Yo, Chelsea, it’s time to step up

JUSTIN SULLIVAN/Getty Images News

Being a political operative for a major presidential front-runner means talking to the media. Public scrutiny is part of the package. That’s just the way it works. That is, unless you are Chelsea Clinton. As Hillary’s numbers have declined in national polls, and as youth voters have shown a 3 to 1 preference for challenger Barack Obama, the Clinton campaign has increasingly called on Chelsea to act as a political operative, reaching out to youth voters on behalf of the candidate.

Once a silent figure who stood behind Bill and Hillary, Chelsea now delivers speeches and holds rallies, all by her lonesome. Today, she is holding two events in Lincoln, Nebraska. She even privately lobbies members of the media on behalf of the candidate. Yet, she repeatedly refuses to answer questions on the campaign trail and declines offers for interviews. Asked to answer questions on December by a 9 year-old reporter for Scholastic News, a children’s publication, Chelsea responded:

I’m sorry, I don’t talk to the press, and that applies to you, unfortunately. Even though I think you’re cute.”

Mitt Romney’s son, Tagg, speaks to the media. So do Meghan McCain and Sarah Huckabee. Ditto Cate Edwards, back when her dad John was in the race. Sorry, Chelsea, but if you didn’t want to face public scrutiny, you should have stayed in the private sector. It’s time to step up. And if you’d like to start with a discussion of Hillary’s foreign policy, we are available.