Media Questions Clinton Joke

The media have started questioning an off the cuff joke Hillary Clinton made on Sunday during her trip to Iowa. Clinton's remarks came during a question and answer session in one of her many public appearances.

The exchange went something like this:

Question: "What experience does Clinton have in dealing with bad places, where leaders were greedy, rotten and power hungry?"

The questioner apparently didn't have a microphone, so Hillary summarised the question:

"What in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men?"

And then she paused, and there was much laughter.

After her appearance the questions started coming from the media...was she referring to her husband? Was she subtly suggesting he was one of those men?

Of course not - but they were the questions, and that is what the media have been running with ever since. Just a little bit unfair on both Hillary and Bill Clinton.

Lets get this straight - Hillary will be using Bill at every opportunity to campaign with her over the next 12 months, and yet she would refer to him, even subtly as being evil? No, it just doesn't make sense.

Clinton responded "I thought I was funny you know? You guys keep telling me, "Lighten up. Be funny." You know? I get a little funny and now I'm being psychoanalyzed!"

If she would be referring to any bad men, one could think of a couple of names - Kenneth Star and/or Newt Gingrich.

Former Clinton aides like James Carville have been doing the rounds to support Clinton, given this has now been blown out of proportion.

But this is a timely lesson for all candidates - even the slightest slip, ill considered phrase, wrong intonation, or even a pause after repeating a question, can disrupt the most prepared campaign plan.