From his Meetthe Press interview withHouse Speaker John Boehner (2/13/11): On entitlements, like Social Security, you said the retirement age should be raised, but you said you don't want to get into negotiating how that happens just now until the problem is better defined. Again, when it comes to leadership, when it comes to the need to, you know, have no limit on cutting, don't you think Americans understand what the problem with Social Security is? What will it take for you to join with the White House to make real reform to deal with this piece of the budget? [...]
Jan
10
2011
Violent Rhetoric and False Balance
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Today in the New York Times Paul Krugman (1/10/11) suggests that we not pretend that "both sides" are responsible for toxic political rhetoric: Where's that toxic rhetoric coming from? Let's not make a false pretense of balance: It's coming, overwhelmingly, from the right. It's hard to imagine a Democratic member of Congress urging constituents to be "armed and dangerous" without being ostracized; but Rep. Michele Bachmann, who did just that, is a rising star in the GOP. …Listen to Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann, and you'll hear a lot of caustic remarks and mockery aimed at Republicans. But you won't [...]
Oct
29
2010
David Gregory Loves Michelle Rhee, Hates Criticism
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Alan Suderman at Washington City Paper (10/28/10)caught NBC host David Gregory moderating an education event at a Washington hotel, where the Meet the Press host lavished praise on controversial former D.C. schools chancellor (and media darling) Michelle Rhee: Before we begin, we have Chancellor Michelle Rhee here, and I just want to say publicly what I say privately, which is, thank you for what you've done, thank you for your commitment, for your leadership, for your stick-to-it-ness and for the result that you have achieved. Washington, D.C., will miss you greatly…. But your commitment to kids and to education endures, [...]
Jun
14
2010
Iran's Nuclear Weapons, Again
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Last October we noted ("Iraq All Over Again?," Media Advisory, 10/7/09) thatreporters and corporate pundits were often treating allegations about Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions as if they were facts. There have been no verifiable discoveries of an Iranian nuclear weapons program; the main question thus far concerns uranium enrichment, some of which could hypothetically be used in a weapon. Yesterday was a goodday to recall this history, as a Washington Post editorial (6/13/10) referred matter-of-factly to "ending the threat posed by Iran's support for terrorism and pursuit of nuclear weapons." And NBC's Meet the Press host David Gregoryreferenced "Iran's dangerous [...]
Apr
13
2010
Factchecking: At NBC, That's a Job for the Viewer
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In his stint as interim host of ABC's This Week, Jake Tapper has arranged for the fact-checkers at Politifact to review what the guests say on the ABC Sunday morning show.An idea worth applauding, it came to Tapper via NYU's Jay Rosen. The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz asked NBC Meet the Press anchor David Gregory if he'd consider a similar arrangement for his show: An "interesting idea," Gregory allows, but not one the NBC show will be emulating. "People can factcheck Meet the Press every week on their own terms."
Mar
03
2009
David Gregory Mistakes Dow for Opinion Poll
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David Gregory, host of NBC's Meet the Press (3/1/09): The Obama stimulus package, $787 billion. The housing plan, $75 billion. That's $2.3 trillion. Seven hundred and fifty billion dollars additional in this document for additional bailout money for the banks. Meantime, what metric do we have to see how people–what people think of that government intervention? The Dow is one metric. It closed on Friday at its lowest level since 1997, just over 7,000. The Dow is not a measure about what "people" think about government policies. It's a measure of what the tiny, elite group of people who trade [...]
Feb
23
2009
David Gregory, Fat Cat in Denial
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David Gregory sticking up for bank stockholders on Meet the Press (2/22/09): There's a larger point here, which is, first of all, the more…the shares of…these banks gets talked down…the closer you get to wiping out the shareholder completely. And it's, it's not clear to me that everybody understands that the investor in this country, who is not just a fat cat, the investor is us…. It is the taxpayer, it's the teacher, it's someone who's invested in a 401(k). The investors on the sidelines, scared to death about taking any risk. And unless that changes, this economy really can't [...]
Oct
07
2008
Pundit Projection Syndrome
The affliction that causes national political commentators to project their own perceptions onto the public– let's call it Pundit Projection Syndrome–is affecting David Gregory's ability to come to grips with the fact that the public just wasn't as into John McCain's and Sarah Palin's debate performances as he was. Last night on his MSNBC show, Race for the White House With David Gregory (10/6/08), the anchor demonstrated his confusion in a discussion with liberal-leaning pundit Laurence O'Donnell: GREGORY: Yes. Lawrence, let me show you another number here, which pertains to the debates in particular. Which ticket is doing better in [...]
