NBC's Todd backtracks: Says it was 'dangerous punditry' to talk of tension between McCain & Palin

[sabra]

http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/?loc=interstitialskip

On MSNBC-TV's Hardball with Chris Matthews yesterday, NBC News political director Chuck Todd spoke at length about what he said was the "tenseness" and lack of "chemistry" he thought he observed between Republican presidential nominee John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin when Todd and NBC's Brian Williams were with them Wednesday.

"You do wonder, is John McCain starting to blame her for things, blaming himself? Is she blaming him?," Todd said. "But whatever it is, it's a negative vibe that you get in that room."

This morning at NBC's First Read blog, which Todd co-authors, there's this mea culpa -- which, if it wasn't written by Todd, was certainly done with his OK:

The dangers of parachuting in: Spending part of the day with the McCain-Palin campaign for yesterday's interview was both an enviable and unenviable task. It's always tricky to over-read exhaustion.

The campaign pushed back hard on an initial impression one of us said on MSNBC -- that there was a lack of chemistry between McCain and Palin during the interview -- and cautioned us not to read too much into the campaign soup that's exhaustion, mixed with a couple of tough news days for the ticket, some bad poll numbers, a healthy skepticism of the press, a pretty tough New York Times Magazine piece, and the fact that the two candidates don't spend every day together.

It was the same dynamic as you might see with Obama and Biden, except they have the luxury of having the motivation of positive news on their side, which can loosen folks up. Bottom line: The McCain campaign appears a bit tight (which is understandable given where we are in the campaign). But there is a bunker mentality that folks like us, when we parachute in, can miss. It's a good lesson for all of us: Always be cautious from over-analyzing a situation; it can be dangerous punditry.

[Thrill]

1. He's a wimp. The Repukes probably went after him

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. McBrokaw had a word with him.

[cjsmom44]

12. That's my Guess

He got a scolding....

[Cosmocat]

18. YEP ...

Chuck is in career mode, his right in life, but it is what it is.

You can't slip up and paint Rs negatively like that when you are still down in the food chain like Todd is.

[bigdarryl]

55. What a PU**Y!!!!!!!!

[WeDidIt]

2. (Up) Chuck Fraud ALWAYS let's McCain work the refs.

Why else does he still have VA in the "tossup" category when EVERYBODY ELSE HAS VIRGINIA AS OBAMA'S STRAIGHT UP!

[Supersedeas]

29. maybe, his tea was in need of some sweetening?

[Teaser]

3. that's fair I guess

.

[HughMoran]

5. I was surprised he made those comments actually

& I don't actually give a fuck about their "chemistry" anyway, all I care about is winning.

[Mike Daniels]

22. To be honest, I saw the portion on KO and I couldn't see whatever it was I was supposed to see

The only awkward moment I saw was when Palin called Powell "senator" and couldn't get the number of endorsements straight. Not that big of a deal in the grand scheme.

As far as lack of chemistry, I don't know how much comes off during a sit down interview when your focus in on the interviewer.

[GalleryGod]

Chuck T. : Jest Payin' the Mortgage,Folks! You Betcha' !!!

:wtf: :argh: :wtf:

[Captiosus]

6. Looks like someone got his weekly RNC fee this morning.

Todd is such a farce.

While I wasn't always fond of him, Tim Russert would probably be highly pissed at how NBC News and MSNBC operate their bogus political division now.

[ErinBerin84]

7. you're a weak ass, chuck. And the Mccain camp is full of tyrants.

Chuck said yesterday that there WAS chemistry between Obama/Biden, that has nothing to do with being on the winning side.

[featherman]

8. Chuck got a severe talking to... and folded like an beach chair

[JaneQPublic]

15. Yep. I noticed Brian Williams jaw stiffen as Chuck Todd repeated those remarks.

They were standing next to each other while Todd repeated his assessment about the tension and lack of chemistry between Pailin and McCain. Ironically, I noticed the same tension in Williams as Todd was making these comments.

At the time, I thought they were surprisingly subjective characterizations from a guy whose claim to fame is analysis of numerical data, not impressions based on body language.

[gblady]

57. I, too

noticed that interaction, and frankly, was very surprised
at how Todd went on and on and on about how uncomfortable
McLane and Failin were towards each other...

[City Lights]

9. GE's corporate masters gave him a good talkin' to. nt

[th13182]

10. All goatee........

All goatee, no testoserone.

