Sen. Mitch McConnell on the trade promotion authority bill: “‘I want to compliment the president on the way he took on the base, took on Elizabeth Warren, took on the labor unions.”

Throughout this interview, the always low-key McConnell places responsibility for wooing Democrats where it should be— on the historicallly unconvincing President Obama—while noting he’ll have Republicans ready to go. He further twists the knife by congratulating the president on his courageous stand against the Left of his party, and thanks the Left for pulling presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton with them into protectionism. Clinton was for the trade bill while Secretary of State but is now too scared to stand up for it. The reporter John Harwood inexplicably gives Clinton credit for being for the deal when even she won’t say she’s for it. He asks somewhat incredulously of McConnell, “Is it not perfectly obvious to you, that whatever she says now, she is for this deal, having promoted it as Secretary of State?” Must be nice to be a Democratic candidate. Reporters just glean that you have the position most useful for bashing the Republicans even when you’re silent or squirrely on an issue. That or they give you $75,000.