CNN was called the 'Clinton News Network' during the 90s for a reason. After letting Bill Clinton get away with his ridiculous excuse for supporting a temporary extension of the Bush tax cuts, Wolf Blitzer kissed up to the former president by fawning over his daughter Chelsea in the Thursday interview.
And Blitzer had a sugary introduction ready. "[W]hen we spoke about the President's daughter, Chelsea, his face lit up with pride," Blitzer cooed. [Video below the break. Audio here.]
Are journalists supposed to sound like next-door neighbors marveling over how the kids on the block are all grown-up? "I have known her since she was 13 years old when you guys came to Washington," Blitzer told Clinton.
Speaking of Chelsea's recent presentation at a Vital Voices event, he gushed that "I looked at her and I saw in her eyes as I was watching her, she was very impressive. I saw the best of Bill Clinton and the best of Hillary Clinton in Chelsea Clinton."
Just this past Monday, The Situation Room had more soft coverage of Clinton as it played a lengthy four-minute clip of him speaking at a Democratic fund raiser from the previous night. Clinton took shots at the Republicans and CNN was simply content to echo his attacks without any scrutiny, chuckling that he "gets away with a lot" now that he is out of office.
A transcript of the segment, which aired on June 7 on The Situation Room at 5:55 p.m. EDT, is as follows:
WOLF BLITZER: My one-on-one interview here in Chicago with the former president, Bill Clinton, wasn't just all about politics and policy. It was also a little bit about family and when we spoke about the President's daughter, Chelsea, his face lit up with pride.
(Video Clip)
BLITZER: Let's talk about the Clinton Global Initiative. This is an important meeting you're having. You do a lot of work around the world and now you're doing work here in the United States. And I was intrigued that Chelsea, your daughter, she is here now too. What do you want her to do here? What is her role?
BILL CLINTON, former President of the United States: Well, first, she is an active participant in our foundation activities. She's on a number of the foundation boards overseeing you know health care. She is very interested in CGI. She knows a lot about the economy. She has done a lot of work in it. And so we try to get her involved in all of our things, and her role is always something that's to discuss between her and our CGI staff. But she can -- she knows a lot about workforce preparedness. She knows a lot about saving companies in trouble and reopening them and you know --
BLITZER: I raise the question because I have known her since she was 13 years old when you guys came to Washington. And last night I was at the Kennedy Center at the Vital Voices Event which helps women around the world. And she made a presentation there, and I looked at her and I saw in her eyes as I was watching her, she was very impressive. I saw the best of Bill Clinton and the best of Hillary Clinton in Chelsea Clinton. And you have probably seen that as well. And I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about that.
CLINTON: Oh, I'm really proud of her. I think she is a fine person, the most important thing to me. And she is smart, caring, able and determined. I think she is, you know, terrific but – and I got a great son-in-law, which is always a good thing, to like your in-laws, you know. So I want her to do whatever she wants to do, but I am really grateful now that with this work she is doing, you know on television and the work she does at NYU and the college – the course she is teaching at Columbia that she is still willing to be so active in our foundation activities. She really cares about this stuff and she has helped me do a lot of work at the Foundation, try to improve the management you know and just manage our massive growth. It's fun. I am grateful to her.
BLITZER: She got the best of her mom, the best of her dad –
CLINTON: Yeah she got her father's energy –
BLITZER: She's a good girl.
CLINTON: – and her mother's brains and character. She's – she's something.
