As we noted here, within minutes of Mitt Romney having announced his candidacy this morning, MSNBC, in the person of Chip Reid, branded him "far right."David Gregory has now made it a one-two punch. A bit later on MSNBC, Gregory played clips from 1994 of Romney expressing pro-choice and pro-gay rights views. Noting Romney's subsequent change to a pro-life position, Gregory expressed this opinion, in the guise of a question, to his two MSM guests:
"With all respect to Governor Romney, is anybody really going to buy that, buy the timing of that, that that was some genuine change of heart?"
Words don't do justice to the contemptuousness of Gregory's tone. View the video here.
I'll admit to being dubious myself about the timing of Romney's abortion change of heart, which coincided conveniently with his switch from Massachusetts politician to Republian nomination-seeker.But was it appropriate for Gregory, whom MSNBC bills as chief White House "correspondent," not commentator, to express his personal cynicism in such thinly-veiled manner? His profession of "all respect" to Romney notwithstanding, Gregory couldn't have been much more disrespectful.
Syntax Aside: Note that Gregory managed to pull off the rare feat using the same word, "that," three times in a row -- and did so grammatically!
Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Why is it impossible to belie
February 13, 2007 - 12:53 ET by Hero SquadWhy is it impossible to believe that someone can have a change of heart on an issue like abortion? So in other words, once you've established your position on an issue, you are not permitted to change it?
I definitely believe it's possible, for Romney or anyone. Of course, they have to follow through with actions that back up their words...
Would Gregory have the same contempt for a Democrat candidate who went from pro-life to pro-choice?
*****
"Was it a millionaire who said 'Imagine no possessions?'" - Elvis Costello
Romney blows hillary and obam
February 13, 2007 - 13:02 ET by TruthMongerRomney blows hillary and obama out of the water and the MSM knows it...
...these lefties are really scared of Romney, aren't they? He's looking VERY, VERY GOOD - heh-heh-heh...
Gregory wants to be the libs
February 13, 2007 - 13:04 ET by Mica the MagnificentGregory wants to be the libs answer to Bill O'Reilly. Unfortunately, he isn't smart enough to pull off a highly rated daily prime time show.
Ohhh that Dennis! He ripped a board out of my ark and used it for a skateboard! - Mr. Wilson preparing for global warming on a politically correct Dennis the Menace
Here's a Democrat who were
February 13, 2007 - 13:01 ET by Jack BauerHere's a Democrat who was once against abortion then changed his mind for political expediency, and is now an enthusiastic pro-aborter.
Senator Edward Kennedy.
Guess we won't be hearing friend of the Clintons David Gregory saying anytime soon:
"With all respect to Senator Kennedy, is anybody really going to buy that, buy the timing of that, that that was some genuine change of heart?"
Didnt AlGore change his mind
February 13, 2007 - 13:14 ET by muh-oonDidnt AlGore change his mind also? And then ran for president. Did anyone buy that? Or was it ever even mentioned in the news? Maybe it was, I dont remember.
Al Gore also changed his pos
February 13, 2007 - 13:15 ET by HypocriteHaterAl Gore also changed his position on abortion as documented in wikipedia:
In a letter to a constituent from 1984-07-18, then-Congressman Gore wrote
Gore did not start consistently voting pro-choice until 1988. [12] Gore explained the purported contradiction by distinguishing his view on federal funding of institutions performing abortions from his view on the legality of abortion, "I voted to restrict federal funding of abortions[, but] I've always supported Roe v. Wade. I've always supported keeping abortions legal..."[12][12]
Interestingly, Gore changed his position to pro-abortion in 1988. This seems to coincide with his first presidential run. Did Gregory notice this, I wonder?
gopgirl -- I think there's
February 13, 2007 - 13:25 ET by Jack Bauergopgirl -- I think there's a big list, I just couldn't remember more names off the top of my head.
Yes, it is amazing that as the pro-aborters have gradually totally taken over the Deomcrat activist base, how so many Democrat politicians have discovred they believed in unrestricted abortion all along.
Remind me, who are the unprincipled jerks?
The Mitt Romneys - or those who chose to raise their career on the dead bodies of the most helpless amongst us?
Dear Mr. Gregory - - How do y
February 13, 2007 - 13:13 ET by CaringwhiteguyDear Mr. Gregory - - How do you stand on the "reversals" of Arianna Huffington and David Brock? For that matter do you believe Joe Scarborough would have a show on MSNBC had he not changed his tune? And let's not limit this conversation to the aforementioned lightweights. How about Senator Jim Webb? (you can decide on your own whether I think he's a lightweight too)
POS
February 13, 2007 - 13:16 ET by BBallleaperDavy "Lite in the Loafers" Gregory PofS Alert! Projectile Vomit Alert!!
