Not So Much Ado About A Hairdo

It's certainly a long and often practiced rhetorical device in politics: when faced with a question you don't want to answer, change the subject. The best politicians, of course, are those who can accomplish this without their audience – or even the interviewer – really noticing what's happened.

Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately, in the interest of comedy) that tactic does not always work, something evident in Rep. Cynthia McKinney 's round of interviews this week (on pretty much every network) about her kerfuffle with a Capitol Hill police officer.

Instead of what some might call evading, or perhaps, artfully dodging direct questions about what happened that day, McKinney opted to simply ignore them entirely, relying on the catchy go-to unrelated response, "Much ado about a hairdo." Clever, no? It rhymes and it's a reference to Shakespeare. Apparently, the strategy was that if repeated often enough, McKinney's description of the actual event – the facts, let's call them – would become less of a concern. Indeed it's a slightly odd plan of attack: appearing on a series of programs to tell your side of the story and then, well, refusing to tell your side of the story.

Let's go to the transcripts.

An interview with CNN's Soledad O'Brien on "American Morning":

O'Brien: First, Congresswoman, can you tell me from the very beginning, what happened on that day, Wednesday? You're trying to come in to your office to go to a meeting, I know. What happened?

McKinney: Good morning, Soledad. Thank you so much for having us on this morning. Let me say that this has become much ado about a hairdo. And the real issue . .

O'Brien: Well, and I hear you, but I'm going to stop you there because -- let me . . .

McKinney: You can't stop me, Soledad. The real issue is . . .

An

Smith: Congresswoman. Let me --please help me reconstruct what happened. You're entering a Capitol building, you're bypassing a metal detector, which is routine for members of Congress. What happened then?

McKinney: Harry, this has become much ado about a hairdo. And I've got an e-mail sent to me from a former page. I want to read it. It says, "After nearly a decade as a member of Congress, and with so many members not wearing their member pins, one can't help but think this wouldn't have happened if you were a cookie-cutter member of Congress."

Smith: Ms. McKinney, Ms. McKinney, please, hang on one second. Please, please, please, just listen one second. A lot of people in the country just don't know this story. You're walking through the--the--according to the versions of the story that we've heard, capitol police ask you to stop three times. You're not wearing your--your pin. They try to body-block you. Then what happens? We want to know what actually happened that day.

McKinney: This--this --this has become much ado about a hairdo. And what this page, this former page is saying is that face recognition is the issue. And it's not a pin, as you can see. This is the pin. It doesn't have my name on it, and it doesn't have a picture on it. So--and quite frankly, this can be duplicated. So security shouldn't be based on a pin.

Nonetheless, Fox News' Brian Kilmeade* gives it a whirl on Fox & Friends:

Brian Kilmeade: Can you just clear up the record because I know you since have taken back your original statement about what happened that day. What did you actually do, if anything, to the capitol police officer who was asking you to stop?

McKinney: Let me just clarify one thing, we've issued one statement which has been widely distributed and I don't know what you're talking about me having taken back anything. What I would say however is that, much ado about a hairdo, and the issue of security and securing the capitol complex ought to be about face recognition and that's why members of the Capitol Hill police department are distributed face picture books so that they can get to know the members of congress by face and by name that they're charged with protecting.

Of course, that's not the only way to avoid, you know, responding to a question. You can also bring your lawyers along to the interview – let them deal with it.

An interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, on "The Situation Room":

Blitzer: Congresswoman, I want to bring -- bring you back into this conversation. Tell our viewers what happened last week.You were walking into -- into the Longworth House Office Building, one of the House of Representatives office buildings right near the U.S. Capitol. You were going through the metal detector. Pick up the story. What happened?

James Myart, McKinney's attorney: Well, I'm going to have to respond -- I'm going to have to respond to that.

Blitzer: Hold on -- hold on one second, James. I was asking the congresswoman to tell us what happened.

McKinney: I understand the question and I understand that while this is in this process there's certain questions that I can't answer, and they're better responded to by the attorneys. But what I can say is that this idea that the security of members of Congress is contingent on either a piece of jewelry or the way they wear their hair is -- I just don't understand.

Let's go back to O'Brien's interview and see if she got anywhere.

O'Brien: I could not agree with you more that we should get the stories correct. So, somebody, anybody, lawyer, Congresswoman, you walk up to get into the office building. What happened? Did you -- you weren't wearing your pin, I know, and you've said that. You did say that on an interview with Wolf Blitzer. You approached the area. What -- just tell me what happened.

McKinney: I'll tell you what happened.

O'Brien: Thank you.

McKinney: In fact, over 250 black police officers have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Capitol Police Department.

O'Brien: Forgive me for my lack of clarity. What happened that day, ma'am?

Raffauf: Look, we have answered that question to the best that we can under these circumstances. Again, this matter is under review right now. Criminal charges may be brought. Congresswoman McKinney did cooperate with the Capitol Hill Police. She sat down with them. This is not going to be a place where we're going to rehash the facts of this incident.

*NOTE: An earlier version of this post referred to Brian Kilmeade incorrectly as Brian Wilson.