The journalists at CBS This Morning on Monday want you to know that Hillary Clinton is “so much more” than the '90s accusations against her husband. In a segment that touted “Clinton’s candor,” reporter Tony Dokoupil admitted the “complicated position” Mrs. Clinton faces with the Me Too Movement.
Dokoupil deserves credit for pressing Clinton on the alleged sexual assaults and misconduct of her husband, as well as her unwavering support for him. But the journalist also tossed her softballs, such as this one on sexism: “What warnings do you have as we're reaching crunch time for the women in the 2018 campaign who are out there running?”
This Morning co-host Norah O’Donnell appeared unhappy with all the talk about Bill Clinton’s treatment of women. She flatly declared, “She is so much more than what her husband did in the Oval Office.... She is her own person and continues to be defined by that.” The CBS graphic for the segment sympathetically described: “Clinton’s Candor: Hillary Reflects on Husband’s Conduct and Female Candidates.”
Still, Dokoupil fared better than some liberal journalists who won’t challenge Clinton at all. He noted, “She holds a complicated position in the Me Too era.” On the subject of hypocrisy, the reporter pressed:
But when you support women now who are running with their stories of sexual assault front and center, does it make it more difficult for you to be forward as a supporter when you had not contended fully with the accusers in your own life?
Dokoupil quizzed, “And in retrospect, do you think Bill should have resigned, President Clinton should have resigned, in the '90s in the wake of the Monica Lewsinsky scandal?”
Over on NBC, Megyn Kelly slammed Clinton’s hypocrisy when it comes to the Me Too movement.
A transcript is below. Click “expand” to read more.
CBS This Morning
10/15/18
7:12:29 to 7:16:33CBS GRAPHIC: Clinton’s Candor: Hillary Reflects on Husband’s Conduct and Female Candidates
NORAH O’DONNELL: Hillary Clinton says her husband absolutely should not have resigned following the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In an interview for CBS Sunday Morning, the former first lady and presidential candidate spoke with Tony Dokoupil about the record number of women running for office in 2018. She was also asked about her husband’s conduct while president.
TONY DOKOUPIL: There are people who look at the incidents of the '90s and they say a president of the United States cannot have a consensual relationship with an intern, the power imbalance is too great.
HILLARY CLINTON: Who was an adult. But let me ask you this: Where's the investigation of the current incumbent against whom numerous allegations have been made in which he dismisses, denies, and ridicules? So there was an investigation, and is it, as I believe, came out in the right place.
O’DONNELL: Tony Dokouplil is here with more from that interview. Tony, good morning. You asked the question.
DOKOUPIL: I did ask the question. It was a wide-ranging conversation. It was about an hour-long conversation. And, you know, Hillary Clinton knows more than, perhaps, anyone what it's like to be a a woman in politics. She’s a two-time presidential candidate and she became in 2016 the first woman to win a major party’s nomination. We sat down to talk about sexism, politics, and why they crop of female candidates may still feel like they're running uphill? What warnings do you have as we're reaching crunch time for the women in the 2018 campaign who are out there running?
CLINTON: You just have to be yourself. Come hell or high water, you just have to be yourself.
DOKOUPIL: Say more about the hell part.
CLINTON: Yeah. No, sometimes it's so apparent that you are being judged on your hair, your clothes, all of that. And, you know, you look over at the males running and they're no fashion icons. But nobody is saying “I'm not voting for him because he didn't comb his hair. I'm not voting for him because his suit is rumpled.”
DOKOUPIL: Of course, even as Hillary Clinton supports female candidates, she holds a complicated position in the Me Too era. Remember, her husband, Bill Clinton, was accused of multiple acts of sexual misconduct before becoming president and was impeached over lies he told about his relationship with the White House intern. Hillary Clinton stood by his side through all of that.
DOKOUPIL: Looking back, do you wish you had done things differently in your personal life in the '90s? And if you had, do you think it would have helped you politically in 2016?
CLINTON: It's an easy question to answer. No. No on both counts. I did what I thought was right and I feel very good about that.
DOKOUPIL: But when you support women now who are running with their stories of sexual assault front and center, does it make it more difficult for you to be forward as a supporter when you had not contended fully with the accusers in your own life?
CLINTON: Well, no, because there was the most intense, comprehensive investigation. People forget that. And I don't. I remember it very clearly.
DOKOUPIL: And in retrospect, do you think Bill should have resigned, President Clinton should have resigned, in the '90s in the wake of the Monica Lewsinsky scandal?
CLINTON: Absolutely not.
DOKOUPIL: So it wasn't an abuse of power?
CLINTON: No.
DOKOUPIL: You do not believe he should have resigned?
CLINTON: No.
DOKOUPIL: How do you contend with members of your own party now saying he should have?
CLINTON: That's — that's their right to their opinion. But they were not in the middle of it.
DOKOUPIL: Now Bill and Hillary Clinton will kick off a series of speaking engagements together next month in Las Vegas where I imagine this may come up yet again. Now, of course the past never changes. People's perspective on the past tends to change, but it appears in this case Hillary Clinton's perspective has not.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Even Monica Lewsinsky's perspective has changed over what she said a few decades ago.
DOKOUPIL: I asked her in summary is there a double standard being applied here? And Hillary was very clear here. No, there isn’t. Or if there is, it’s one that benefits the current occupant of the White House.
O’DONNELL: She is so much more than what her husband did in the Oval Office.
DOKOUPIL: Absolutely.
O’DONNELL: She is her own person and continues to be defined by that.
