ABC’s Martha Raddatz will be a co-moderator (along with ABC World News anchor David Muir) for Saturday night’s Democratic candidate debate in New Hampshire and if her coverage of Hillary Clinton over the years is any guide, viewers shouldn’t expect to many hardballs aimed at the frontrunner.
From praising Clinton’s infamous Benghazi testimony as “charming” and “disarming” to wondering what to call the new grandmother “Maybe Glam-Ma?” Raddatz has shown a soft-spot for the former Secretary of State.
And will Raddatz be reluctant to bring up the latest terrorist attacks, given that after the Ft. Hood shooting in 2009 she was too pre-occupied with framing it in a politically-correct way: “As for the suspect, Nidal Hasan, as one officer’s wife told me, ‘I wish his name was Smith.’”
The ABC News reporter, who hosted Barack Obama as a guest at her 1991 wedding to the man who would later become President Obama’s FCC commissioner Julius Genachowski, has also been on the look out for the Democrat’s “next rising star” in HUD Secretary Julian Castro: “Could he be on a presidential ticket in 2016?”
The following are just some of the worst examples of Raddatz’s liberal bias from the MRC’s archive:
Riveted by “Charming” Hillary’s Benghazi Testimony
“It was truly a riveting day on Capitol Hill. We don’t say that very often, with Secretary Clinton as some have never seen her before. She was at times, combative, charming, disarming and clearly ready for a fight.”
— ABC correspondent Martha Raddatz on Good Morning America, January 24, 2013.
Raddatz Hails Hillary: “She Comes Out Swinging” on Benghazi
Fill-in anchor David Muir: “Tonight, more signs Hillary Clinton is mulling a presidential run and is ready to fight back on Benghazi. With a new book coming, Politico tonight reporting she’s taking on her critics....”
Correspondent Martha Raddatz: “According to the online publication, she comes out swinging. Her anger aimed at congressional Republicans who she accuses of politicizing the tragedy. ‘I will not be a part of a political slugfest on the backs of dead Americans,’ writes Clinton....”
— ABC’s World News, May 30, 2014.
Martha Raddatz Touts “Cool” Hillary
“Let’s face it, Hillary is cool. Trending. From the dancing and drinking photos during her trip to Colombia, to the iconic shot of the secretary texting on her C-17. When bloggers made up a few scenarios, telling the President and Vice President to get back to work. Rejecting a friend request from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Clinton weighed in with real texts. ‘Rolling on the floor laughing.’ ‘Scrunchie time.’ Ahh, the scrunchie. Those were the days when staff would cringe at Hillary's desire to pull her hair back. The days that eventually led to the glamorous First Lady, the evolving hair styles. Never the same one twice, it seemed. And then, to the buttoned-up candidate Clinton. You know, the polarizing one. But not anymore. Her latest approval rating is 65 percent. Just behind that fashion icon, Michelle Obama.”
— ABC’s Martha Raddatz on Good Morning America, May 9, 2012.
Giddy about Grandmother Hillary
“Very important question: What do you think Hillary Clinton should be called as a grandma?...I say maybe ‘Glam-Ma.’ Maybe ‘Glam-Ma?’”
— Fill-in host Martha Raddatz to the roundtable, ABC’s This Week, April 20, 2014.
Raddatz Can’t Wait to Hype Potential 2016 “Rising Star”
“And now we hit the road with HUD Secretary Julian Castro. He’s just 77 days into his new job, but ever since his swearing in, so many Democrats have skipped ahead trying to figure out what’s next for the rising star? Could he be on a presidential ticket in 2016?”
— Guest host Martha Raddatz on ABC’s This Week, October 12, 2014.
