Free Republic

Look At The Bags Under His Eyes, And The Makeup Makes Him Look Worse

Think John McCain did pretty well in last evening's Saddleback Civil Forum on Presidency hosted by the Rev. Rick Warren? You're not the only one. The Obama campaign thinks he did well too -- so good, in fact, that they think he might have cheated. And on this morning's "Meet the Press," Andrea Mitchell wasted no time floating the Obama campaign's "private" concern:

Tom Brokaw will replace Tim Russert as moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press” through the November presidential election, the network announced today. Brokaw, 68, filled in for the first post-Russert week. “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams was the host today, and revealed Russert's interim successor during the broadcast. NBC News President Steve Capus said: "A lot has been said in recent days about what 'Meet the Press' means to NBC News and to the nation. To have someone of Tom's stature step up and dedicate himself to ensuring its ongoing success is not only a testament to his loyalty...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NBC News picked veteran Tom Brokaw to moderate "Meet the Press" through the 2008 U.S. election season, NBC News President Steve Capus said on Sunday. Tim Russert, the longtime host of the Sunday morning news program who was known for his interviews of leading U.S. political figures, died of a heart attack on June 13. He was also the television network's Washington bureau chief.

Tim Russert has been dead a week but that hasn't stopped the nakedly ambitous potato heads at MSNBC from lusting after his Meet The Press job. Word is out and reported by Page Six at the New York Post that both hysterically hyper Chris Matthews and that bumbling bufoon Keith Olbermann are both jockeying for position in the MTP sweepstakes: TIM Russert's body wasn't even cold in the ground before MSNBC anchors Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann started jockeying for his job, sources claim. .....

MSNBC/NBC News announce that Brian Williams will take over Meet The Press on a trial run starting this Sunday.

NBC anchor Brian Williams will be the first to fill in for Tim Russert as the host for "Meet the Press" this Sunday, the network said today. Russert died suddenly last week of cardiac arrest. After Williams, several different NBC news personalities are expected to rotate as the host of the Sunday morning interview show until a permanent replacement is named - sometime later this year or early next.

One of the names being mentioned as a replacement for Tim Russert on "Meet the Press" is Chris Matthews. Matthews is one of the biggest horse's patooties on television, if not the biggest, a man so enamored of of his own grating voice that he can barely stop talking long enough to let a guest get a word in. Much like Charley Rose, only worse, Matthews is master of the run-on question. He goes on and on, and just when the guest detects that Matthews is about to take a breath and tries to jump in with an answer, Matthews...

Still reeling from Tim Russert's death, NBC News must now contemplate replacing the man who not only dominated the Sunday morning talk shows, but served as chief political commentator and ran the Washington bureau. The "Meet the Press" host had what was arguably the most important and far-reaching job in television news, particularly in an election year. He died of a heart attack Friday while preparing for another week's edition of "Meet the Press." NBC wasn't talking about potential successors while planning Russert's wake on Tuesday and memorial service Wednesday that will be televised on MSNBC from the Kennedy Center....

The Talk Shows Sunday, June 15th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas; American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Red Cavaney; Earth Day Network President Kathleen Rogers. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Tribute to late host Tim Russert.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La.; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.THIS WEEK (ABC): Former Sens. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., and John Edwards, D-N.C.LATE EDITION (CNN) : Reps. John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.; Gov. Janet Napolitano, D-Ariz.; Douglas Holtz-Eakin,...

Tim Russert, the Democratic operative turned NBC commentator who revolutionized Sunday morning television and infused journalism with his passion for politics, died this afternoon. Russert, 58, collapsed while recording voiceovers for his Sunday morning interview program, NBC reported. He was initially reported to have suffered a heart attack while working in his office on Washington's Nebraska Avenue, but the network said later only that he was "stricken at the bureau" and subsequently died. Further details were not immediately available. Russert served as NBC's Washington bureau chief and the host of "Meet the Press," the top-rated Sunday talk show, which had...

