were in Vogue," Reed said. But as the world (or anyone who reads Anna Wintour's editor's letters) now knows, Vogue's access to Clinton was cut off, either because it was deemed too feminine or too elitist. It was Reed who'd borne the burden: months of convincing Clinton's aides and more months on the campaign trail. "Let me just say, it's not the most fun thing in the world to have breakfast a million times with {communications director} Howard Wolfson," she said. "The man is the most charmless human being on the planet, and I'm sitting there sucking up to him."

The original deal, she said, included an interview with Clinton and a Leibovitz photo shoot for the December 2007 issue at the Clintons' Chappaqua, N.Y., home. After thinking everything was set, Reed months later was informed the deal was off. She said she was told, "We already have the women's vote in the bag," and that Wolfson said, '"We thought we were going to be in a bigger dogfight. We don't need you anymore.' This was right before Iowa. What an idiot!"

[NatBurner]

1. wOw

what a dick

[NYC_SKP]

2. Maybe the worst member of her team.

And maybe the worst team ever in a primary campaign.

Wolfson is certainly unlikeable, but the entire team was awful, "historic proportions" awful.

It was Hillary's campaign to lose and her failed bid will probably be the topic of study long into the future.

Had she worked with a team using 21st Century strategies, and had she admitted that her Iraq vote was a mistake early on, this might have been her year.

[rodeodance]

4. bury the HATE

[jakem]

6. do you disagree HRC had a bad team?

[rodeodance]

8. why rehash the primaries? It only leads to more divisiveness. Both she and Obama are

going forward.

[JVS]

9. Don't let me interrupt you on the way to turning this thread into a 90 post flamewar, but if you..

find this thread divisive, perhaps you'd do best to let it sink.

[rodeodance]

10. I did not start the Hate and rehasing. talk to that poster.

[Marrah_G]

15. THE PRIMARY IS FUCKING OVER

Your guy won. We are trying to throw our complete support behind him. Posts like this bullshit rip open old wounds.

[karynnj]

26. As one who prefered Obama, I agree that this is not the time for re-hashing the primaries

The only thing on which I disagree is the vintage of the wound - it is likely incredibly painful because it is so new.

It is divisive and counterproductive. It steals the energy needed going forward. (That said, it is not time for the "sexism played a role" That Dowd was awful to her was not really sexism, though it was the tool used - Dowd was awful to Obama, Edwards,Kerry, Gore and Bill Clinton. As my husband said when I pointed out the public editor article, "Has Dowd ever spoken positively of anyone other than herslf and her mother?" Frankly, I can't imagine who likes her enough to keep her in the Times.)

It also has to be extremely painful to any HRC people, who personally fault the campaign or not. I KNOW that it still hurts to see savage attacks on Senator Kerry's campaign - and it is 3 years later. Kerry's loss was different as it was the general election, but there is ONE major similarity. It was not a blow out. This means that people can make a case of if she/he did X or if she/he didn't do Y, he/she would have won. This one is pretty unlikely - there have been many photo spreads showing HRC glamorously since 1992, when she was a pretty, young wife to the new President. Much as I agree with Reed on Wolfson, I doubt what anyone would have needed to change is seeing an attractive picture of HRC. She is an attractive woman.

Now, you can have opinions on how easy either race should have been or of what advantages each had - but for those whom this is a recent loss and a loss of a dream - and I know people who felt that of each - it is way too soon for post mortems. That is especially so now because there is a general elections to work on.

[Straight Shooter]

3. "... an interview with Clinton and a Leibovitz photo shoot for the December 2007 issue"

That means the Christmas issue, a very popular issue.

Wolfson should be drawn and quartered for screwing up the Vogue opportunity, if nothing else. Passing on a Leibovitz photo shoot. Oh my gawd. What an unmitigated idiot.

[iconicgnom]

5. wow. Throwing away a full Leibovitz cover and Vogue interview! mind boggling

[JVS]

7. Gee, some people claim that Obama displays hubris but let this all pass without comment.

I guess this shows how selective their flaw-detection is. I guess it becomes much easier when one is a full blown concern troll.

[Marrah_G]

11. Why bring this up? The primaries are over.

This is petty and fucking childish.

[sabra]

12. are you asking me? or the Vogue editor?

If it's me, it's new info regarding a decision made by the Clinton campaign... I guess I could've posted it in GD?

:hi:

[Marrah_G]

14. Asking you- you felt the need to post it

let me try to explain why this is so irritating.

The Primaries are over. Obama won. Hillary supporters are doing their best to put it behind them and move to support Obama. But THEN some people keep bringing up anti-Hillary articles that they just HAVE TO share. Then the Hillary supporters feel as though they are being dragged back into the fight to defend their candidate.

Wouldn't it be better to simply leave this shit alone, DON'T post it and let the new Obama supporters actually support Obama instead of having to go back to defend Hillary.

THE PRIMARY IS OVER. LET IT FUCKING GO ALREADY.

[sabra]

16. I understand your point - though I would say this is more of an anti-Wolfson

article then Hillary...

In your opinion if some new information comes out regarding the primaries, how long should I wait to post it, and where should I post it?

Some people may be interested to the reasonings behind certain decisions made during the primaries...

[Marrah_G]

18. I really dont have an answer as to how long... but this is way too soon

The Primaries have barely ended and people are still healing. I know I am trying to focus on becoming positive about Obama.

[JVS]

20. Obviously some people are so ashamed and embarrassed by her campaign and staff that they...

can only handle people never saying a thing about anyone involved in the HRC campaign unless we clean it up and paint a false picture of competence.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

24. No kidding.

And how long is this grieving period supposed to last? This race was technically over months ago.

[Max_powers94]

13. F Him

[Tatiana]

17. It's stories like these that have, strangely, really made me appreciate Terry MacAuliffe.

Looking back, he was really the positive and upbeat guy.

[JVS]

21. I'm beginning to suspect that he was pilfering Zoloft prescribed to other staffers.

That's one of the only ways I can rationalize his optimism during the last week of the campaign.

[NYC_SKP]

19. Wolfson and others in the campaign are not divisive topics for discussion.

Or, at least they shouldn't be considered so.

I'm glad to see some of Hillary's most ardent supporters back contributing, but it saddens me that there remains some sensitivity (if it's not too presumptuous to say so).

Most of us, I think, try to choose our words and topics carefully to avoid being offensive, but clearly nerves are still struck.



Now, seriously, there was nothing anti-Hillary in the OP and my only remark about HER related to her failure to respond well to her IRC vote.

All, really, are fair and not divisive subjects for discussion, aren't they?

Discussing her staff and strategies after the fact does not constitute Hillary Bashing.

There are lessons to be learned from the failings of both campaigns that will be of use to future candidates.



Personally, I felt that the campaign was using strategies that worked well in the past but were terribly outdated and ineffective this year. Wolfson was a huge part of the problem.

[Kaylee]

22. Ooops!

Please keep these people as far away from the Obama train as they can get. They are the reason Clinton lost.

[Raine]

23. Her campaign staff was terrible

they should pay her for the harm they caused her.

[tishaLA]

25. Julia Reed is no friend of ours

Look her up on Media Matters and Daily Howler.

[Beacool]

27. Oh yeah, Hillary would have won if only she had posed for Vogue.........

Please!!!!!!!!

Who the hell reads Vogue other than upper income women? Tried reading Vogue lately? It's a magazine which has always bored me to tears. Inane interviews and fashions that only a 95 lbs. waif with more money than sense would wear.

[onetwo]

28. Maybe she would have won if she ditched the guy who made those kinds of decisions over and over.

That's the point.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

29. Who watches the Hallmark Channel?