Interviewing Hillary Clinton on today's "Morning Joe," Scarborough's performance was one long paean to her perfection, coupled with a mea culpa for the wrongs that he and other Republicans visited on the Clintons during the '90s.
View video here.
Excerpts:
- When you talk about "two Americas," and John Edwards has been talking about two Americas, two Americas, and my Republican friends say, "oh, it's class warfare," I always say tell them: take your kid to an emergency room anywhere in America at 11 o'clock at night, and then tell me there aren't two Americas.
- How much worse has it gotten since you started fighting for health care reform in 1993?
- Because I've got a son who's a diabetic, what you were just saying hits home all the time. Where you get denied for prevention, but if you were to go in and get an amputation, or have to have a heart surgery, then they pay for that. It's just false economy.
- How do you pass health care reform this time, when you failed in 1993, 1994 when [self-deprecating laugh] people like myself ran for Congress talking about socialized medicine, socializing 1/7th of the economy, single-payer health care system. Obviously you've listened, you've learned, we've all learned a lot from just the horrible political wars of the 1990s. What have you learned that's going to help you make this dream of yours a reality in the 21st century?
- You, dear Senator, are the person who everybody is saying "she's grown, she's learned so much." I hope I've grown a lot, because again, the traumas of the 1990s, which were so horrible for you and your husband, and I would say for America. Talk about how your different person today. Cause, God, I think that everybody who went through that has to be a better person if they inspect what we went through.
- Some people get angry and embittered. And from talking to you personally and talking to friends who have worked with you in the United States Senate, you seem to have gone in the opposite direction. Instead of becoming angry from all the attacks launched against you in the 1990s, you've actually opened your heart even more. And boy, am I going to get killed by conservative bloggers for saying that. But it's the truth. You seem to be a much different person now than you were in 1993 or 1994.
- Thank you for having the courage to tackle this battle once again. And we'll see what happens. I think it's gonna have a much happier ending this time than it did in 1994. Good luck.
In return for his adulation, Hillary graced Joe with numerous patronizing head pats of the "great question" and "oh, Joe, I think that's incredibly true" variety.
Clinton even had the audacity to claim that the hardships she's suffered have "made me a little less quick to jump to conclusions, perhaps a little more open to making sure that all sides are heard," and later that "it's kind of hard to be pointing fingers. Instead we should be rolling up our sleeves and getting to work together."
This from the woman who just last week, with her "willing suspension of disbelief" line, effectively called the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq a liar to his face. Predictably, Joe didn't jeopardize the good vibes by raising that -- or any other matter that challenged Clinton in any way.
Aside: Paging Camille Paglia, one of my favorite columnists. I'd love to read her deconstruction of the persona Hillary projected with her look this morning.