In this photograph provided by 'Meet the Press', Terry McAuliffe, Chairman of the Clinton Campaign, speaks to host Tim Russert, right, during a taping of 'Meet the Press' at the NBC studios Sunday, May 11, 2008 in Washington. (AP Photo/Meet the Press, Alex Wong) NO SALES NO ARCHIVE, MUST USE BEFORE MAY 18, 2008 MANDATORY CREDIT ALEX WONG, 'MEET THE PRESS'

Sources close to Arianna Huffington are claiming just that. Arianna Huffington is currently on book tour for her new political tome Right Is Wrong: How The Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded The Constitution, And Made Us All Less Safe. She's booked all over CNN, ABC, and CBS (but not Fox News Channel because she chose not to go on there). And NBC? Well, one insider says she was booked on Keith Olberman and Morning Joe to talk about her tome -- and then unbooked. " Arianna's accolytes are pointing the finger at Tim Russert, well known to be ridiculously thin-skinned,...

For a moment, let's step away from the commentary, per se, and focus on the commentators. Liberals love to chide Fox News for its alleged conservative bias. So why don't we see, when it comes to being fair and balanced, how this morning's Fox News Sunday panel stacked up against that of its main competitor, Meet the Press? Here are the line-ups--you be the judge. MEET THE PRESS Host–Tim Russert Panel * David Broder–Washington Post columnist * John Dickerson–Slate * Gwen Ifill–PBS * Andrea Mitchell–NBC * Richard Wolffe–Newsweek

Calling Washington, D.C., "corporate-occupied territory," consumer advocate Ralph Nader launched his fifth campaign for the presidency Sunday. "I'm running for president," said Nader in an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." Nader downplayed the impact he might have on the ultimate outcome of the race, saying "if Democrats can't landslide the Republicans this year, they ought to just wrap up, close down, emerge in a different form."

~excerpt~ MR. RUSSERT: You say you've been deeply involved in the eight years of the Clinton administration. One of the powers given to a president is the power of pardon. At the end of the president's second term, he granted 140 pardons, including one to Marc Rich, someone who had been convicted of tax evasion, fraud and making illegal oil deals with Iran. Were you involved in that pardon? SEN. CLINTON: No. I didn't know anything about that. MR. RUSSERT: No one talked to you whatsoever? SEN. CLINTON: No. No. Unh-unh. MR. RUSSERT: His ex-wife gave $109,000 to your campaign....

Amusingly, the Politico headlines Hillary Clinton’s Meet the Press interview today “Hillary Clinton attacks Barack Obama.” The headline is somewhat inaccurate, as Clinton spent much of that interview defending herself from some dishonest attacks coming from the left. But it’s not entirely inaccurate, as she does use her defenses to poke holes in Obama’s record, or lack thereof. I guess I just “attacked” him too, by Politico’s way of thinking. On the basic substance of the racially-tinged brouhaha between the Clinton machine and the Obama campaign, the Clintons have more of the facts on their side. That’s not to say...

It appears that Senator Clinton's war machine wants her to be tough down the strectch. She continued to invoke Senater Barack Obama's name when she was asked questions about her vote to authorize the war in Iraq. When she was asked questions about personal mistakes she accused the Bush Administration of lying to the American people. In this situation the buck stops on the laps of all of her political enemies. She also blamed Obama's camp for the comment she made about Martin Luther King.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was introduced on NBC's "Meet the Press" with a bit of bad news. A new MSNBC poll finds him back in second place in Iowa behind Mitt Romney. “Has Mitt Romney said anything that’s been untrue about you?” Tim Russert asked. Huckabee replied half-jokingly, “How long do we have on this program today?” Huckabee listed the areas where he felt Romney’s ads had distorted his record, and argued that Romney “left his roads a mess in Massachusetts” and raised taxes by half a million. “Fees,” Russert interjected. Huckabee asserted that raising fees had the same...

For the first times in this race I’ve heard a candidate for the White House state that 911 was the United States’ fault? Paul excuses Osama Bin Laden in his theory that if we didn’t have troops overseas the ruthless thugs would not have attacked us. Ron Paul had to defend himself several times with I might have said that, but I’m not campaigning on it.

CHICAGO, December 26, /Christian Newswire/ -- Peter LaBarbera, longtime pro-family advocate and founder of the Republicans For Family Values website, is calling on pro-family leaders who have endorsed Mitt Romney to withdraw their support for his candidacy in light of his recent comments on NBC's "Meet the Press" supporting pro-homosexual "sexual orientation" state laws. "Mitt Romney's Christmas present to the homosexual lobby disqualifies him as a pro-family leader," LaBarbera said. "Laws that treat homosexuality as a civil right are being used to promote homosexual 'marriage,' same-sex adoption and pro-homosexuality indoctrination of schoolchildren. These same laws pose a direct threat to...

