Elizabeth Warren Just Gave Republicans a Gift

Whether she meant to or not, she criticized Hillary Clinton by omission.

In an interview with Katie Couric on Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren gave her reliable spiel about economic inequality, raising the minimum wage, lowering student-loan interest rates, and vanquishing the moneyed interests who are able to "tilt the playing field" against middle-class Americans.

When Couric asked her about former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's new job, making upwards of $3.4 million for the investment bank Moelis & Co., Warren just shook her head.

"How wrong can this be, that basically what's happening here is that people worked in Washington, and man, they hit that revolving door with a speed that would blind you ... not because they bring great expertise and insight, but because they bring access," Warren said.

Softball. Couric then asked Warren if she thought Hillary Clinton is "too cozy" with Wall Street.

"I worry a lot about the relationship between all of them—regulators, government, and Wall Street — "

"But what about Hillary Clinton in particular?" Couric interrupted.

"Well, I worry across the board," Warren responded.

The 2016 question inevitably came up in Couric's interview, but the question was a new twist on an old classic: If Hillary doesn't run, are there any circumstances under which Warren would even consider it?

Warren gave the same response she's been giving for months. "No, I am not running for president," she said. "It is absolutely critical right now that we focus on the 2014 elections."

Within minutes of the interview airing, the GOP's rapid-response team published the Hillary clip, headlined, "Warren: 'I Worry' About Cozy Relationship Clinton And Others Have With Wall Street."

That characterization isn't unfair, but Warren certainly didn't single out Clinton in her comments. Then again, Warren didn't do anything to separate Clinton from people like Cantor.