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Notes From the August 14, 2011 Broadcast of Meet The Press
Today's broadcast began with a recap of Republican presidential nomination news over the last 48 hours: Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) won the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa (a near tie with Rep. Ron Paul [R-TX] actually), Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) got into the race and was immediately dubbed a front-runner by the press, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) dropped out of the race.
Bachmann was host David Gregory's first guest today, and she was clearly going out of her way to appear calm, collected, and nice. She avoided any swipes at Pawlenty (a longtime rival) and talked about how she has attracted Democratic and Independent votes in Minnesota. She even said, "most Democrats are reasonable, fair minded people."
Her tone felt like a deliberate and strategic pivot to make sure she looks presidential and can shake the "crazy" label. Gregory pushed her fairly hard on a few things and, for the most part, she stuck to this game plan. She gave the same answer she had in the debate on the "wives must be submissive" question.
Gregory played a clip where Bachmann says the gay life is sad, part of satan, and a type of sexual dysfunction. In response, she said she is opposed to gay marriage and tried to dodge the other characterizations.
Gregory kept pushing, and Bachmann did seem to wilt a little. She couldn't back down on her statements about homosexuals, but she also knows she can't win the national race with those views. A friend of mine said Bachmann's "brain failed" in this section. Maybe, but she did remain calm and restrained which was apparently job number 1 for this interview overall.
At one point, Bachmann threw out a statistic about the number of people at the US Department of Transportation earning over $170,000. She said there was only 1 at the start of the Obama Administration and now there are over a thousand. She uses this as part of her usual stump speech. In the past, Meet The Press has declined to do post-show fact-checking on their guests. But this is the kind of statement which cries out for more detail and could have been anticipated. I did a quick Google search and found that while the basic fact is true, the context is also important and the timeframe may differ from Bachmann's claims.
In the roundtable, NBC's Chuck Todd declared Perry, Bachmann, and Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) as the "top tier" of candidates. Gov. Terry Brandstad (R-IA) said Romney needs to get to Iowa and start competing.
Republican strategist Mike Murphy wondered out loud if his party is about to nominate "our own McGovern" or instead nominate someone who can win.
The Washington Post's Eugene Robinson said Bachmann is going to drive Perry and Romney crazy throughout this process. But Murphy said Perry is a barracuda who will eat Bachmann for lunch.
Todd's analysis is that the rest of the field has to keep running to the right to get the nomination, while Bachmann, after winning in Ames, may now have a chance to run toward the center. On the other hand, he adds that the GOP presidential nomination race looks like it could go all the way to June. If so, it will be a race to win the right wing which will leave the ultimate nominee in a very tough place for competing in the general election.
Today’s Meet The Press transcript will be here.
Also follow the show on the MTP Facebook page, track Twitter feeds from host David Gregory, Meet The Press, and Executive Producer Betsy Fischer, watch the midweek PressPass interview, and don't forget Gregory's blog.
This week on Meet The Press.
Notes From the August 7, 2011 Broadcast of Meet The Press
Today's broadcast began with Senator John Kerry (D-MA) reacting to the horrible loss of American lives in a helicopter shot down over Afghanistan. As we continue to withdraw troops, there is a real uncertainty about what we are leaving behind.
Later, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) added that President Obama's decision to withdraw is not based on military advice and it will increase risk to our troops. He also said we should not condemn the Afghan people to Taliban rule.
On the Standard and Poor downgrade of the US credit rating, Kerry called it "the Tea Party downgrade" because there were much bigger deficit reduction deals on the table (deals which might have avoided the credit downgrade) but they were all rejected solely because the Tea Party would not accept them. He added that there were even some people in the Republican Party who actually wanted to default ("shoot the hostage").
Kerry says that to grow the economy we need infrastructure programs, patent reform, regulatory reform, waste cutting, and more. And many of these things have bipartisan plans in the Senate ready to go.
McCain followed and he put more of the blame for a lackluster deal on the deficit and debt ceiling on the president. He suggests buying up and restructuring peoples' mortgages as a way to provide some economic relief.
