Meet the Press

Every four years, just as the speculation over potential running mates reaches a fever pitch, contrarian voices speak up to dismiss it all as much ado about nothing. They are wrong.

Take, for example, this Sunday’s Meet the Press. After discussing this year’s usual VP suspects with the shows’ other two panelists, moderator Tom Brokaw turned to Judy Woodruff, cited the example of 1988 – when the Democratic ticket received no tangible Election Day boost from Lloyd Bentsen’s utter dominance of Dan Quayle in the VP matchup – and asked: “In the final analysis, Judy, how much difference does it make?”

Woodruff took the cue.  read more »

Barack Obama's response to one of Tom Brokaw's six attempts to engage him on his running-mate search on yesterday's Meet the Press, which I wrote about last night, is getting some attention today.

Asked by Brokaw whether geography will dictate his selection, Obama said:

"I'm going to want somebody with integrity. I'm going to want somebody with independence, who's willing to tell me where he thinks or she thinks I'm wrong. And I'm going to want somebody who shares a vision of the country where we need to go, that we've got to fundamentally change not only our policies, but how our politics works, how business is done in Washington.  read more »

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Not surprisingly, Tom Brokaw tried six different times to prod Barack Obama into saying something revealing about his running-mate deliberations on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.” And not surprisingly, Obama refused to play along.

For the record, Brokaw specifically inquired whether Obama: (1) feels extra pressure to put a national security expert on his ticket; (2) is inclined “to break the old rules” and ignore geography in his selection; (3) might be tempted choose “a Southern white male Protestant,” the demographic designation that has correlated with most of the Democratic Party’s national victories since 1960; (4) is considering Hillary Clinton; (5) is, as claimed by a Hillary backer who received a phone call from Obama recently, less inclined to pick her because of her husband; (6) will, because of timing issues related to the Olympics (which will be broadcast by NBC!), wait until the Democratic convention in late August to announce his selection.  read more »

In recent weeks, as NBC executives continue to search for a long term replacement for the late Tim Russert as the moderator of Meet the Press, several TV news insiders have speculated to the Media Mob that Ted Koppel was a possibility.

So much for that.

Today, TV Newser has an interview with Mr. Koppel in which the veteran newsman more or less shoots down that possibility.

"That's the kind of thing that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me," Mr. Koppel told a Russertian-sounding Gail Shister. "They need to find somebody younger than Tim, not older than Tim.  read more »

Barack Obama the naïve sapling is out, replaced – for the time being at least – by a different caricature: the cunning opportunist, wrapping himself in the mantle of reform in ruthless and amoral pursuit of the White House.

The image began taking hold in the media last week, when Obama rationalized his way out of a previous commitment to make a good-faith effort at participating in the public financing system for the general election.

Given his earlier cutesiness on Nafta, his now infamous 130 “present” votes in the Illinois legislature and his penchant for blaming his staff for his own mistakes, the campaign funding flap could serve as a tipping point in the media’s portrayal of Obama.  read more »

No long-term decisions have been made, but Brian Williams will host Meet the Press this Sunday.

His guests will include Lindsey Graham and Joseph Biden, the scheduled guests for Meet the Press on June 16 before Tim Russert's sudden death last week. Jacques Steinberg of The New York Times has the news from NBC's spokeswoman, Allison Gollust.

Yesterday afternoon, politicians, journalists, news executives, friends and family members gathered at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. for a 90-minute memorial service honoring the late Tim Russert.

The moving ceremony reached an emotional peak when Mr. Russert's 22-year-old son Luke took the stage and spoke eloquently about his father's unfailing optimism, his faith in God, and his enthusiasm for life.

"Great men often lead with their egos," said Luke Russert. "Tim Russert led with his heart, his compassion, and, most importantly, his honor. He had a great time living, and is no doubt having the time of his life now in heaven.  read more »

On Sunday morning, Tom Brokaw hosted a special edition of Meet the Press, honoring the late Tim Russert. He was joined in the Meet the Press studio in Washington D.C. by James Carville, Mary Matalin, Mike Barnicle, Gwen Ifill, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and MTP Executive Producer Betsy Fischer. Maria Shriver patched in from Sun Valley, Idaho.

