December 5, 2007
Posted: 12:40 PM ET
GRINNELL, Iowa (CNN) — It would have been just another Q and A session. That is, if Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama hadn't been on the campus of Grinnell College, home of freshman Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, also known as 'the Clinton plant.' Just weeks ago, Gallo-Chasanoff was approached by a staffer on rival Hillary Clinton's campaign and given a question to ask the New York senator at an event in nearby Newton, Iowa. RELATED: Student describes how she became a Clinton plant But Tuesday night Obama joked, as he and other candidates often have since her story got out, that the questions he would receive had "not been pre-arranged." The crowd erupted in cheers. Some pointed to Gallo-Chasanoff standing near the front of the audience. "Is this the young lady right here?" Obama asked smiling. "Oh my goodness. I didn't know she was going to be here. I'm not going to call on her." And he kept his word. But he did give her some one on one time while shaking hands afterward. "Can I ask you one question?" Gallo-Chasanoff said. Obama said 'yes' but teased her for "causing all this trouble." She asked him if it were possible to reach such a high level in national politics without compromising one's morals. "You don’t have to compromise who you are," Obama said. "You have to make compromises, but not your core values." Gallo-Chasanoff declined to say whether or not she is supporting anyone at this point. -CNN Iowa Producer Chris Welch Filed under: Barack Obama Hillary Clinton
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