As it so happens, my junior year in high school (1992) I bumped into Chelsea in DC when I went there for a youth leadership conference.

She didn't want to say anything then either. She came off as kinda stuck up. I wrote it off to general junior high girl snotty/snobbiness.

Guess she never outgrew that.

Jay - were you before her before you were against her or were you against her before you were before her?

I think you drank way too much coffee before you wrote this post.

Happy New Year.

We all appreciate people that are slick enough to handle reporters gracefully. But look what happens in this country now with one slip of the tongue. Journalism standards being in the gutter it seems like a wise policy not to answer idiotic questions.

This is the first time I have ever sided with the Clinton;s ever. Besides I am more worried about the girl in the Snorg tee shirt ad: the poor girl has no pants on......

Being Chelsea Clinton seems to be a bit like being a Soprano or an Osbourne. You don't get to pick your parents, but you turn into them nonetheless.

My take on the affair is that Chelsea is under strict instructions from mom to never, ever, talk to a reporter under any circumstances. She was simply following orders. I dont like the Clintons, but dont blame them for keeping Chelsea tight lipped - Team Clinton doesnt need a reporting squeezing out a seemingly innocent answer and convoluting the crap out of it.

She's doing the same thing her mother does, not answering questions from anyone.

I agree with JT. Once you show up at the political events, you ARE part of the process. Which includes reporters, analysis, lampooning and even weekend caption contests. "No comment" is always allowed.

Remove the kid gloves and let the games begin.

The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the - Web Reconnaissance for 01/02/2008 A short recon of what's out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.

I don't see her trying to keep her privacy as just following mommy dearest strict instructions not to talk to the press. I suspect mommy dearest wishes she could keep bubba on such a short leash to say only what he was told to say.

Think about when your kids start talking about you at some semi-public event. It can make you a bit uncomfortable, even if you are trying to lead a decent, non-hypocritical life. Magnify that by a presidential campaign and you can understand why mommy dearest would issue the gag instruction.

What she gave was a blanket 'no comment'. We as voters can decide if we want to support a candidate who is afraid of letting their child speak openly about them.

Once you show up at the political events, you ARE part of the process. Which includes reporters, analysis, lampooning and even weekend caption contests. "No comment" is always allowed.

Is the verbatim phrase "no comment" required? Or are you allowed as a polite substitute to say, "I'm sorry, I don't talk to the press"?

This was a 9 year old girl asking the question. It gives a lot of insight into what kids think about and it was perfectly innocent. For goodness sakes, what would it have hurt to answer something that might have helped Mommy, something like, "My Dad is good at everything he does and he's looking forward to being back in the White House."

Quite frankly, I think it was bitchy (like Mom???) to not answer the question.

Jay -- She's 27 years old and works for a hedge fund. Why don't you act on your immense sense of chivalry toward her and just go ahead and ask her out?

By "going public" and campaigning for her mother, Chelsea has forfeited her right to complain about coverage - BUT that doesn't mean she has to answer questions from anyone, including reporters, even cute ones.

Since when does endorsing or campaigning for a candidate force you to forfeit all your own rights? If she doesn't want to, or is instructed not to talk to the press, so what? It isn't like she is the Campaign Spokesmodel or Chief Strategist . . .

I simply can't imagine how, even on the slowest of all news days, this could be considered something worth commenting on.

Oh, wait. It's an excuse to bash the Clintons. Duh.
They suck.
'Cause they're Clintons.

I simply can't imagine how, even on the slowest of all news days, this could be considered something worth commenting on.

And yet, here YOU are, commenting on it.

Moron.

Brian:

Of course its allowed, as is "I believe in UFO's" or "No more blood/money for oil!"

And we can all analyze, lampoon and ignore as we see fit.

Of course its allowed

Well, just askin', because you "agree with JT" that she's "having it both ways" by refusing to talk to the press, but then you say that "no comment" is OK, even though you then acknowledge it's the equivalent of "I'm sorry, I don't talk to the press". Sounds like you disagree with JT.

as is "I believe in UFO's"

Please, don't bring Reagan into it.

Jim Addison: I see you're in this comment section making an ass of yourself as well - at least you're consistent