During the May 10 broadcast of Fox News' Special Report, host and Fox News Washington managing editor Brit Hume selectively quoted remarks Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) made on May 9 at the National Archives in order to portray her as laudatory of President Bush. In particular, Hume noted that Clinton praised Bush's “charm and charisma” and credited Bush with “t[aking] care of New York” after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. However, Hume did not note that Clinton's statements were prompted by a question to “say something nice” about the president and came during an hour-long discussion in which she criticized the Bush administration's refusal to acknowledge air quality concerns at Ground Zero, potentially jeopardizing rescue workers, and also “blamed the White House for having ”squandered" the bipartisan national goodwill the country enjoyed in the days following the attacks," as Newsday noted in a May 10 article.

From the May 10 broadcast of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:

HUME: Senator Hillary Clinton is praising, of all people, President Bush, who she says took care of New York after 9-11. The New York Democrat says, quote, “He made sure we got the resources that we needed and I'm very grateful to him for that. I'm very appreciative in the time when the people I represented needed his help, he was there for us.” The senator also praised the president's personality, saying, quote, “He is someone who has a lot of charm and charisma,” adding, quote, “he's been very willing to talk, he's been affable, he's been good company.” End quote. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on President Bush.

From the May 10 Newsday article by Glenn Thrush:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton offered a thorny olive branch to President George W. Bush last night, praising his “charm and charisma” while claiming the administration covered up Sept. 11-related health problems in New York.

Clinton, speaking at an hour-long political chat with the head of the National Archives, was asked to say something nice about a man she recently described as one of the worst presidents in American history.

“He's been very willing to talk. He's been affable. He's been good company,” said the New York Democrat, referring to her one-on-one exchanges with the Republican president. “He is someone who has a lot of charm and charisma, and I think in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, I was very grateful to him for his support for New York.”

Clinton, recalling her discussions with Bush in the days after Sept. 11, thanked him for quickly authorizing $20 billion in federal recovery funds she requested.

“He always kept it on track,” she said. “He made sure we got the resources that we needed and I'm very grateful to him for that.”

Her tone couldn't have been more different when discussing the administration's response to the health complaints of rescue workers and residents following the attacks.

“I warned that the air wasn't safe after 9/11, the administration basically covered that up and refused to deal with it,” she said.

She also blamed the White House for having “squandered” the bipartisan national good will the country enjoyed in the days following the attacks.