[Avalux]

11. What's Chuckie afraid of? Being banned from the Straight Talk Express? LOL.

Palin coming after him with a rifle?? He's a loser. :thumbsdown:

[LibraLiz1973]

13. What a pussy!

[okieinpain]

14. but they do admit that there is tension. n/t.

[liberal N proud]

16. He probably got bitch slapped

[graywarrior]

17. Who cares. Everyone knows it's true.

Look at the two of them. Sheesh.

[Thorandmjolnir]

19. If McCain and Palin can't muster the proper attitude

for an interview during the election, how they hell do they expect to instill any confidence if they, God forbid, get elected?

Imagine these two people during some serious crisis that demands split decisions, communication and the ability to present a coherent message. They can't.

[high density]

20. What a fucking lamer

The guy is a talking head. He is paid to make these sorts of observations. There is a bias in the idea of withholding information, just because you think it's bad for somebody.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

21. "I want to see you in my office Mr Todd"

:rofl: would have loved to have been a fly on the wall!

[Atman]

23. "The campaign pushed back hard..."

Come on, what's the mystery? No "probably" about it, he says so right there..."The campaign pushed back hard on an initial impression one of us said on MSNBC." IOW, they called MSNBC and bitched about the negative report, and Todd was forced to back pedal. Simple as that.

Damned liberal media.

.

[iceman66]

53. Exactly.

The Rethugs say 'jump' and the MSM says 'how high?".

[Peregrine Took]

24. Jeez - these folks have NO pride. Stand up for what you said.

I was delighted to hear him speak with such candor - now he's taking it back. Wimp!

[Name removed]

44. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kwolf68]

25. I kinda agree

I don't really care about the chemistry of the McCain/Failin campaign and I saw nothing 'out there' about that interview. The only thing I saw were two losers, two idiots, two dolts that are struggling to come up with some semblence of a credible alternative for anyone other than 'real' Americans.

Reading into interviews and whether or not someone has 'chemistry' is petty and we don't need to go there.

We can win on ideas, the drivel they spew, and the hatred they bring...not on some perceptive idea about how they 'feel about each other'.

Let's get away from this.

[Jennicut]

26. In other words McInsane blew his top, called Brokaw and he had a talking to with Chuckie

Not really Chuckie's fault but it is the fault of tightass time clock nazi and McLame best buddy Tom Brokaw. MSNBC has gone downhill since he got in charge of some things there. As for Obama and Biden they always seem very comfortable with each other, maybe because they actually knew each other since 2004! McPahlin barely know each other.

[VolcanoJen]

27. I think Brian Williams drove this; he said almost the same thing on Morning Joe

Williams pushed back hard on Chuck Todd's "Hardball" comments yesterday. My jaw was dropping... I thought to myself, "Well, I watched Todd live on Hardball yesterday, and he was speaking from his heart, and he was almost a little nervous and scared to say what he was saying. Which is what made his comments sound so honest."

Unbelievable. I guess Steve Schmidt sent another strongly-worded letter to Brokaw, Williams, and their corporate overlords??

[ErinBerin84]

30. I think so too

Brian Williams had a "oh shoot" look on his face when Chuck Todd went off the reservation...I guess it is only appropriate for them to make projections about the Obama camp/the Hillary camp, the relationship between the Obama and Hillary camp, etc. Christ, MSNBC had actual body language experts on to discuss the Hillary/Obama dynamic when they started campaigning together...this was different though. This didn't seem like anything that crossed the line to me...it's a fucking analysis. Chuck Todd's done a lot of analysis I've disagreed with lately, but he's never had to do a "retraction"...analysis is an opinion/projection. They talked about Obama/Biden chemistry in the past too...I've heard Republicans like Ed Rollins dicuss the McCain/Palin dynamic. the McCain camp are fucking wimps...I can only imagine what the press is going to be like if we have to deal with a McCain/Palin administration.

[WeDidIt]

37. I'm betting something happened off camera

and that's what lead to (Up) Chuck's statement.

Then they got called on the carpet over it.

[VolcanoJen]

49. Yep. And Williams & Brokaw don't care for MSNBC's Golden Boy, Keith Olbermann

It's weird. Considering the BOFFO ratings that real liberals like Olbermann and Rachel Maddown get, well, you'd think these assholes would put business first. But, no.

It's so frustrating. I'm taking Chuck Todd at his initial word. We all should.

