Chelsea Fends Off 'Strange' Question

The Associated Press is reporting that Evan Strange, a college student who got a little too personal at a Q & A session with Chelsea Clinton, says he is a Hillary supporter:

"I'm a supporter of Hillary. I love Hillary," Strange said Wednesday on CBS' "The Early Show." He said he asked the question because his friends "always bring up that scandal. It's not something I asked to cause trouble but to show those people what makes Hillary so strong."

In his defense, he could hardly be expected to have anything but a "Strange" way of showing his support for Senator Clinton.

What we have here, then, is a story about the story. After the jump, an examination of what makes a story a story, and what makes this story not about this story at all.

First of all, let me start by saying that I like Chelsea. Everyone knows this, and as far as I can tell, everyone else likes her, too. So, let me give you her response to Evan's question:

Strange's question at Chelsea Clinton's appearance Tuesday at the school brought a stinging rebuke from Clinton's daughter. "Wow, you're the first person actually that's ever asked me that question in the, I don't know maybe, 70 college campuses I've now been to, and I do not think that is any of your business," Chelsea Clinton said during the campaign visit for her mother.

What question did he ask?" you're all wondering, and that's really the point. Chelsea taking a Q & A is nothing new at all, and this guy getting shut down by Chelsea is the most natural thing in the world. Why is it a national news story?

A little more background for you. Yesterday, I saw the first of this story on Drudge, and I sent it to my editor. He, like I, felt it was pretty thin stuff, and we didn't do anything with it. So why is this guy on "The Early Show?" Are our standards that much higher? And why are we running it today?

Well, this entire story hinges on the sensational nature of Evan's question, one that I won't repeat, which makes you want to know even more. The conflict between Chelsea and Evan is secondary to reminding people of an old, sensationalized story.

So, why run it now? Because if you don't read it here, you'll read it somewhere else, and at least this way, you get to hear from me that this story is not what it appears to be, and that it is barely even a story.