Following Hillary Clinton’s formal presidential announcement over the weekend, Monday’s CBS This Morning eagerly promoted her candidacy, and provided it more than 10 minutes of coverage throughout the broadcast but completely ignored the multiple scandals surrounding her as of late.
During the network’s first full report at the top of the show, co-host Charlie Rose touted how “Hillary Clinton is on a road trip after launching her second presidential campaign. She's trying to reach out to what she calls ‘everyday Americans.’”
The anchors then turned to reporter Nancy Cordes, who was live in Des Moines, Iowa to stress Hillary’s efforts to appear like a regular American:
Well, it’s more than a thousand miles between New York and Iowa so I suspect we’ll be seeing several more pictures of Clinton with average Americans she meets on the road before she arrives here. Like the announcement video, this trip is designed to show that she can connect with voters and doesn't expect a coronation.
After she played multiple clips of Clinton’s first official campaign video, Cordes did her best to highlight how Clinton wants to appear “humble” during her campaign:
The video reflects a philosophy laid out in a Clinton campaign mission statement obtained by CBS News. “We are humble” it reads. “We take nothing for granted.” In fact, advisors say this campaign is likely to look less like her first White House bid and more like her run for New York Senate in 2000 when she went on a listening tour of the state and even sometimes spent the night in supporters' homes.
For her part, Cordes did play several clips of Clinton’s potential Republican opponents, as well as Saturday Night Live, criticizing her announcement but the CBS reporter never brought up the litany of recent controversies swirling around her candidacy, including her exclusive use of a personal e-mail account and server to conduct official State Department business.
Cordes also ignored the recent issues surrounding the Clinton Foundation’s practice of accepting money from foreign countries with questionable human rights records but found time to mention that “[n]ow that she is officially a candidate, Clinton has stepped down from her role at the Clinton Foundation.”
Rather than acknowledge the numerous problems plaguing Clinton, Cordes made sure to stress one final time her effort to reach out to new voters:
When she arrives here in Iowa, she'll be doing a round table with community college students. She'll be visiting a local small business. Her campaign says she’s going to be doing small events like that Gayle until she holds her first true rally sometime in May.
See relevant transcript below.
CBS This Morning
April 13, 2015
CHARLIE ROSE: Hillary Clinton is on a road trip after launching her second presidential campaign. She's trying to reach out to what she calls “everyday Americans.” Some of these voters were featured in Sunday’s online announcement.
NORAH O’DONNELL: The former Secretary of State, Senator and First Lady began her trip in her hometown of Chappaqua, New York and is riding to Iowa this morning in a van nicknamed Scooby. The campaign tweeted a photo of voters she met Sunday in Pennsylvania. Nancy Cordes is waiting for Clinton in the state capital of Iowa, Des Moines. Nancy, good morning.
NANCY CORDES: Good morning to you. Well, it’s more than a thousand miles between New York and Iowa so I suspect we’ll be seeing several more pictures of Clinton with average Americans she meets on the road before she arrives here. Like the announcement video, this trip is designed to show that she can connect with voters and doesn't expect a coronation.
UNKNOWN WOMAN IN CLINTON AD: I'm getting ready for a lot of things.
CORDES: Clinton doesn't appear in her own announcement video until it's almost over.
UNKNOWN PEOPLE FROM CLINTON AD: 1: My daughter is about to start kindergarten. 2: I’m getting married this summer to someone I really care about.
CORDES: She’s preceded by a diverse group of Americans, sharing big and small plans for the future.
UNKNOWN PERSON: We really just want to teach our dog to quit eating the trash.
HILLARY CLINTON: I'm getting ready to do something too. I'm running for president.
CORDES: Thus ends years of speculation --
CLINTON: I'm back.
CORDES: About whether the former First Lady and Secretary of State would make a second run for the White House.
CLINTON: Everyday Americans need a champion and I want to be a champion.
CORDES: The video reflects a philosophy laid out in a Clinton campaign mission statement obtained by CBS News. “We are humble” it reads. “We take nothing for granted.” In fact, advisors say this campaign is likely to look less like her first White House bid and more like her run for New York Senate in 2000 when she went on a listening tour of the state and even sometimes spent the night in supporters' homes.
CLINTON: I'm hitting the road to earn your vote because it's your time, and I hope you'll join me on this journey.
CORDES: Republicans shot back with some videos of their own.
TED CRUZ: Hillary Clinton represents the failed policies of the past.
CARLY FIORINA: She doesn't have a track record of leadership or trustworthiness.
RAND PAUL: I have a message.
CORDES: This ad from Kentucky Senator Rand Paul will start airing today in four early voting states, including Iowa.
UNKNOWN PERSON IN RAND PAUL AD: Hillary Clinton represents the worst of the Washington machine.
CORDES: Clinton’s decision attracted the attention of Saturday Night Live too.KATE MCKINNON [As Hillary Clinton]: Oh, my gosh. I don't know if I have it in me. I'm scared. I’m kidding. Let's do this.
CORDES: Now that she is officially a candidate, Clinton has stepped down from her role at the Clinton Foundation. When she arrives here in Iowa, she'll be doing a round table with some community college students. She'll be visiting a local small business. Her campaign says she’s going to be doing small events like that Gayle until she holds her first true rally sometime in May.
GAYLE KING: Alright, it's just beginning. Thank you, Nancy.