I just got finished watching Mitt Romney's performance on "Meet the Press." Snip.. --On guns, he may have gotten himself in trouble, in an attempt to diffuse the flip-flop label, by standing by his support for the Brady Bill and the 1994 assault weapons ban. He even said he would have signed an extension of the assault weapons ban when it expired in 2004. He also employed the odd phrase "weapons of unusual lethality" to describe the type of guns he would ban. --On immigration, Romney was utterly Clintonian. He said that when in November 2005 he described the Bush/McCain...

WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani doggedly insisted Sunday that threats against then-girlfriend Judith Nathan prompted the NYPD to launch her taxpayer-funded chauffeur services. "These were all based upon threat assessments made by the New York City Police Department ... of what was necessary to protect her life, my life, other people's lives," Giuliani told NBC’s Tim Russert. "Every single thing done here was done based upon the assessment of someone else that this was necessary." His explanation of Nathan's car service doesn't square with Friday’s Daily News exclusive report, citing multiple witnesses and a law enforcement source, that she was being...

Conventional wisdom is that Rudy Giuliani did a superb job beating back Tim Russert's attack on Meet the Press. That may not be correct. Giuliani spent a great deal of energy attempting to explain the unexplainable: his client list at Giuliani & Associates, his too-long support for Bernie Kerik, his on again, off again membership on the Iraq Study Group. Russert's most telling unanswered unanswerable question though, pushed into the future Rudy's decisions of the past. While New Yorkers may be jaded into boredom by the constant coverage of the Mayor's scandalous behavior while it was happening, most of America...

Fred Thompson took his acid bath this morning on Meet the Press. Measured by the traditional standards of Sunday morning political theater, it was an uneven performance. Fred did well on international affairs and "stumbled" on domestic policy. His answer on abortion in particular will come as an uncomfortable revelation to some of his more conservative supporters. I have a team of Jesuits attempting to unravel the yarn-balled logic of Fred's rambling answer, but it appears to boil down to this: "I'm 100 percent pro-life and have voted 100 percent pro-life. I hope one day Roe will be overturned and...

MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: Our Meet the Candidates 2008 series continues, an exclusive interview with Republican Fred Thompson. You've seen him as an actor on the big screen and small screen. He's been a lawyer and a lobbyist, and he was United States senator from Tennessee for eight years. And this morning he tells us why he should be the Republican nominee for president in 2008. Then we'll be joined by former NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw. The author of "The Greatest Generation" has a new book about another generation, "Boom! Voices of the Sixties." But first, this...

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) will undergo a presidential campaign rite of passage fraught with both peril and potential positives when he appears this Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Thompson has appeared on Tim Russert’s famed Sunday morning news show nine times, his campaign said, but this will be his first time as a candidate. Karen Hanretty, a spokeswoman for Thompson, said the ex-senator is grateful for the chance to expand on some issues that warrant more time than debate formats allow for. “Fred Thompson is a thoughtful candidate who has said many times that debates and 30-second sound...

The California governor likens Inhofe's stance to 'Stone Age thinking'; Inhofe is careful in his reply. WASHINGTON -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's comparison of U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe's stance on global warming to Stone Age thinking drew a mild response Monday from the Oklahoma Republican. "I admire him immensely. He is going to be one of our top leaders in the Republican Party," Inhofe said of Schwarzenegger. While careful not to criticize Schwarzenegger directly, the senator said the governor was embracing the stance that is popular in California. "In California, it is very much influenced by the Hollywood mentality," he...

The following is a transcript of an interview of Vice President Dick Cheney: NBC Studios 9:00 A.M. EDT Q Good morning. This is a special edition of Meet the Press, marking the fifth anniversary of September 11th. And joining us for the first time in three years is the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney. Welcome back. THE VICE PRESIDENT: Morning, Tim. Q Mr. Vice President, tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary of September 11th, and in many way marks the beginning of the war on terrorism. Three years ago, the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wondered out loud,...

