Is MSNBC becoming Catfight Central? A few days ago I noted this epic dust-up on the cable network between conservative radio talk show host Melanie Morgan and feminist Naomi Wolf. Today's "Morning Joe" brought more fireworks of a feline variety, as NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd took some serious swipes at Anderson Cooper and his hosting of last night's CNN/YouTube presidential debate.
NBC NEWS POLITICAL DIRECTOR CHUCK TODD: I thought the questions were good, it was a good candidate forum. The downside was that the moderator [Anderson Cooper] missed opportunities to create a debate. That was my one frustration. Obama tried to take a shot at Hillary about being a Johnny-come-lately when it comes to withdrawal from Iraq, and it just disappeared, the attack disappeared. Obama's way of attacking Clinton sometimes is soft; he softpedals his attacks. Maybe Cooper didn't see it; maybe he needs to be hit with a sledgehammer, but he just immediately went to the next question.
Hmm, what would a Freudian say about Chuck imagining Cooper being hit with a sledgehammer?
View video here.
But it got worse. Surely the most fundamental criticism that can be made of a newsman is that he doesn't follow . . . the news.
MORNING JOE HOST JOE SCARBOROGH: So how did Anderson Cooper do last night?
TODD: Look, I think he was fine as a traffic cop and he did well and he kept the thing moving. But I think we found out he doesn't, maybe he wasn't following the campaign, or whatever, but I thought he missed moments that create a debate.
R-e-o-w-w-w!
My two cents say Anderson was OK. He did, for example, hold Hillary's feet to the fire, questioning her repeatedly till she conceded she opposes sending troops to Darfur. I'd give higher marks to Cooper than to Chris Matthews, who put in a manic performance when he moderated an earlier GOP debate.
It takes at least two cats to stage a catfight. So . . . will Anderson fire back, defending his performance? Stay tuned.
Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
}}}----> Mini Cooper
July 24, 2007 - 06:18 ET by Cool ArrowI can't fault Cooper much either. The Youtube angle seemed to cheapen the discourse, but Anderson gets good marks from me on making the debate more about the Candidates than his personal agenda.
Must be those Vanderbilt manners showing through.
I agree although the
July 24, 2007 - 06:21 ET by Gat New YorkI agree although the YouTube clips played clearly into the hands of Democrats. I don't think you will see quite the same for Republicans.
}}}----> Gay Bi Fem Dom Dem Debates
July 24, 2007 - 06:30 ET by Cool ArrowI can't wait for the next debate.
SWF Bi Curious seeks DDF Candidate for 3way.
GNY... I couldn't agree
July 24, 2007 - 13:30 ET by bigtimerGNY...
I couldn't agree more...
It will be the polar opposite when the repub's use the same forum for their upcoming Youtube debate on CNN.
Just a given if you ask me.
btw...I was angry that the dem's so far have gotten away with not being confronted with illegal immigration.
It was mentioned once....via health-care.
They moved on...swiftly.
I cannot wait until the dem vs rep debates go head to head.
Preview by Candidates
July 24, 2007 - 06:38 ET by PawpawNI don't get what they stated about "All the clips were available for the candidates to review, however, they did not know which would be used." Weren't all the TV and radio talk shows giving out all the questions that were going to be asked all day long? How did they know and the candidates not know? Guess I'm just one of the dumb public! Geez, does that make me morph into a DIM!!
}}}----> You would be right PawpawN
July 24, 2007 - 06:42 ET by Cool ArrowI saw a bunch of them yesterday through this very blog. None of the candidates were ambushed, though they did have a lot of potential questions to prepare for.
When your ratings are in
July 24, 2007 - 07:22 ET by ChriswelLWhen your ratings are in the toilet, take swings at your competition.
MSNBC has done it with FNC now they're training their sites on CNN.
-cs™
"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the
lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth --
persistent, persuasive and unrealistic."
Excellent tagline quote!
July 24, 2007 - 07:37 ET by JohnM"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the
lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth --
persistent, persuasive and unrealistic."
Who is this attributed to?
CNN's performance: Predictable
July 24, 2007 - 07:41 ET by GalvanicThe Great YouTube Debate for the Democrats has come and gone, and as expected, CNN's selection of submitted questions was soft, and follow-up was weak.
For instance, the candidates were asked if their children attended public schools. Hillary Clinton said that her daughter attneded public schools in Arkansas, but she's glad they decided on private school for her in Washington, because othewise everyday would be a news circus at the school.
Why didn't Cooper follow up by pointing out that Jimmy Carter's daughter Amy attended DC public schools during his term in the White House? There have been two Democratic Presidents since 1969, and one sent his child to DC public schools, and the other didn't.
They let her off easy ---- again, as predicted.
Maybe Cooper didn't see it;
July 24, 2007 - 08:11 ET by dscottMaybe Cooper didn't see it; maybe he needs to be hit with a sledgehammer, but he just immediately went to the next question.
Ah, but maybe Mr. Cooper has seen the hand writing on the wall for Iraq. Obama being against involvement in Iraq will become a major liability if the Surge is successful. Hence the MSM needs to preserve one Dem with plausible deniability to spin critism of the GWOT as only being about tactics and not goals or the end game. Hillary is the only one with such credentials as Joe Biden firmly articulated the ultra left Dem strategy on pulling out. The primaries, Super Tuesday is coming, February 5, 2008, by that time we will have confirmation whether the Surge was successful or not. If it is, Hillary is the clear winner of the Dems.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"
What Debate ?
July 24, 2007 - 09:10 ET by JayTeeThere was a Debate ? on CNN....geez could have fooled me. IT was an Orchestrated, pre-screened Democratic talking points, Bunch of Anti American Idiots chasing the Presidency about 8 months too soon to be interesting or Relevant.
I thought the best moment
July 24, 2007 - 09:27 ET by BruzillaI thought the best moment of the night came after the debate, when Cooper was doing the analysis with David Gergen, some faceless "conservative analyst" who I had never heard of and who was oddly agreeing with just about everything the Dems said, and Donna Brazille. Each time the panel came back from break, Anderson would introduce them as "Presidential Advisor David Gergen, Conservative Analyst So and So, and Democrat Donna Brazille."
On one of the segments, they went over the Clinton "are you a Liberal" question, and they discussed how the use of the "L" word had been seriously downplayed by the Democrats. Brazille made a big point of how this was not the case, but it was hard to miss that everytime her name was mentioned in the post-break intros, she was always "Democrat Donna Brazille" while the supposed conservative person was always "Conservative Analyst..."