[No Elephants]

31. No offense intended to pimps and whores, but I cannot decide if NBC and MSNBC are more like pimps or

more like whores.

[Cha]

33. I bet there are some of both..

the honchos at the top and then there's the stable of mediawhore$$.

[Cha]

34. Yeah, it's worth repeating... I bet there are some of both..

the honchos at the top and then there's the stable of mediawhore$$.

[progressivebydesign]

42. More likely it was a nasty phone call to their bosses at 5am... talking points.

Don't ya love how the media itself is trying to imply that Obama/Biden are getting an unfair amount of positive press? Guess Todd and Williams have forgotten the hideously NASTY personality of McCain, and the vindictive witchiness of Palin.

[VolcanoJen]

50. Yup.

Remember, it's really "unfair" when the black guy is beating the old white guy. :eyes:

[Divine Discontent]

54. I think Williams drove this too - he looked uncomfortable when Todd was being a pundit about what he

saw from the interview. I thought he might back out of the camera shot!

MORE AT www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

28. "I apologize for reporting what I saw."

"Don't worry, it won't happen again."

[Lex]

51. My impression of him too.

How pathetic.

[beachmom]

32. I agree that he engaged in "dangerous punditry". I am glad he

said what he said of his gut level impression, and I am glad he backed off of it. Chuck Todd is a good man and journalist, but he is at his best when he sticks to the facts.

[ShortnFiery]

35. Chuck Todd is a media whore. Always has been and always will be "a servant" to Corporate Masters.

:evilgrin:

[grantcart]

40. lol I was wondering how long it took for you to get whacked for your common sense

Did you ever notice how those that accuse a particular reporter of being a 'media whore' are the mirror equivalents to the whacked out nut jobs who accuse the same reporter of whoring for us at exactly the same time? lol

[beachmom]

43. Yup. I really liked that phrase "dangerous punditry". The truth

is the punditry gets in the way of real reporting. I think Chuck Todd was stellar in his reading of data, especially in the primaries, and even in the internals of polling. He gets himself into trouble when he opines on things that are less fact based. Plus, one time he said something that made me mad, so I e-mailed him, and he wrote back! He does care a great deal about integrity.

[Alter Ego]

36. Weak, Chuck. Very weak.

You're a spineless fool for bowing to pressure from the McCain campaign.

[shaniqua6392]

38. Chuckie got a spanking from the McCain campaign!!

Hilarious and pathetic all at the same time. He is a spineless wimp who just can not get used to the idea that Obama is going to win. Tim Russert is rolling over in his grave because his protege is a Republican tool.

[progressivebydesign]

39. That was written FOR him by the McPalin people... guess he got a good spanking last night.

He's proved what a cheezeball he is when those people were caught on tape at his show dissing the Palin choice...

[grantcart]

41. Frankly while it was probably true he shouldn't have reported it and had

he said the same thing about Kerry and Obama we would have hung him in effigy.

[traveller]

45. both of your thoughts are true. Thanks

[Pattib]

56. TROLL.

[tularetom]

46. He said it on Tweety show - already backed down by the time Rachel came on

I happened to catch his little statement on the Tweety show and said to myself he's gonna get his weenie wacked for talking like this.

Sure enough by the time he appeared on Rachel Maddow a couple of hours later he had changed his story significantly - no mention of "bad chemistry" or "tension".

It's clear to me he got bitch slapped by Tom Drunkaw in the interim.

[mzmolly]

47. I hate to say

I agree but I do. That said, this is just more publicity over what he said. ;)

It was far more "dangerous" not to question the war, I might add.

[ErinBerin84]

48. aw well

hope he's willing to lecture David Gregory about his "dangerous punditry" too....he projects the most out of any of the supposed "straight reporters", in my opinion.

[rvablue]

52. K&R...I was going to post a prediction that this was going to happen before

I read your post.

I fucking knew it.

And get ready for Hardball this afternoon when Tweety goes AFTER whatever Dem is on in order to do the same type of Mea Culpa for the justifiable drubbing her gave HuffnPuff yesterday.

I saw the whole late night last night when they reran it, and even though I read about it earlier here in DU, I couldn't believe my eyes that some real truth was actually getting out on MSNBC.

ARGHHHH!

[Cha]

58. But it's not fucking Dangerous Pundrity to slur

Obama all time? Eh, pundits who live on the edge?