NEW YORK In an interview in the upcoming Sunday issue of The New York Times Magazine, "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert discusses, among other things, his new book (a collection of letters about fathers) and Tony Snow's appointment as White House press secretary. But his strongest barbs are directed at liberal blogger Arianna Huffington. Asked if he reads the popular Huffington Post online, which carries a regular critique of "Meet the Press," Russert replied to Deborah Solomon, "I don't. There are so many untruths, it is scary. You know, there's a long history there." Solomon asked if he is...

MR. RUSSERT: Do you think the Iraq war was a mistake? GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER: No, I think it’s always easy in hindsight to go and say maybe if we wouldn’t have gone in, we wouldn’t have had all this hassle. But I think this is, you know, difficult to do that. I think that we had to go in, there was a threat of terrorism. I think that it was the right thing to do. It’s just now it has mushroomed into something bigger than it was ever intended to, and you know, that is always the problem. And now if...

The Talk Shows Sunday, February 26th, 2006 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): White House homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., Sen. John Warner, R-Va., Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-Calif. FACE THE NATION (CBS): National security adviser Stephen Hadley; Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Carl Levin, D-Mich.; actor Richard Gere. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Hadley; Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie; Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and...

I wasn't able to view the dust-up on last Sunday's Meet the Press and went to the MSNBC/Meet the Press website to view it on line. Interestingly, just as Mary Matlin was troucing Gregory, the on-line version went off. I've emailed them but no reply. The video feed was 48:15 minutes long but it cuts out at 38:57. I tried it three times - to no avail. Anyone else have the same problem? Though, honestly, I can see why Meet the Press wouldn't want to keep it up there, it looked as though Gregory was about to cry with Mary...

The Talk Shows Sunday, February 19th, 2006 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. THIS WEEK (ABC): Chertoff; Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va.; basketball player Shaquille O'Neal. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Chertoff; British ambassador to the United States David Manning, German ambassador to the U.S. Wolfgang Ischinger and French ambassador to the U.S. Jean-David...

Russert, time to practice what you preach Joe Fontaine, Columnist January 25, 2006 Dear Mr. Russert, I believe I speak for the entire Ripon College campus in saying that we are honored by your scheduled appearance at our upcoming Ethics of the Media conference. Your reputation as one of the most influential, honorable and able journalists working today is well-deserved, and it will be a pleasure to have you share your knowledge and insight with our campus community. I also believe that your willingness to address our campus on ethical issues provides an opportunity- if not a responsibility- for you...

Another Katrina Myth: Aaron Broussard’s “Emotional” Appearance on MTP (Updated: MSNBC/NBC Correction(?)) January 1, 2006 on 10:06 am In yesterday’s Chicago Sun-Times , Richard Roeper called Jefferson Parish, LA president Aaron Broussard’s tearful outburst, shown September 4th on Meet the Press, “One of the defining media moments of all the hurricane [Katrina] coverage”. … Aaron Broussard’s crocodile tears came at the tail-end of a tirade against FEMA, in response to a question from Tim Russert asking whether the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana could have been “more forceful, much more effective and much more organized in...

Today on NBC News' "Meet the Press," host Tim Russert boxed liberal Sen. Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.) into a corner over Schumer's opposition to Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. Russert reminded Schumer of a letter he wrote to President Bush in 2001 that said: "The ABA evaluation has been the gold standard by which judicial candidates are judged..." He then said to Schumer: "And now we have this from the ABA: 'Samuel A. Alito Jr. (nominated 11/10/05), to be an associate justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. Rating: `Well qualified' by unanimous vote of the standing committee' of the ABA. It's...

The Talk Shows Sunday, January 8th, 2006 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman and ranking Democrat, respectively, of the Senate Judiciary Committee. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Sam Brownback, R-Kan.; General Motors Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres and chief...

Broadcast veterans Tom Brokaw and Ted Koppel agree that Bill Clinton would have gone into Iraq just like George Bush if he were still president in 2003. Appearing on "Meet the Press” with Tim Russert, Brokaw and Koppel also agreed that the press shouldn't be judged too harshly for not pursuing questions about claims of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. According to a transcript appearing in Editor & Publisher, Koppel defended the media’s treatment of the WMD claims: KOPPEL: In large measure, when the president and his top people tell you, as they did, "Here's our perception of what...

