UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Do you remember Richard Mellon Scaife? He is the Pittsburgh billionaire who bankrolled The American Spectator and financed the "Arkansas Project."

The Arkansas Project, as you may recall, was the series of investigations that ultimately led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.  As David Brock, the founder of Media Matters for America, tells it in his memoir, Blinded by the Right, Scaife not only funded the investigation, but also paid off four Arkansas state troopers who had a grudge against Bill and made up stories about affairs that could never be corroborated. Scaife also happens to be the owner and publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

It would therefore be a reasonable expectation that Hillary Clinton would receive a rather chilly reception should she decide to visit the Tribune-Review's endorsement, right?  In fact, it wouldn't be unreasonable for Hillary to not even make that visit.

Well, Hillary went to the Tribune and showed them who she was, a smart, cool, self-assured and indeed, courageous woman.  She opened the interview with this "It was so counterintuitive, I just thought it would be fun to do."  

While Hillary did not walk out with an endorsement - yet - she certainly changed the mind of Scaife.  This is how he concluded the column:

Does all this mean I'm ready to come out and recommend that our Democrat readers choose Sen. Clinton in Pennsylvania's April 22 primary?

No -- not yet, anyway. In fairness, we at the Trib want to hear Sen. Barack Obama's answers to some of the same questions and to others before we make that decision.

But it does mean that I have a very different impression of Hillary Clinton today than before last Tuesday's meeting -- and it's a very favorable one indeed.

Call it a "counterintuitive" impression.

For those who are interested, here is the link to the full column in the March 31, 2008 Tribune. Hillary, reassessed.

What does this mean for Hillary? Well, whether Scaife likes her or not may not get her a lot of votes, and in fact, some supporters of the "Other Candidate" will paint it as a reason not to support her. It does, however, showcase her rare courage, and her ability to work and negotiate with those who oppose her and her ideas (certainly the opposite of the divisive figure some present her as.)

Undoubtedly, Sen. Clinton is the kind of person we need at the helm of this Country!