In the roundtable portion of the show, former federal reserve chairman Alan Greenspan predicts markets will go down this week due to the credit downgrade. But he says we should remember that the US can always pay its debts, even if it means just printing more money. He added that the real impact of the downgrade is a blow to America's self-esteem.
Austan Goolsbee, the outgoing head of the president's economic advisors, criticized Standard and Poor for their 2 trillion dollar mathematical error in the downgrade calculations. He also quoted Warren Buffet who said that if a AAAA credit rating existed, he would give it to the United States. Goolsbee said that, on the other hand, we just went through a month where some members of Congress said out loud that maybe it would be OK if the US defaulted. This is deeply unsettling and it contributed to the credit downgrade.
The comments by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and Republican advisor Alex Castellanos showed how the right and left will spin the Standard and Poor's downgrade statement. The right says this is even more evidence that we are spending too much. The left will say Standard and Poor explicitly said they were more spooked by the political failure of Washington, DC to compromise, the brinksmanship which toyed with default, than by the financial problems.
Goolsbee comes back to the things (mentioned earlier by Kerry) which seemed to have bipartisan support at some point and could help the economy. These include infrastructure, payroll tax cuts, patent reform, and more. Doing these things would not only help the economy, they would also send the message that DC really can do something.
Greenspan wraps up by saying there is no way to solve these problems which won't cause pain.
A programming note... next week's Meet The Press will be live from Ames, Iowa the morning after the Ames Straw Poll for Republican presidential candidates.
Today’s Meet The Press transcript will be here.
Also follow the show on the MTP Facebook page, track Twitter feeds from host David Gregory, Meet The Press, and Executive Producer Betsy Fischer, watch the midweek PressPass interview, and don't forget Gregory's blog.
Notes From the July 31, 2011 Broadcast of Meet The Press
Today's broadcast started with an outline of the newly emerging compromise on raising the debt ceiling and reducing the deficit. Then came presidential advisor David Plouffe who said the White House's number one goal for this legislation (beyond raising the debt ceiling) is that it solve the problem until 2013. And the plan currently includes this.
The plan also includes a trillion dollars worth of cuts now and then a second round of deficit reduction to be decided upon by a "super committee," and this could include both increased revenues and spending cuts. If the committee can't agree, it would trigger across the board cuts in all (most?) government programs.
Host David Gregory says he has spoken to "top figures on Wall Street" who say this is a "code red day, all hands on deck" preparing for a market shock as early as tomorrow.
Plouffe says that sometime soon, the Treasury Department will lay out exactly what will happen in case of default, specifically who will and will not be paid with the remaining money in US accounts.
Plouffe repeated the White House position that the 14th amendment is not an option for solving this crisis.
Gregory asks Plouffe if Washington's failure to lead opens the door to a serious third party movement. Plouffe dances in his answer.
Next up were Senators Jim Thune (R-SD) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO). Thune says he wants a plan with no tax increases, spending cuts at least equal to the amount by which the debt ceiling is raised, and a path to entitlement reforms. He says in the current plan being discussed, the "super committee" could include revenue increases, but he hopes that if they do, it will be about reform which broadens the tax base and lowers tax rates.
McCaskill says, "Republicans have voted to keep giving taxpayer checks to Big Oil while voting to convert the Medicare system to vouchers. This does not compute for us."
Thune likes the across-the-board enforcement option. McCaskill is in favor of Medicare reform which might mean that we "stop buying Warren Buffet his prescription drugs," but stops short of turning the system into a voucher program.
In the roundtable, CNBC's Jim Kramer says the range of concern on Wall Street about what US default would mean is staggering. We could easily see a 2 to 3% drop in the markets, maybe more, if nothing is done. He later adds that we are looking at a new recession, this time caused by government.
NBC's Tom Brokaw adds that a "political default" is already in place. The people now have no confidence in the system. Brokaw says Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) told him the next step in this process should be real reform, not just slashing of spending. He says we mismanaged the growth of government, let's not mismanage the shrinking as well.
Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has not been telling the truth about a specific compromise plan discussed last week. Labrador's focus on the day to day details of these politics is disturbing at this point of the crisis.
A little later, former Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-MI) makes a point about real economic growth coming from improving the business climate. You might think a fiscal conservative like Rep. Labrador would applaud this. But instead he comes back with a set of facts he brought with him about how unemployment soared during Granholm's time in office. This was a very odd exchange. What was Labrador's end game?
Throughout the program, Rep. Labrador showed a tendency to take small differences and turn them into ideological swords. He seemed to have no sense of the gravity of the current situation. He was like a man in a burning building complaining that the chairs were uncomfortable.
Brokaw may have been reacting to this when he pointed out that there are no political winners in this crisis. Everyone comes out looking like a loser.
Later, however, Brokaw said the tea party people did what Americans have done throughout history. They got angry, they got organized, they got people elected, and they brought about change. He said, that path is still open to anyone who doesn't like these changes.
Today’s Meet The Press transcript will be here.
Also follow the show on the MTP Facebook page, track Twitter feeds from host David Gregory, Meet The Press, and Executive Producer Betsy Fischer, watch the midweek PressPass interview, and don't forget Gregory's blog.
Hmmm... I wonder what the topic will be.
Notes From the July 24, 2011 Broadcast of Meet The Press
Today's broadcast began with host David Gregory trying to nail down White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley on whether or not the president would accept a short-term or two-part plan on the debt ceiling and deficit reduction. Daley mostly danced. But he did say that, at a minimum, the plan must get the debt ceiling problem solved until 2013.
When asked about why politicians might be able to solve the problem later when they can't solve it today, he said, "Hope springs eternal."
Daley said there has already been "enormous damage" done to the US image as the AAA, gold standard in the global economy.
He said the people voted for divided government, not dysfunctional government, but too often he faces a "my way or the highway" attitude from Republicans. He used the FAA layoffs as an example.
Daley says he is convinced Congressional leaders will not allow default, but we are in a moment when markets worldwide are questioning whether the political system in DC can actually compromise and reach agreement.
Next up, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) illustrated exactly why world markets are in a state of alarm about the US. He immediately called the president's position on the need for a 2013 deal on the debt ceiling "ridiculous."
Coburn offered nothing new and very little hope of compromise. If the Asian markets were watching Meet The Press this morning, the collapse may begin in a few hours.
In the roundtable, former Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) says politics reflects society. By this he means we will see the emergence of a new governing coalition in this country based on independents. Republicans and Democrats are being rejected in every poll. The last three elections have each seen the party in power thrown out.
Doris Kearns Goodwin agrees and calls for passionate centrists to step forward.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) and freshman Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) both came across as thoughtful, passionate people who could perhaps transcend political party dynamics. In fact, I bet if we let the two of them draft a debt ceiling/deficit reduction plan, they would come up with something 70% of Americans would support.
Unfortunately, back here in the real world, Daley and Coburn are the people in charge. And it is unclear if they can pull America back from the brink.
Today’s Meet The Press transcript will be here.
Also follow the show on the MTP Facebook page, track Twitter feeds from host David Gregory, Meet The Press, and Executive Producer Betsy Fischer, watch the midweek PressPass interview, and don't forget Gregory's blog.
Today's behind-the-scenes Instagram photo from Meet The Press.
After today's dramatic press conference with President Obama, Sunday's broadcast could be a real barn burner.
No summary notes from me this week. Headed to Wrigley Field.
Notes from the July 10, 2011 broadcast of Meet The Press
Unfortunately, I only have time for a few quick observations today. Today's broadcast opened with Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner discussing the Debt Ceiling showdown, particularly the walkout of Speaker of the House John Boehner from the most ambitious talks.
Geithner said President Obama is willing to make cuts in places his political base won't like. And he hopes the Republicans will also be willing to do politically difficult things, but so far they haven't.
The secretary made it clear that on August 2, if Congress doesn't act, credit agencies around the world will lower our credit rating for the first time in history. This will hurt all Americans and all American businesses.