Watching Tom Brokaw, Ted Koppel and Tim Russert this past Sunday wasn't quite like seeing dinosaurs asking each other what's happened to all the tasty fronds, but the year-ending edition of NBC's "Meet the Press" offered an excellent glimpse at why the elite mainstream media as we know it is facing extinction. No doubt intended as a grand treat for the viewing audience, "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert invited NBC's Tom Brokaw and ABC's Ted Koppel to ladle out some observations from their deep wells of wisdom for all of the world to imbibe. These three giants of television...

"You can call me anything you want, but do not call me a racist," said an indignant President George Bush on Dec. 12, commenting on the despicable, opportunistic suggestion that any inadequacies in the federal response to Hurricane Katrina were due to racism. But veteran network media giants Ted Koppel and Tom Brokaw don't quite see it that way. Indeed, they don't appear to see eye-to-eye with President Bush on much of anything if their joint interview with Tim Russert on NBC's "Meet the Press" is any indication. Russert was uncharacteristically tame toward these two, offering them repeated softballs concerning...

The Talk Shows Sunday, December 25th, 2005 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; musician Wynton Marsalis; and Sen. David Vitter, R-La. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Former "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw and former ABC "Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel. FACE THE NATION (CBS): CBS News correspondents review 2005 and a look ahead at 2006. THIS WEEK (ABC): Former Secretary of State Colin Powell and author Peggy Noonan.LATE EDITION (CNN) : No broadcast.

HERMETICALLY SEALED SUNDAY MORNING [Tim Graham] Oh boy, for this Sunday’s Meet the Press, Russert talks to Tom Brokaw and Ted Koppel about “politics and the press.” The pomposity level may be toxic. No media critics allowed

The Talk Shows Sunday, December 18th, 2005 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Steve Case, co-founder of America Online. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Rice; Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens. Joseph Biden, D-Del., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Army Maj. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq; Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.; Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President...

Large numbers of Iraqi voters cast their ballots for their first constitutionally mandated government on Thursday. What will the new Iraqi government mean for the people of Iraq and American troops in the region? Joining us in studio to answer those questions is the Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice. And, what is the Democratic Party's plan for Iraq? We will ask the Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), in an exclusive interview on this Sunday's "Meet the Press with Tim Russert." We then turn to the politics of Iraq, immigration, and the economy in...

There’s been a lot of suggestion by the media lately -- especially since the elections last Tuesday -- that the Republican Party is in dire trouble, and could lose control of the House and the Senate in 2006. For those interested in a side of this debate that the media are ignoring, you should watch yesterday’s “Meet the Press,” in particular the second-half with DNC chairman Howard Dean. Some of the pertinent exchanges of note (video links to follow): DR. DEAN: I think Democrats always have to stand up and tell the truth and that's what we're doing. The truth...

Tim Russert, Democrat Shill We realize Tim Russert only got his job at NBC because of Russert’s then boss Senator Patrick Moynihan’s friendship with the then head of NBC News. But Russert regularly goes beyond the call of duty to his DNC overlords. Behold this lead into a question for GOP head, Ken Mehlman on today’s (November 13th) installment of Meet The Press: MR. RUSSERT: "On solid intelligence." And then 15 months later, the secretary of state came on this program and said this. (Videotape, May 16, 2004): SEC’Y POWELL: But it turned out that the sourcing was inaccurate and...

Dem Chair Dean Ducks Last Second Joint MEET THE PRESS Appearance With GOP Chair Mehlman The DRUDGE REPORT has learned from exclusive sources that Democrat Party Chair Howard Dean turned down Republican Party Chair Ken Mehlman’s last minute offer to appear together on NBC’s MEET THE PRESS this morning. Moments before taping was to begin with host Tim Russert, Mehlman asked Dean outside the NBC studio’s green room: “There’s still time for us to go on together Governor.” Dean declined with a shrug of his shoulders and an uncomfortable cackle and then proceeded to walk away into the green room....

MIDI - THE CHICKEN DANCE Timmy Russert made the call...Timmy Russert made the call Can you come onto my show We will have a good debate...we will have a good debate With a person whom you know Kenneth Mehlman is his name...Kenneth Mehlman is his name You'll be going toe to toe But the message had come back...but the message had come back Howard said no Yes, Howard is a big mouth chicken He won't go on at the same time Maybe electroshock's not working The guy's a cartoon or nursery rhyme We had seen his famous scream...we had...