Good Morning America's Martha Raddatz on Wednesday turned the program into something out of Entertainment Tonight,
fawning over the "cool," popular Hillary Clinton who "doesn't care what
people think." Former Democratic operative turned journalist George
Stephanopoulos enthused, "The Secretary of State has been sporting a new
look these days. No makeup. No contacts. No blowouts."
Stephanopoulos, who previously worked for Mrs. Clinton's husband when
he was in the White House, introduced the puff piece this way: "She is
doing what she wants how she wants and seems to be having a great time
doing it."
As though she were interviewing Justin Bieber, Raddatz raved,
"Let's face it, Hillary is cool. Trending. From the
dancing and drinking photos during her trip to Colombia, to the iconic
shot of the secretary texting on her C-17." [MP3 audio here.]
Raddatz referenced this new version as a contrast to the "buttoned up
candidate Clinton" from 2008. The journalist reminded, "You know, the
polarizing one?"
Hillary Clinton as polarizing? Not on Good Morning America. On January 18, 2007, GMA's Claire Shipman extolled Clinton's "hot factor."
Earlier in the segment, Wednesday, Raddatz insisted, "...She doesn't
really care what people think and neither would any politician if they
had her approval ratings."
Of course, with such sycophantic coverage, it's easy to see why Clinton
has high ratings. Last week, NBC and ABC lamented the "tough spot" the detention of a Chinese dissident put the Secretary of State in.
A transcript of the May 9 segment, which aired at 7:13am EDT, follows:
ABC GRAPHIC: Hillary Clinton Unfiltered: Cutting Loose on the Road
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Hillary Clinton, now. The Secretary of State
has been sporting a new look these days. No makeup. No contacts. No
blowouts. She is doing what she wants how she wants and seems to be
having a great time doing it. ABC's Martha Raddatz has been with Clinton
on many of her diplomatic missions and, Martha, this change is pretty
remarkable.
MARTHA
RADDATZ: It is. You know, it doesn't matter how important her
diplomatic mission. The question I've been asked more than any other
when I return from a trip with Hillary Clinton is, "What is with her
hair?" Or, "Gee, she looked tired." Well, we can say unequivocally this
morning, that after all these years, she doesn't really care what people
think and neither would any politician if they had her approval
ratings. Yes, here she is, as they say, warts- well, there aren't really
warts- and all. But there are freckles, wrinkles, the big black glasses
and serious competition in the bad hair day department. This was no
stolen moment for paparazzi. This was a news conference.
HILLARY CLINTON: I feel so relieved to be at the stage I'm at in my
life right now because, you know, if I want to wear my glasses, I'm
wearing my glasses. If I, you know, want to pull my hair back, I'm
pulling my hair back.
RADDATZ: Let's face it, Hillary is cool. Trending. From the dancing
and drinking photos during her trip to Colombia, to the iconic shot of
the secretary texting on her C-17. When bloggers made up a few
scenarios, telling the President and Vice President to get back to work.
Rejecting a friend request from Facebook's mark Zuckerberg, Clinton
weighed in with real texts. "Rolling on the floor laughing." "Scrunchie
time." Ahh, the scrunchie. Those were the days when staff would cringe
at Hillary's desire to pull her hair back. The days that eventually led
to the glamorous First Lady, the evolving hair styles. Never the same
one twice, it seemed. And then, to the buttoned-up candidate Clinton.
You know, the polarizing one. But not anymore. Her latest approval
rating is 65 percent. Just behind that fashion icon, Michelle Obama.
MAGGIE HABERMAN (Politico): People like seeing her having a good time.
There have been years of questions about who is the real Hillary
Clinton. You're seeing a side of Hillary Clinton you haven't really seen
before.
RADDATZ: But then again, she is a woman who seems to be constantly
changing. Or perhaps changing back to that Hillary from the Yale days
before all this fuss about hair and makeup really began. So, does this
mean she's out of politics for good? Well, she has said again and again
she's not running for president. And we'll take her word for it now and
enjoy the looser, more candid version, while we can. George and Robin?
STEPHANOPOULOS: That's right. She is just kicking back. Martha.
-- Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.