ABC is pushing hard for a Hillary Clinton presidential run in 2016. Earlier this week, as NewsBusters reported, Good Morning America reporter Claire Shipman launched “Hillary Watch” amid a gushing report that featured a Clinton supporter outside a rally saying that Hillary’s “got to save the country.” On Thursday, George Stephanopoulos fanned the flames of speculation with a post on ABC’s Power Players blog. [Read the full post here.]
The former Clinton White House aide -- although that was NOT mentioned for full disclosure for the benefit of the readers -- began his post in a brash manner: “Whether you like it or not, the speculation about the 2016 presidential campaign has already begun, and there’s been a whole lot of discussion about whether or not Hillary Clinton will run for president again.”
Of course, much of that discussion has been fueled by ABC, in tandem with other fawning media outlets. There’s something disingenuous about a news outlet stirring up speculation, and then reporting on that speculation as if it began on its own. The situation becomes even more artificial when George Stephanopoulos is the journalist speculating about Hillary Clinton, given his history with the Clintons.
Stephanopoulos gushed that “support networks have already begun to emerge for Hillary 2016.” I could not agree more. A few of those support networks are ABC, NBC, MSNBC, Politico, and NPR. Indeed, many left-wing media outlets have been tacitly endorsing Mrs. Clinton simply by giving her glowing coverage. Chris Matthews of MSNBC took it a step further by offering to help Hillary get elected, telling her, “We’ll get you in there.”
The Good Morning America co-host then highlighted a few online comments from readers. One man wrote in glowing terms: “Secretary Clinton's place in history is well established. She is widely respected and there are many people who disagree with many of her political positions but still join in that respect (like me). She has a platform to influence public policy, if she chooses to use it, for the rest of her life.”
Wow. Sounds like Hillary doesn’t even need to run for president. She might as well run the country as a behind-the-scenes dictator for the rest of her life. Another reader worried, “Who's the DNC frontrunner if Hillary Clinton doesn't run? Mark Warner? Tim Kaine?” Exactly. We wouldn't want to limit ourselves to a senator from Virginia. Perish the thought!
The media giddiness over a potential Hillary Clinton run is getting hilarious. George Stephanopoulos and his liberal brethren in the press need to stop the fawning before they embarrass themselves.
