Following Hillary Clinton’s illness last week, which prompted a fainting spell and a mild concussion, Good Morning America on Tuesday morning hyped the busy career of Ms. Clinton, proudly dubbing her the “Most Traveled Secretary of State.” The story began with GMA co-host George Stephanopoulos, a former President Clinton operative, mentioning that Ms. Clinton is, “On the mend now" although "she may be still out of action for most of her remaining time as Secretary of State."
ABC News Correspondent Reena Ninan described in detail the accident Ms. Clinton experienced, as this was the second time in eight years the Secretary has fainted because of a stomach bug. While Ninan and Stephanopoulos both emphasized the rest Mrs. Clinton requires, neither mention the fact that as a result the Secretary will miss the December 20 hearing scheduled to receive her testimony on the September 11 terrorist strike on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. You may recall that Clinton's State Department received numerous complaints from the late Amb. Chris Stevens about insufficient security on the ground in Libya. [See video below page break. MP3 audio here.]
Instead, Ninan talked about how hard Ms. Clinton has worked as Secretary of State and the tremendous travel schedule she maintained:
Rest is hard for Clinton. In the last four years, she's amassed more than 950,000 travel miles, while visiting 112 different countries. And as it looks more and more likely, Senator John Kerry, who will replace Clinton as Secretary of State, all of that jet setting may finally be coming to an end.
As NewsBusters has mentioned before, the secretary of state is responsible for overseeing diplomatic security and Clinton's upcoming testimony before Congress was hopefully going to shed light on the massive failures that left four Americans dead on the anniversary of 9/11.
This marks the second time in a week that ABC has run gauzy stories on Ms. Clinton, both times omitting any reference to Benghazi.
See relevant transcript below.
ABC
Good Morning America
December 18, 2012
7:16 a.m. EST
STEPHANOPOULOS: We're going to turn now though to that health scare for Hillary Clinton. She suffered a concussion last week after fainting in her home. On the mend now, she may be still out of action for most of her remaining time as Secretary of State. ABC’s Reena Ninan has the details.
REENA NINAN: Hillary Clinton has earned a new title under the Obama Administration. Most traveled Secretary of State. But it's one she's now paying for. Clinton is still recovering after affects for a mild concussion. This is the second time in eight years Clinton has fainted because of a stomach bug. But in an interview with ABC's Barbara Walters, before the concussion, Clinton insisted that her age and health do not concern her.
HILLARY CLINTON: I’m thankfully, knock on wood, not only healthy but have incredible stamina and energy.
NINAN: According to the State Department, the 65-year-old Clinton became ill early last week, while suffering from a stomach virus. She became extremely dehydrated and fainted at home. That's when she sustained the concussion. But now, instead of returning from a diplomatic trip to Morocco and the Persian Gulf, Secretary Clinton is under doctor's orders to rest at home.
ANAND GERMANWALA: The most important thing for her is to get rest. Really no e-mails. No working. No stressful situations. That's really the best proven way to get over these symptoms.
NINAN: Reporter: Rest is hard for Clinton. In the last four years, she's amassed more than 950,000 travel miles, while visiting 112 different countries. And as it looks more and more likely, Senator John Kerry, who will replace Clinton as Secretary of State, all of that jet setting may finally be coming to an end. For Good Morning America, Reena Ninan, ABC News, Washington.
