Throughout the coverage of the latest Anthony Weiner sex scandal on Wednesday's NBC Today,
hosts and correspondents repeatedly made comparisons between Weiner's
wife, Huma Abedin, and her long-time boss Hillary Clinton. At one point,
Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski declared that Abedin "has learned from the master, Hillary Clinton" on how to deal with scandal. [Listen to the audio [1]]
In a later segment, chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd
similarly touted Clinton as Abedin's mentor in damage control: "But you
can't help but remember, Huma works for Hillary Clinton. Is that her political role model? Is that her political role model as a spouse? Is that where she's getting her advice? Well, we know what Hillary Clinton did as a political spouse in the same situation."
In a report immediately prior to Todd's comments, fill-in news reader Tamron Hall explained: "Abedin has been a top advisor to Hillary Clinton, their careers aligned. And there are now painful parallels in their personal lives. As First Lady, Hillary Clinton endured what may be the most well-known sex scandal of all time."
During a discussion of the topic at the top of the 9 a.m. ET hour host Willie Geist observed:
Huma Abedin, for those of you who don't know, began as an intern in 1996 in the Clinton White House. Has worked side by side, one of Hillary Clinton's top aides when she was running for president, when she was secretary of state. Still works with Hillary Clinton. So they obviously have a very close relationship. It goes without saying that Hillary Clinton has some experience in the area of dealing with very public controversy involving her husband, so at least a good sounding board there for her.
During the segment with Brzezinski, fellow Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough proclaimed that Weiner was the "Chuck Yeager of sex scandals." [2]