MyDD :: The Inauspicious Roll-Out of the McCain/Palin NBC News Interview Begins

The Inauspicious Roll-Out of the McCain/Palin NBC News Interview Begins

by Todd Beeton, Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 01:55:18 AM EST

NBC News has been rolling out excerpts of its interview with John McCain and Sarah Palin. From what I've seen, it's yet another undistinguished performance from the pair but what's rather dramatic is the way it's being framed by the NBC News folks.

On Rachel Maddow today, this is how Brian Williams introduced an extended clip of the interview:

So here you've got a campaign 10 down in our poll of last night. 55% of respondents now saying Sarah Palin is not qualified to be president...And then, after, quite candidly, we have waited a very patient 55 days as the number 1 network evening newscast for our chance to sit down and spend some time with the VP nominee of the GOP.

But who's counting?

And, hilariously, when Rachel asked Brian if the fact that there was no major gaffe on Palin's part in that clip means that the story out of this interview is that she has matured as a candidate, Brian Williams replied:

As we say in television, there's much more of the interview.

Apparently, Brian actually had 8 minutes alone with Palin, which has yet to be rolled out. You remember how disastrous the CBS interview roll out was for Palin. This could get good.

But an even better commentary on the interview came from Chuck Todd during Hardball when he talked about how struck he was by the "negative intensity" and utter lack of chemistry there was between McCain and Palin as they sat next to each other on the stage for that interview. He even said that watching them made him wonder whether they were blaming each other for the fact that they are losing. I agree with Josh Marshall, the candidness of Todd, whose analysis usually resides in the electoral map and polling realm, is fairly dramatic stuff.

Watch it:

Tags: chuck todd, john mccain, sarah palin (all tags)

Permalink :: 22 Comments :: Post a Comment

Who couldn't see this coming? (none / 0)

He saw her giving answers that he knew were wrong and you could see that he'd reached the same conclusion that millions of Americans have... it's not cute anymore.

"Hey, check it out. You just had yourself a glue OD. So you're learning another lesson. Don't do too much glue, or your night sucks."

by vcalzone on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 02:18:48 AM EST

Re: Who couldn't see this coming? (none / 0)

On an unrelated note, who doesn't love how much happiness everyone seems to have for Rachel Maddow's success?

"Hey, check it out. You just had yourself a glue OD. So you're learning another lesson. Don't do too much glue, or your night sucks."

by vcalzone on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 02:22:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Who couldn't see this coming? (none / 0)

On a more related note, I think McCain is also realizing that even if he wins, he will have to spend four years with this woman. Four years defending her, four years training her, four years trying to keep her from making giant mistakes.

"Hey, check it out. You just had yourself a glue OD. So you're learning another lesson. Don't do too much glue, or your night sucks."

by vcalzone on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 02:23:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Who couldn't see this coming? (none / 0)

Four years spent spinning in circles, watching his own back.

by ProgressiveDL on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 07:43:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Who couldn't see this coming? (none / 0)

Nothing worse than an overambitious moron--I've worked with plenty of them.

I guarantee you that, if they win, she'd be thinking she should be president by year two.

by Bush Bites on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 08:47:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Inauspicious Roll-Out (none / 0)

Don't need a tinfoil hat for this one! They worked their asses off to convince them that it was safe to interview, and Todd made news before the interview even aired.

"Hey, check it out. You just had yourself a glue OD. So you're learning another lesson. Don't do too much glue, or your night sucks."

by vcalzone on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 02:19:42 AM EST

I don't like the roll-out frankly (2.00 / 2)

I think they should just broadcast the whole interview at once. Otherwise it looks like they are trying to manipulate information for the Dems. And this Chuck Todd interview is plain weird. He is reading too much in body language.

by ann0nymous on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 02:23:16 AM EST

Re: I don't like the roll-out frankly (2.00 / 1)

I sort of agree with this. I guess I would say that the reporters pulled this type of dime-store psychoanalysis all the time on the Democrats (in fact, Chuck Todd does it on Obama and Biden in his comments on the interview), so what's good for the goose is good for the gander. So they should either cut it out or, in a less preferred option, do it to everyone.

I do agree that a "roll-out" is stupid, they should just air the interview. Its almost like laziness x 10---we'll air this part of the interview, and talk about it, then that part, and talk about it, etc.

Saxby Chambliss

by bosdcla14 on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 03:36:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I don't like the roll-out frankly (none / 0)

I tend to agree, but Chuck Todd's take on McCain and Palin isn't the only weird thing I saw on cable news tonight. Did you happen to catch Larry King? Karen Hughes was on and looked strangely ill, as if she was trying not to throw up or something. Hmm.. makes you wonder.

by phoenixdreamz on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 03:46:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I don't like the roll-out frankly (2.00 / 1)

No, I will try to find sme video.

by ann0nymous on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 08:36:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I don't like the roll-out frankly (2.00 / 1)

Working with Mark Penn does that to people.

by Bush Bites on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 08:49:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I don't like the roll-out frankly (none / 0)

Are you serious? Karen Hughes, Bush's former White House legal counsel, works with Democratic strategist Mark Penn now??

by phoenixdreamz on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 09:30:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Inauspicious Roll-Out of the McCain/Palin (none / 0)

Watching the two of them in that clip was very interesting in that I see a chemistry problem between the two of them.

