On Today: 'Rock Star' Hillary Clinton a Democratic 'Field Clearing Candidate'
The Iowa Democratic caucus is a full thirty-three months away but that didn't stop NBC's Today show from promoting a possible Hillary Clinton candidacy. NBC's Andrea Mitchell, on Wednesday's show, once again hyped a potential Hillary Clinton run for president as she proclaimed the former Secretary of State was a "rock star." Her colleague Savannah Guthrie declared the former Secretary of State: "Would be a field clearing candidate for Democrats. That is nobody gets in if she's in."
Mitchell began her piece reporting on Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden attending a women's conference and hailed that Clinton stole the show: "Two undeclared potential candidates on the same stage before a powerful audience of women activists. Hillary Clinton was undeniably the event's rock star saying she felt right at home."
Guthrie, along with Chuck Todd, did throw a bit of wet blanket on Clinton's presidential aspirations, noting that Clinton was celebrated as a frontrunner before, only to have her hopes dashed by another liberal media fav - Barack Obama:
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: So much talk of Hillary Clinton as an inevitable candidate. A frontrunner the minute she gets in. Hasn't she heard this talk before, say in 2008 and then someone named Barack Obama came along?
CHUCK TODD: Exactly and I think that, that is always going to be the question that goes through her mind. It's why that everybody around her is always very cautious in saying, "Yes, we're doing everything we can to put her in a position that if she wants to run, everything and the table is set." But you have to ask yourself, what is she thinking? Everything everybody's told her before, told her now, is telling her now about this race, they've told her before. And that is what's sitting in her head and does she want to go through this again? It's never easy. No matter how inevitable somebody tells you, you are.
The following is a transcript of the entire segment as it was aired on the April 3 Today show:
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden shared the stage last night at what could be a preview of the 2016 Democratic presidential race. NBC's Andrea Mitchell is in Washington with that story. Andrea, good morning.
[On screen headline: "Clinton And Biden, Potential Rivals Share The Spotlight"]
ANDREA MITCHELL: Good morning, Savannah. Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden an unlikely pair of headliners at a global women's organization that Clinton had founded 14 years ago. They are bound together by a shared commitment to women's rights, even though as you point out they could well end up as political rivals. Two undeclared potential candidates on the same stage before a powerful audience of women activists. Hillary Clinton was undeniably the event's rock star saying she felt right at home.
HILLARY CLINTON: We've shared struggles and successes and even some fox holes over the years. It's a little bit like a family reunion.
MITCHELL: Joe Biden was invited to honor three heroic brothers from India who have been fighting the scourge of rape.
JOE BIDEN: These men have shown courage for putting the power of brotherhood to work on behalf of women and children.
MITCHELL: Clearly eager to tamp down the political speculation, they were quick to praise each other.
CLINTON: Vice President Biden and I have worked together on so many important issues and I know what a personal victory it was for him to see the Violence Against Women Act reauthorized last month.
BIDEN: There's no woman like Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton, that's a fact.
MITCHELL: Still some Clinton allies are already setting expectations.
ED RENDELL, FORMER GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA: And I think the time has come for a woman president, the only one on the horizon who could fill that role is Hillary Clinton.
(Begin clip from MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports)
MITCHELL: Do you think she has it in her to run another tough campaign?
MELANIE VERVEER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE: I think she can do whatever she sets her mind to doing.
(End clip)
MITCHELL: Putting the Vice President in the awkward position of waiting for Clinton to decide. And for now Clinton will be making appearances including at a women's summit in New York on Friday, plus giving some paid speeches working on a memoir, clearly in no hurry to jump back into the political fray. Savannah?
GUTHRIE: Andrea Mitchell in Washington, thank you. Chuck Todd is NBC's political director and chief White House correspondent. Chuck, good morning.
CHUCK TODD: Good morning.
GUTHRIE: So much talk of Hillary Clinton as an inevitable candidate. A frontrunner the minute she gets in. Hasn't she heard this talk before, say in 2008 and then someone named Barack Obama came along?
TODD: Exactly and I think that, that is always going to be the question that goes through her mind. It's why that everybody around her is always very cautious in saying, "Yes, we're doing everything we can to put her in a position that if she wants to run, everything and the table is set." But you have to ask yourself, what is she thinking? Everything everybody's told her before, told her now, is telling her now about this race, they've told her before. And that is what's sitting in her head and does she want to go through this again? It's never easy. No matter how inevitable somebody tells you, you are.
GUTHRIE: Everyone says that Hillary Clinton would be a field clearing candidate for Democrats. That is nobody gets in if she's in. Would you say that also includes Vice President Joe Biden who's made no secret of his presidential ambitions?
TODD: Look, I do think somebody will get in. I do not think Joe Biden would run against her. I do think that he would. There, there's too many of the potential, of the big donors that they would share, there's too many of those things. Joe Biden is definitely preparing to run. You see little things, he says yes to every interest constituency group that the Democrats have. They want a speech, him to make a speech, he's there to do it. But if she runs, he's not going to do this. He wants to run, don't get me wrong. He wants to run but he's only the frontrunner if she doesn't run.
GUTHRIE: Alright, Chuck Todd, 33 months until the Iowa caucuses, Chuck.
TODD: Good! We'll do this tomorrow again.
GUTHRIE: Thirty-three months!
TODD: Yeah you want to do this? We can do this every day.
-- Geoffrey Dickens is the Deputy Research Director at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow Geoffrey Dickens on Twitter.
