Clinton foe: 'Whew' she was hideous before 'work'
The race for New York senator's now personal. GOP hopeful John Spencer has attacked Hillary Clinton's looks, telling a reporter he doesn't know "why Bill married her."
Clinton in '69 at Wellesley College.
Hillary Clinton's Republican challenger is getting personal and it's not pretty: He says the senator used to be ugly - and speculates she got "millions of dollars" in plastic surgery.
"You ever see a picture of her back then? Whew," said John Spencer of Clinton's younger days.
"I don't know why Bill married her," he said of the Clintons, who celebrated their 31st anniversary this month.
Noting Hillary Clinton looks much different now, he chalked it up to "millions of dollars" of "work" - plastic surgery.
"She looks good now," he said.
Spencer's bizarre comments came during a conversation with a reporter seated beside him and his wife, Kathy, on the 10:30 a.m. JetBlue flight Friday to Rochester, the site of the race's first debate.
In the wide-ranging chat, he also declared that his GOP running mate, attorney general hopeful Jeanine Pirro, was going to lose.
Howard Wolfson, an aide to Clinton, who turns 59 Thursday, said the senator has never had plastic surgery. But he declined otherwise to respond to Spencer's comments.
But Spencer's words crossed a political line that he has struggled to avoid during his underdog campaign against the former First Lady, a politician who inspires strong feelings among fans and foes alike.
He has limited most of his official comments to criticisms of Clinton for her doubts about the Iraq war, her opposition to tax cuts and her presidential ambitions.
In fund-raising letters, he has used more openly hostile language, allowing Clinton's aides to portray him as "angry" and out of control.
But few of Spencer's comments have been outside American political norm - and none before Friday had touched on Clinton's private life or personal appearance.
During yesterday's debate, he said there's nothing personal about their differences.
"I happen to like Hillary Clinton," he said, even declaring she would make a "tremendous" Democratic presidential candidate.
His remarks on Friday, though, show just how personal this campaign is to Spencer, a Vietnam vet who has always seen this campaign through the lens of a war he fought in and the Clintons protested.
His comments on her appearance came during a sporadic conversation as Spencer checked out the television on the seat in front of him ("My man Columbo's on!") and then settled into reading The New York Times. (In his words, "Checking in on the enemy.")
Spencer, the former mayor of Yonkers, dwelt at length on the contrast between his direct, honest and unfiltered style - and what he sees as the phony, controlled and staged nature of much of American politics.
"What's the matter with ruffling feathers?" he asked at one point.
The remarks about Clinton's looks followed a conversation about Pirro.
With a New York magazine story about Pirro's troubled marriage open in his wife's lap, Spencer offered some sympathy for his GOP running mate.
"Very bright woman," he said of Pirro, whom he once accused of using her old post as Westchester district attorney to probe enemies and shield allies.
He blamed her recent problems on her reliance on handlers and consultants.
Spencer had less kind words for her husband, Al, whose crimes, misdemeanors and ill-timed remarks have dogged her campaign against Andrew Cuomo.
"S-A-D, sad," Spencer said of Al Pirro, saying his own status as a recovering alcoholic helped him understand what he called Pirro's egotism.
"He's like a 12-year-old," he said.
"And Andy Cuomo's going to win," Spencer added.
A spokesman for Jeanine Pirro did not immediately comment.
