Paul Bedard of The Washington Examiner delivered the inevitable news: “The media’s kissing up to the Clinton family, expected once Hillary Clinton jumps into the 2016 presidential race, has already arrived, thanks to Katie Couric's fawning interview of former first daughter Chelsea." Couric opened with a wide smile, “A woman of the year, and I think it’s safe to say, probably a ‘Mom of the Year.’ ”

On Monday’s ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, the program not only spent the fewest time covering the democracy protests in Hong Kong than fellow networks CBS and NBC, but it spent nearly twice as much time gushing over the newest member of the Clinton family than the protests that now number in the tens of thousands.

ABC’s evening newscast ran a news brief on the Hong Kong protests for greater electoral independence from Communist China that lasted for a scant 15 seconds, while two teases plus a mention during the program’s “Instant Index” segment totaled 32 seconds.

On Friday night, Chelsea Clinton gave birth to her first child, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky, and ABC and NBC predictably swooned over the event and hyped the impact this could have on Hillary Clinton’s political future. On Sunday morning’s Good Morning America, ABC’s Mara Schiavocampo gushed “while America waits for Hillary’s decision if she'll run for president, a more important duty calls for now, diaper duty.”

Team Hillary is staring daggers at New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, the one journalist who actually won a Pulitzer (for commentary) on a Clinton scandal (Lewinsky).

Dowd had the audacity to knock Chelsea Clinton for giving speeches for $75,000 a pop, even if it went to the Clinton Foundation, which is designed for the further aggrandizement of the Clinton reputation. It began:

You'd think the Clintons would have learned by now that if they keep lobbing meatballs over the plate, Rush Limbaugh will keep cranking them out of the park.

Latest example of that delightful dynamic occurred after it was reported in the New York Daily News that Chelsea Clinton claims she is -- sigh -- indifferent toward money. Yes, the same Chelsea Clinton who, along with equally indifferent hubby, paid $10 million and change for swanky digs in NYC's Gramercy Park. The same Chelsea Clinton who was renumerated to the tune of $600,000 for a sporadic reporting gig at NBC News, despite paltry experience in journalism and while jobs in the industry go the way of the blacksmith. (Audio after the jump)