During a discussion on Monday, NBC's Today show crew could barely contain their enthusiasm at the prospect of Hillary Clinton running for president again in 2016, with new third-hour co-host Willie Geist proclaiming: "Can you think of a more qualified human being? She lived in the White House for eight years with another President, she was a United States senator, and now she's got every world leader on speed dial, so there'd be no questions about her qualifications." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
Early in the conversation, Geist touted how "there are already polls out in Iowa, she's got 58% of the vote for 2016" and argued her run was "inevitable." Fellow co-host Savannah Guthrie thought Clinton could definitely be persuaded: "...if the head of the party comes to her in two years, if everybody comes around and says, 'You've got to do it, you could be the first female president,' I think it would be hard for her to say no." News reader Natalie Morales added: "Are we ready for a female president? I think most of America probably is."
Geist concluded: "It's just a question of if she wants to run or not." Weatherman Al Roker gushed over Bill Clinton being back on the campaign trail as well: "And her significant other, too. It would be kind of fun, too....Have him on the stump." Geist replied: "Imagine the excitement?" Roker remarked: "Oh, man. Wow." Morales wondered: "Who has the bigger spotlight, that's for sure, right?"
On September 10, following the Republican and Democratic conventions, correspondent Andrea Mitchell appeared on Today to start off media rooting for Hillary: "She says she has no plans to run, but if she did, some say she would clear the field." Mitchell offered a similar report on Clinton the day after the election as well.
Amid all the excitement on Monday for the Secretary of State running for president, no one mentioned her role in the failures surrounding the terrorist attack in Libya and how that might be a stumbling block in any future political plans.
Here is a full transcript of the November 12 discussion:
9:09AM ET
AL ROKER: Hillary's next move.
NATALIE MORALES: "Will you run again?" Right.
GEIST: And she said, "Can I get five minutes to catch my breath before you start asking me this again?"
MORALES: She deserves a break, right?
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: She transitioned into talking about HGTV...
GEIST: She did, she did.
GUTHRIE: ...and home improvement shows.
GEIST: She said the only way she relaxes is by watching home improvement shows. But of course there are already polls out in Iowa, she's got 58% of the vote for 2016. So it seems a little inevitable – Savannah, you've covered politics for a long time – that she's gonna run.
MORALES: What's your under over?
GEIST: But she's not ready to talk about it yet.
GUTHRIE: Yeah, so I interviewed her a year ago and I asked her, I mean, and I was not the first and certainly not the last to ask her. And I guess what I think, I don't have any special knowledge here, but I think she really believes right now that she won't run. I think she's very tired. She's the most-traveled secretary of state, she's constantly on the road. And as she said in this article with Gail Collins, she would like to get un-tired. But assuming she gets un-tired, if the head of the party comes to her in two years, if everybody comes around and says, "You've got to do it, you could be the first female president," I think it would be hard for her to say no.
ROKER: And she's only sixty – she's only 65.
MORALES: Yeah, 65. Are we ready for a female president? I think most of America probably is. It would be interesting.
GUTHRIE: Well, she would be – she would break the glass ceiling that she talked about.
GEIST: Can you think of a more qualified human being? She lived in the White House for eight years with another President, she was a United States senator, and now she's got every world leader on speed dial, so there'd be no questions about her qualifications. It's just a question of if she wants to run or not.
ROKER: And her significant other, too. It would be kind of fun, too.
GEIST: Well, there's that, there's that.
ROKER: Have him on the stump.
GUTHRIE: The First Gentleman.
GEIST: Imagine the excitement?
ROKER: Oh, man. Wow.
MORALES: Who has the bigger spotlight, that's for sure, right?
ROKER: Yeah.
