Chris Cuomo Assures Viewers: Bill Clinton Had No Role in Bank Scandals

"Good Morning America" news anchor Chris Cuomo interviewed Bill Clinton on Friday and skipped any questions as to what role his administration might have had in creating the current economic scandals that are now plaguing America. Cuomo, whose Democratic brother Andrew was the former Housing and Urban Development secretary under President Clinton, and whose father was the former Democratic governor of New York, instead offered a summery defense of the ex-President.

After the interview, he concluded the piece by asserting, "President Clinton has been brushed with blame about this [the banking collapse]. These toxic assets we're talking about, those securities, they took root during his administration. He says he now regrets that he deregulated derivatives, those assets." Cuomo continued, "But, he says, don't say he's to blame. He regulated banks more. That the banks he believed in didn't get us in this trouble. That was about the next administration."

If Cuomo actually asked Clinton about any of this, it didn't make it into the taped piece. Instead, he began the segment by cooing, "You know, it's interesting. For all the former President's intelligence, it's his experience that he had that may be most instructive here." The ABC news anchor was referring to the similarly Democratic Congress that Clinton presided over when he took office in 1993. (Of course, despite that Democratic Congress, Clinton failed on big ticket issues such as health care. So, it's unclear how much of an expert he would be.)

Cuomo did not ask about the former Commander in Chief's role in pushing the Community Reinvestment Act and the idea that banks should offer loans to low income individuals. He also skipped the fact that the February 23 issue of Time magazine named him one of the "25 People to Blame" for the current economic meltdown.

On the issue of President Obama, the GMA host did offer some challenging questions. Regarding the stimulus plan, he queried, "Why should we be confident that spending is the way out of this situation?" On Obama's relentlessly negative outlook over the last few weeks, Cuomo pressed, "Would you like to see him be more positive? He's had some dour proclamations recently. And, yet, he kind of came in on this wave of hope. 'I'm the voice of hope.'"

On a side note, the aforementioned Andrew Cuomo, who is now the attorney general of New York, received relatively little attention for the book "Crossroads" that he edited in 2003. Why? Well, as the MRC's Brent Bozell noted in a March 25, 2004 column:

A week later, the New York Post’s Fred Dicker noticed that Cuomo’s introduction was a blazing attack on the Democratic establishment. Democrats lost elections in 2000 and 2002 because "we were lost in time...To voters, we seemed bloodless, soulless and clueless." Young Cuomo was especially harsh on September 11. Democrats "fumbled the seminal moment of our lives -- the terrorist attacks of 9/11." While Bush "exemplified leadership....on the Democratic side, there was chaos. We handled 9/11 like it was a debate over a highway bill instead of a matter of people's lives."

The media could have made it Andrew Cuomo Week. Instead, Cuomo’s book introduction received a very supine TV silence. ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN did zilch. Chris Matthews mentioned it in passing on MSNBC, and Fox’s Sean Hannity and Brit Hume each noticed for a minute. But days later, no one could remember these passages ever being published.

A transcript of the February 20, 2009 segment, which aired at 7:04am, follows:

SAWYER: But we have a big interview on all of this. Former President Bill Clinton. Joined now by Chris Cuomo. You sat down with him.

CHRIS CUOMO: I did. You know, it's interesting. For all the former President's intelligence, it's his experience that he had that may be most instructive here. Remember, President Clinton dealt with a Congress where Republicans and Democrats were completely divided. Now, despite the current lack of bipartisanship, President Clinton believes President Obama is making all the right moves. That all the billions in stimulus is justified and that he may have even asked for more. Most of the work on the economy so far has been directed at the banks. Only now are we seeing direct action for homeowners. Do you believe that was a mistake? That we should have tried to help regular families, homeowners, earlier?

BILL CLINTON: Yes. But that's not President Obama's mistake. I think that should have been done a year ago. I personally believe, based on my experience over the years with the economy, that if we had moved aggressively on this home problem a year and a half ago, even a year ago, as much as 90 percent of the current crisis could have been avoided.

CUOMO: The stimulus plan, obviously, that is the Obama administration. Why should we be confident that spending is the way out of this situation?

CLINTON: I believe the stimulus plan is a bridge over troubled water. I think it's absolutely the right thing to do. And I'm a fiscal conservative. You know, I balanced the budget. I paid $600 billion down on the debt for the American people. I don't like deficit spending. He has no choice. The economy is contracting. He has to prop it up.

CUOMO: You would have done this?

CLINTON: Absolutely. You know, we might have had differences around the edges. But the point is, you have to have a stimulus plan now to get you from here to the time when the bank performs and the other financial changes kick in. I might have even proposed more money.

CUOMO: What does it mean that he has got no Republican partnership at all, relatively on this? And that was a big promise of then-candidate Obama. I'm the guy who can reach across the aisle?

CLINTON: I think some of them are still wedded to the economic philosophy that they have espouse espoused. Then, I think some of them that- where a few of them were cynical. They figure they ought to be the just-say-no party. That was Newt Gingrich's position in '93 and '94. And it worked for them then. But America was a different country then. So, sooner or later, I think if he keeps chugging along, keeps the door open. Invite them to every economic conference, invite them to every meeting, eventually he'll start getting some votes.

CUOMO: Would you like to see him be more positive? He's had some dour proclamations recently. And, yet, he kind of came in on this wave of hope. "I'm the voice of hope." Has not been that hopeful lately.

CLINTON: I'll tell you what I'd like. First of all, the last thing you want to do when you take office in a time like this, is give people a lot of inane happy talk and false promises about how quickly we can get out of this. Now, the only thing I would like him to do, I would just like him to end by saying that he is hopeful and completely convinced we're going to come through this.

CUOMO: People need to hear that, don't they?

CLINTON: Yeah. And it's worth reminding the American people, that for more than 230 years everyone who bet against America lost money. It's a mistake to bet against this country over the long run. I just want him to, to embody that and to share that. But I actually- I like the fact that he didn't come in and give us a bunch of happy talk. I'm glad he shot straight with us. I just want the American people to know that he's confident that we are going to get out of this. And he feels good about the long run.

CUOMO: Let me ask you just two or three quick questions. If you give the administration a grade so far, what would it be?

CLINTON: A.

CUOMO: Hope index. Zero being no hope, ten being 100 percent confident we'll get through it. Where are you on the hope index?

CLINTON: Nine-plus.

CUOMO: Nine-plus?

CLINTON: Absolutely.

CUOMO: When do we hear good news?

CLINTON: November 8th at 3:30 in the afternoon. No. I say that to make the following point. This is really important for the American people to understand. Over $30 trillion of wealth has disappeared in the last five months. There's no known model that will calculate, number one, the economic impact of what we're doing. Number two, the economic impact of what others are doing. And number three, the continuing echo-contraction of what's already happening. That's why no one can give you an answer. But, I think you will see some good economic news from the stimulus, fairly soon.

CUOMO: Circle that date, November 8th, 3:30. Very precise. You know, it was very interesting. President Clinton has been brushed with blame about this. These toxic assets we're talking about, those securities, they took root during his administration. He says he now regrets that he deregulated derivatives, those assets. But, he says don't say he's to blame. He regulated banks more. That the banks he believed in didn't get us in this trouble. That was about the next administration.

SAWYER: You do love hearing him say that everybody who bet against America -

CUOMO: They lose.

SAWYER: They lose. They lose big.