"Tim has a very large wooden sign in his office and it's going to be our mantra for this morning," said Mr. Brokaw at the outset. "It says, ‘thou shall not whine.' If I could add anything to that, I think, thou shall not weep or cry this morning. This is a celebration."  read more »

In the aftermath of Tim Russert’s sudden death, the Los Angeles Times speculates on who NBC News executives will choose to replace Mr. Russert as the host of Meet the Press.

“Speculation on possible successors centers on three on-air personalities already under contract to NBC: David Gregory, the former White House correspondent recently given his own MSNBC show, "Race for the White House"; Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's long-running "Hardball"; and Joe Scarborough, the former congressman and host of "Morning Joe" on MSNBC, according to talent representatives who declined to speak on the record for fear of jeopardizing relationships with network management,” reports the L.A. Times.

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Tim Russert, NBC's Washington bureau chief and the influential host of its Sunday morning program Meet the Press, died the afternoon of Friday June, 13, after collapsing from a heart attack while recording voice-over segments for Sunday's show at NBC's Washington news bureau. He was 58.

had previously been diagnosed with coronary artery disease, which he treated with medication and exercise. After the collapse, medics rushed Russert to Sibley Memorial Hospital, where efforts to resuscitate him failed. According to doctors at the scene, cholesterol plaque had ruptured an artery in Russert’s heart, which was enlarged, an autopsy later revealed.

Tom Brokaw announced the news of Russert’s death on the air for NBC. His colleagues were shocked and grief stricken. Doris Kearns Goodwin, who has known Russert for about a decade and was a frequent guest of his on Meet the Press was in tears after a television station broke the news to her with a telephone call.

"I feel so bad," she told The Observer. "He was such a good friend."

"Somebody just called from the television studio and said have you heard the horrible news about Tim and I thought he must have been in a plane crash,” she added. "He's a giant and he's the best. I loved him…I can't imagine what the news bureau is going through down there. I heard it is just wailing.”  read more »

Bob Shrum, a Democratic strategist and frequent guest on Meet the Press, said he thinks that Tim Russert was "the greatest political interviewer of our time and maybe all time."

"He held people to account. Politicians love to change their views depending on circumstances -- they are only human -- and there was Tim with a quote from six months ago, a year ago, five years ago, to put it up on the screen and say, 'Well, how do you explain your position today, when you said this five years ago?'

"The other thing he did was he reinvented the Sunday talk show. The Sunday talk show could have died. He gave it new life and drama and people really cared about it. And at a human level, he was just a terrific person. He knew my father was sick, he sent him an audio book with an autograph. Of course he wouldn't open it because he didn't want to ruin the autograph. I told Tim and he said, 'I owe you another audio book.' But I find the whole thing unbelievable. I'm supposed to be taping a show with him next Thursday and I'm talking to you about him in the past tense.

"The other thing is that he was a progressive Democrat, he never made any secret about that, but he was totally fair. You could get people on both sides of the aisle to say that. Tough. He could be very tough. But he said what he thought. So on the night of Indiana and North Carolina he looked in to the camera and said we now know who the Democratic nominee for president is going to be, and he was right. Some people criticized him for that, but it was the truth."

More on the Paterson press conference, from intern Bharat Ayyar:

Just moments after the conclusion of the event, David Paterson went back up to the podium to address the sudden passing of NBC anchor Tim Russert.

“He was a resident of Buffalo, New York, had worked in the governor’s office of the State of New York, and has been an outstanding journalist," he said. "For those who watched Meet the Press every Sunday, any guest on that program was subjected to his steadfast, disciplined, critical and honest nature."

"The world was benefited by his contributions," Paterson continued. "We send our deepest sympathies and prayers to the family of Tim Russert."