When asked about the economic recovery, Geithner says things are still going to be very tough for a long time.
Next up, Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota. "The president is to blame for the economy," said Pawlenty.
Pawlenty defended his, thus far, lackluster campaign. In the Iowa August Straw Poll, he says his campaign must improve on the current 6th or 7th place he has in the Des Moines Register poll.
In an interesting twist, later commented on by NBC's Chuck Todd, Pawlenty said his presidential rival Rep. Michelle Bachmann's record in Congress is non-existent. Pawlenty now seems to be running against Bachmann more than against the front-runner, former Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA).
Host David Gregory pushed Pawlenty hard on the issue of fanaticism and purity in the GOP keeping the country from a budget/debt ceiling deal. Pawlenty did not back down, even under threat of a credit rating downgrade or default.
In the roundtable, Chuck Todd said part of the reason Boehner walked out of the grand bargain talks is that no Republican presidential candidate was cutting him any slack on exactly those "purity" issues, especially even small tax increases.
Todd and Eugene Robinson agreed that the Obama White House now sees offering up the "big deal" on debt ceiling, and having Republicans squirm, is a political winner for them.
The show ended with a nice tribute to the late former first lady, Betty Ford.
Today’s Meet The Press transcript will be here.
Also follow the show on the MTP Facebook page, track Twitter feeds from host David Gregory, Meet The Press, and Executive Producer Betsy Fischer, watch the midweek PressPass interview, and don't forget Gregory's blog.
David Gregory Gives New Tour of MTP Set
Watch as Meet The Press host David Gregory gives a set tour to Ivan Carter of CSN Washington.
Chaos on Today Show; David Gregory Steps In
Watch: 'Octomom's 14 children disrupt 'Today Show' interview
Notes from the June 26, 2011 broadcast of Meet The Press
Today's broadcast featured Governor Chris "I-am-not-running-for president" Christie (R-NJ). Christie is hot off a big budget victory in New Jersey which limited union benefits and rights. He says it will save the state $120 billion over the next 30 years.
When asked about the budget stalemate at the federal level, he said President Obama must get personally involved in the negotiations. According to Christie, the executive has to be the guy out there pushing and leading.
Also on the federal budget, he says the GOP has set significant long term debt and deficit reduction as a principle. Without that, he says, the country is "careening into an economic crisis" none of us can handle. Christie adds that we are in no danger of cutting too much spending
On Afghanistan, he wisely decided not to comment.
Will he endorse a Republican candidate during the primaries? Not necessarily. He says Americans want someone who will look them in the eye and tell them the truth even if it is unpopular.
On whether or not he is personally too abrasive, he says "I am huggable and lovable." Everyone in politics sounds the same, he adds, but I don't. He has ruled out a presidential run many times, and here he repeats his additional conclusion that any candidate would be crazy to pick him as a running mate.
Next up were Senators Jack Reed (R-RI) and James Webb (D-VA). Reed says the president's announced pace of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan seems appropriate. Webb said his concern is that we need to do more to rebuild our own country and also focus on new security challenges like China.
Host David Gregory probed the ambiguity around whether the president has a counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism strategy in Afghanistan. Webb says this is a legitimate question but had no answer.
Libya was discussed, but not much new was said. Web questioned our role there and the president's rationale. The Senate is preparing a Kerry-McCain resolution giving support to limited engagement in Libya. Webb says he will support the amendments to the resolution being drafted by Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN).
The roundtable featured David Brooks and Matt Bai of the New York Times and Katty Kay of the BBC. Across the board there was worry that the Congressional negotiators will cut a budget deal but the public won't buy it. This debate, therefore, should be out in the public both to build support and re-assure the markets.
The new Iowa poll is interesting, says Bai, but meaningless.
Note that there is NO Meet The Press next Sunday due to NBC's Wimbledon coverage.
Today’s Meet The Press transcript will be here.
Also follow the show on the MTP Facebook page, track Twitter feeds from host David Gregory, Meet The Press, and Executive Producer Betsy Fischer, watch the midweek PressPass interview, and don't forget Gregory's blog.