Hillary Clinton an "effective" senator: Murdoch
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-05-11 09:03
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, whose New York Post newspaper lambasted
ex-President Bill Clinton during his impeachment, on Wednesday praised New York
Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as an effective leader.
U.S. Sen. Hillary
Clinton (D-NY) discusses the negative impact of the Bush/Enzi health bill
and women's access to contraception and abortion prevention efforts while
at a news conference in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, May 10, 2006.
[Reuters] |
Murdoch, whose News Corp conglomerate is also home to the Fox News cable
channel, also confirmed he would host a fund-raiser to support her re-election
bid in November.
The planned event signals a dramatic shift in his public stance toward the
former first lady, who is widely expected to make a bid for the Democratic
presidential nomination in 2008.
"It will be pretty modest support and it's giving the opportunity for people
in our office who want to join us at a breakfast and to hear her," Murdoch said
of the $1,000-per-plate fund-raiser.
"We think that she has been effective on state issues and local issues here
in New York," he said during a conference call to discuss News Corp earnings.
"This is not a $1 million (fund) raising, and has got nothing to do with
anything other than her Senate re-election."
Clinton once blamed a "vast right-wing conspiracy" for attacking her husband.
Murdoch's newspaper and television outlets were highly critical of Clinton's
first Senate campaign in 2000 and of her husband's 1993-2001 tenure in the White
House.
The senator has sought to expand her appeal with a tough stance on security
and defense issues, and is expected to win re-election.
Bill Clinton has also been working with Murdoch recently, having him appear
at a Global Initiative summit of business and political leaders launched last
fall.
|
