On Sunday, NBC’s Meet the Press spent considerable time analyzing Hillary Clinton’s soon-to-be presidential announcement but Chuck Todd found time to ask if the GOP spends too much time trying to defeat the Clintons.
Speaking to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Todd wondered “I look at sort of an obsession on the right of beating Obama and beating Clinton, Bill Clinton, over the years and I think, they're zero for four. Is there a point where you do this too much?”
For his part, Hewitt dismissed Todd’s assertion that the GOP is obsessed with Hillary and explained why, despite the left’s attempts, Hillary needs further vetting:
That was a little surreal when the mayor [Bill DeBlasio] said she'd been thoroughly vetted. That was the talking point that they’ve asked her to make sure they got out there. Because of course she hadn't been thoroughly vetted. Brent Budowsky calling her the new Nixon, reminded me, this is like a new Coke
moment as well. It's actually kind of a "Weekend at Bernie's" moment.
I think they’re afraid that they have a candidate that they have to prop up from now until November of '16. That there isn't any substance, there isn't any charisma, and most of all, she’s not trustworthy. And that's what those polls you showed, the Quinnipiac polls, she fails on the trustworthy question again and again.
This was not the first time Todd fretted about the GOP “overreacting” over Hillary's scandals. On the March 15 Meet the Press, Todd asked Kevin Madden, former senior advisor to Mitt Romney on the subject of Hillary’s e-mails, “[d]o you fear, as somebody who would like to see the Republicans win the White House, do you fear that congressional Republicans could get in the way and actually make her look – sympathize with?”
In similar fashion to Hewitt, Madden rejected Todd’s assertion that the GOP would overeat to the Hillary e-mail scandal:
I think one of the things I was struck by Trey Gowdy's interview this morning was just how measured and focused he was. He was focused on doing what he thinks is his role as a constitutional oversight. As long as that focus remains there, I think the congressional folks will be alright.
See relevant transcript below.
NBC’s Meet the Press
April 12, 2015
CHUCK TODD: Hugh [Hewitt], the Republican Party this morning, they made sure they came in. They said they have something the RNC calls stophillary.gop. They send out a little thumb drive that they claim has her e-mails. They’re giving t-shirts. They went to all the news divisions this morning and did this. You know, I look at sort of an obsession on the right of beating Obama and beating Clinton, Bill Clinton, over the years and I think, they're zero for four. Is there a point where you do this too much?
HUGH HEWITT: Well, no, not with Hillary. That was a little surreal when the mayor said she'd been thoroughly vetted. That was the talking point that they’ve asked her to make sure they got out there. Because of course she hadn't been thoroughly vetted. Brent Budowsky calling her the new Nixon, reminded me, this is like a new Coke moment as well. It's actually kind of a "Weekend at Bernie's"moment.
I think they’re afraid that they have a candidate that they have to prop up from now until November of '16. That there isn't any substance, there isn't any charisma, and most of all, she’s not trustworthy. And that's what those polls you showed, the Quinnipiac polls, she fails on the trustworthy question again and again.
TODD: It does seem as if though that this is a challenge for her to sort of break out of this.
