Associated Press
It should come as no surprise, but when Hillary Rodham Clinton kicks back for a little pleasure viewing, she gravitates to TV dramas about government and law.
Guesting on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday, she reported that the day before, her 68th birthday, she and husband Bill took a slight break from her presidential campaign and found time for some binge viewing.
They finally caught up on the Netflix political series “House of Cards,” she said, adding that other TV faves include the legal drama “The Good Wife” and “Madam Secretary,” which stars Tea Leoni as the U.S. Secretary of State.
Clinton noted that Madeleine Albright — like Clinton, a former real-life secretary of state — had recently made a guest appearance on that show.
“Are you jealous?” Colbert asked.
“A little,” Clinton joked.
Clinton, the Democratic front-runner in the 2016 race, became the fifth White House hopeful from both parties to appear with Colbert since he took over CBS’ “Late Show” last month.
He acknowledged that, in his past alter ego as a conservative blowhard hosting Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” he had played a character “who didn’t care for you.”
“I can say it now,” Clinton said with a laugh — “it was mutual.”
This “Late Show” appearance occasioned a cordial give-and-take, where perhaps Colbert’s toughest question was: Why is she running for president?
Clinton answered that she wants to make it possible for more people, particularly young people, “to live up to their God-given potential,” while she helps defend women’s rights, gay rights and voting rights.
“We’ve got to get back to making the middle class the center of our politics,” she added.
Colbert suggested that, with another Clinton in the White House, Americans were being promised an encore of the 1990s, and asked plaintively, “Do I have to wear parachute pants?”
“I’m not running for my husband’s third term,” Clinton declared. “I’m not running for President Obama‘s third term. I’m running for my first term. But I’m going to do what works, and we have an understanding of what works.”
She added: “The wealthy need to pay more. I’m just sorry to break it to you!'”
Another query: Which Republican front-runner would Clinton rather run against, Ben Carson or Donald Trump?
Clinton replied only that she would be ready to run hard against any opponent the Republicans put forward.
“But you can picture either of those guys in the office, right?” Colbert prodded.
“Well,” Clinton responded, triggering whoops from the studio audience, “I can picture them in SOME office.”
