Clinton under fire, but not from a sniper

One of the responsibilities of the American media is to fact check stories before they go into print. If the media is doing its job well, faux stories should never reach print and the individuals responsible for providing the information should be identified. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton learned this the hard way, coming under fire for the fact that she never was under fire.

Last month, when discussing a visit to Tuzla, Bosnia in March of 1996, Sen. Clinton stated, "I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base." The only problem is journalists who reviewed footage of the then first lady’s plane landing in Bosnia saw no signs of distress from those exiting the plane nor were people running for cover. Within a day the military officials who had received Sen. Clinton at the Tuzla airport and others present denied anything out of the ordinary had occurred that day. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/26/hillaryclinton.barackobama

Moral of the story? It is not wise to lie to the media. In fact, it is incredibly stupid. Technology today makes it almost effortless to check the validity of statements made before a story is printed. Furthermore, technology has allowed people greater access to the media organizations, as those who were with Sen. Clinton that day in Bosnia 12 years ago were able to quickly dispute her statements. CBS news even posted to YouTube footage of Sen. Clinton and her daughter Chelsea exiting their plane and calmly speaking with American soldiers stationed in Bosnia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pef5AUt-tic

It goes without saying that the odds of getting caught for lying are pretty good nowadays. We learn in class that the temporary benefits an organization or individual may gain from lying are in the end far outweighed by the backlash from the media and publics when they have discovered that they were lied to.

In Sen. Clinton’s defense, she did come forward quickly and acknowledge she had made an erroneous statement noting, "So I made a mistake. That happens. It shows I'm human, which for some people is a revelation." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/us/politics/26clinton.html?ref=politics

Personally I am not sold, as I would consider a trip to war-torn Bosnia with my child to be a unique, memorable experience, The senator and presidential hopeful failed to explain another instance when she was under sniper fire that she had mistaken the event with. It is one thing to mix up where an event might have occurred, but if Sen. Clinton has never been under sniper fire after landing in a foreign country, I would say that her story was a blatant lie. But at least the senator was wise enough to not fabricate another story where the sniper fire took place, as the media would have likely uncovered that lie as well.

-Brian