From John McCain:

"I am very saddened by Tim Russert's sudden death. Cindy and I extend our thoughts and prayers to the Russert family as they cope with this shocking loss and remember the life and legacy of a loving father, husband and the preeminent political journalist of his generation. He was truly a great American who loved his family, his friends, his Buffalo Bills, and everything about politics and America. He was just a terrific guy. I was proud to call him a friend, and in the coming days, we will pay tribute to a life whose contributions to us all will long endure."

From New York State Democratic Party Chair June O'Neill:

“Tim Russert was a New York original, a die-hard Bills fan and an old friend to many of us in the New York State Democratic Party. A native of Buffalo, Tim was a local hero who I first got to know when he went to work for Pat Moynihan’s campaign and later on Mario Cuomo’s campaign for Governor. For all Americans he was a trusted voice on the issues of the day, but for New Yorkers he was like an old friend who we tuned into every night and on Sunday mornings. He had a wonderful sense of humor, was a true blue Democrat and just a great guy. On behalf of all New York Democrats, I want to express our deepest sympathies to Tim’s wife Maureen, their son Luke and the entire Russert family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”

We'll be adding more here.  read more »

In her embrace of a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax – an idea that virtually every credible economist agrees is a gimmick – Hillary Clinton is making the same bet that delivered her husband to the Democratic nomination 16 years ago: that voters prefer promises of free candy to the truth.

In 1992, with the country mired in an economic slump, Bill Clinton made a middle-class tax cut the centerpiece of his presidential campaign.  read more »

When he deputized Warren Christopher to oversee his search for a running mate in the spring of 1992, Bill Clinton recoiled at the suggestion that he might use the process to float names and score political points.

“I think it’s important not to play games with people’s names,” Clinton insisted. “I don’t think that’s a good thing to do.”

Sixteen years later, though, that’s precisely what Bill and Hillary Clinton are doing as they try to damn Barack Obama—the front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination—with the faint praise that he’d make a fine candidate for vice president.

“I’ve had people say, ‘Well I wish I could vote for both of you,’” Hillary said in Mississippi late last week. “Well, that might be possible some day. But first I need your vote on Tuesday.”  read more »

During a grilling of Ralph Nader on Sunday morning, Tim Russert noted that the 73-year-old consumer advocate is now launching his third presidential campaign and asked if Nader was worried about becoming the Wendell Willkie of his generation.

Actually, the independent bid that Nader announced on “Meet the Press” will be his fifth White House campaign: Besides his 2004 and 2000 efforts, there was also 1996, when he ran as the Green Party’s nominee in about 10 states; and 1992, when he ran as a write-in candidate in a series of Democratic primaries to protest the lack of a “none of the  read more »

Twice since Bill and Hillary made their way onto the national stage has the United States been involved in a major war.  read more »

There are two Mitt Romneys—the one who ran twice in Massachusetts as a moderate-to-liberal Republican and the one now running for the G.O.P. presidential nomination as a red-meat conservative.

When these two diametrically opposite characters end up meeting each other, awkward comedy ensues. Case in point: this weekend.  read more »

It just goes to show that in the world of Republican presidential politics, there’s no such thing as being too conservative on gay rights.

The news that Mike Huckabee advocated the quarantine of AIDS patients in 1992—the same year an H.I.V.-positive Magic Johnson was a starter on the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team and was named M.V.P. of the N.B.A.’s All-Star Game—is actually expected to boost his credibility with the Christian conservatives who hold sway in critical early primary and caucus states, like Iowa and South Carolina.  read more »

For the love of God, please stop enabling them.  read more »

After the influential Meet the Press audience had turned its television sets off, Mr. Dodd at last offered a truly newsworthy pronouncement that might have ramifications both on the campaign trail and on Capitol Hill.  read more »

Mr. Edwards is contributing mightily to the base’s deeply flawed reading of the political realities in Congress when it comes to ending the Iraq war.  read more »

On Sunday, the idea that Kerry ever considered using McCain as a running-mate seemed laughable.  read more »