The guy on the right wants soooooooooo badly for McCain to lose.

The guy on the left wants to have some integrity and still be employable on other networks and is trying to apply normal journalism standards and report things he can prove.

I fear for our country if it turns out that the GOP wins because with all the build up I know we have a biased press but the question is would it be a biased press or a corrupt voting machine that was to blame if Obama loses?

IE if this is a 2 pts election and 2.1 percent of the voters all for obama stay home and he loses then what?

Is it racism?

Or when we realize it was never a 10 pts lead and the press oversold it because they WANTED IT SOOOO BAD....

by dtaylor2 on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 04:18:48 AM EST

Re: The Inauspicious Roll-Out of the McCain/Palin (2.00 / 1)

I gather you didn't recognize the "two guys" in the video. Most people who watch MSNBC recognize them instantly.

btw, I don't think you should concern yourself about a 2 pt election this year.

And have you seen the statistics on early voting? If 2.1% of Obama supporters stay home, then 10% of McCain supporters will stay home - there's a huge enthusiasm gap between my party and yours.

That One is the Right One for 2008.

by GFORD on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 04:37:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Inauspicious Roll-Out of the McCain/Palin (none / 0)

Sure is I am a democrat and not at all excited about MSNBC you are a neo-democrat and think MSNBC is a viable news source...

I know the one on the right is the political commentator and the other guy is the anchor and the third one is the tingly leg, Hillary is only in politics because her husband cheated on her guy....but I didn't see the pimp your daughter guy what happened to him?

After seeing the bias against Hillary or was it for Obama I know that the press is actively in this one for Obama.

Knowing that I can see the possibility of the polls being polluted with the cheerleader mentality.

Its called expectation bias.

Science has a few examples of a great scientist making a measurement that was dramatically flawed and every new scientist that repeated the experiment getting a value dramatically different and repeating the experiment until he got a value only slightly different so that the value of the constant kept moving form the original value to the real value slowly over the course of many iterations even though many of the scientists correctly measured the value.

If its a 2% election as the most pro GOP polls, 2004 results, 2000 results would seems to support then there exists a variety of ways this could end not well.

It may be a 20% election. Maybe dramatic numbers of voters decided they want Obama because of the stock crash.

But its also very possibly that its a 2% election and still too close to call.

The only thing that makes you so sure its 12% or 7% is the pollsters many of whom have their own tingly legs whenever Obama speaks...

by dtaylor2 on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 05:01:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Inauspicious Roll-Out of the McCain/Palin (none / 0)

Yeah, Scott Rasmussen is Cah-RAZY for Democrats. I think anyone who thinks they just "know better" than the polls knows very little about themselves.

"Hey, check it out. You just had yourself a glue OD. So you're learning another lesson. Don't do too much glue, or your night sucks."

by vcalzone on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 05:20:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Polling - Place (none / 0)

What about the 'convincing' argument that all these elite pollsters are based in the elite cities & only know about the elite voters?

It's all explained in a wonderfully dtaylorish way here: http://wizbangblog.com/content/2008/10/2 1/gallup-and-new-coke.php

Well, I am not a big believer in conspiracies, but I do think that the polling groups have fallen into a groupthink condition. I wrote earlier about the fact that of the major polling groups handling national and state polls, all of them are based deep in pro-Liberal, anti-Conservative territories.

Heh.

It's clear that both the Ensign and Sanford marriages were the victims of the increasing number of states approving gay marriage.

by January 20 on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 05:29:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Polling - Place (none / 0)

Yep, all in the anti-American sections of the country! Oh noes!

by ProgressiveDL on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 07:46:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Polling - Place (none / 0)

I believe Fox News is based in New York City.

(And "liberal" CNN is based in Atlanta.)

Wonder how that fits into Mr. Wingnut's theory.

by Bush Bites on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 08:59:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Polling - Place (none / 0)

It proves his theory!

I don't know how, but in wingnutland it really does work out.

It's clear that both the Ensign and Sanford marriages were the victims of the increasing number of states approving gay marriage.

by January 20 on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 11:00:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

weird (2.00 / 1)

If the rest of the interview is similar to the clips we got to see today, it's really out of character for Todd to go out on a limb like that. I think he's got more invested in being correct than he has invested in publicly cheerleading for Obama.

This gives me reason to hope that the upcoming excerpts will give us some material worthy of the Couric interview and the "green screen" speech, or both. Ideally, Palin letting her inner idiot run wild while McCain's internal dialog expresses itself in all sorts of Halloweeny facial contortions.

McCain housing policy shaped by lobbyist.

by obsessed on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 05:52:10 AM EST

Re: weird (none / 0)

Agree, there must be some damning tape coming.

Either McCain slapping her down for saying something stupid or her looking like an idiot on her own.

Todd can't be basing his opinion just on body language.

by Bush Bites on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 09:01:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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