BBall, I have mentioned thi
February 13, 2007 - 13:20 ET by Mark FinkelsteinBBall, Gregory is married to former federal prosecutor Beth Wilkinson, now a general counsel at Fannie Mae. They have three children. I have mentioned this before to you: do not make unsubstantiated allegations on my threads.
It really is all one big happ
February 13, 2007 - 13:42 ET by CaringwhiteguyMark, It really is all one big happy eliteist establishment around DC, isn't it. The public should become much more aware of real and potential reporting conflicts that might arise from a relationship like Gregory/Wilkinson. The public should also be made aware of potential conflicts on the right such as Mitch McConnell/Elaine Chao. How about a blog featuring some of these "happy couples"?
"With all respect to Senator
February 13, 2007 - 13:14 ET by gfrrman"With all respect to Senator Hitlary Clinton, is anybody really going to buy that, buy the timing of that, that that was some genuine change of heart?" Why don't you ask THAT question David Gregory, you A**hat!!!!
I think it's a legitimate que
February 13, 2007 - 13:39 ET by mattmI think it's a legitimate question, but coming from Gregory, it loses all credibility. The fact is there's more diversity of opinion within the GOP than within the D-ick's. The MSM can't face that so they cover it up with this kind of "Republicans are hypocritical bigots" propaganda. Too bad most people are too dumb to see through it.
mattm,I agree. It was a leg
February 13, 2007 - 13:55 ET by Dave Rmattm,
I agree. It was a legit question and would have carried far more weight if that same question had been asked of democrat pols who flip-flop, particularly those who seem to have made a career doing it, like The Hildebeast.
I am always suspicious of pols who suddenly change positions, particularly on the major issues like abortion, regardless of which party they are in.
I hate newspapermen.....I regard them as spies.....If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast. -Gen. William T. Sherman
Matt & Dave: I agree th
February 13, 2007 - 14:13 ET by Mark FinkelsteinMatt & Dave: I agree the question is appropriate, and as mentioned have my own doubts about Romney's sincerity. However, I'd encourage you to have a look at the video clip. It wasn't a question at all on Gregory's part. It was a statement of his own opinion, expressed with dripping disdain. This by someone who supposedly is a "correspodent," there to report the facts.
"correspodent,"I
February 13, 2007 - 14:18 ET by Jack Bauer"correspodent,"
I like it. He's a liberal pod person all right!
LOL. Good catch on my litt
February 13, 2007 - 14:23 ET by Mark FinkelsteinLOL. Good catch on my little Freudian slip. I suppose it could have been worse -- I might have called him a corres-rodent ;-)
By the way, Jack, I watched 24 last night. Pretty dsyfunctional family you've got going there ;-)
I like corres-rodent too!An
February 13, 2007 - 14:29 ET by Jack BauerI like corres-rodent too!
And yes, the Bauer's certainly put the fun into dysfunctional.
Annoy dad and you don't get grounded -- you get buried in the grounded.
I enjoyed the work of James
February 13, 2007 - 14:44 ET by Mark FinkelsteinI enjoyed the work of James Cromwell, the actor who plays dear old Dad, when he was in the cast of HBO's 'Six Feet Under'. He definitely has a certain presence.
mf -- did you know that in
February 13, 2007 - 14:54 ET by Jack Bauermf -- did you know that in reality he's an extreme left-wing nut?
Not that this bothers me, so long as I'm just watching the acting. He was truly excellent as the nutty professor in 6FU. Very sad and funny.
His best performance for me was as Dudley Smith in L.A. Confidential.
Having read James Ellroy's DS trilogy, to me Cromwell got that part pitch perfect. Very smooth. Very lethal. Very scary.
I think the 24 spinoff should
February 13, 2007 - 14:43 ET by CaringwhiteguyI think the 24 spinoff should feature Graem's son and Jack's daughter, the lovely Kim, as a dynamic crisis solving duo. Chloe is in charge of CTU and Martha Logan is the President.
Jack & Caring: I've got
February 13, 2007 - 14:49 ET by Mark FinkelsteinJack & Caring: I've got to take off for awhile, but let me see if I can get a '24' discussion started: what do you think will become of the plot to get rid of the president? Oh, and in writing this, the answer suddenly came to me of a question that's been driving me nuts as to where I had seen that menacing VP before -- he's a saloon-keeper in HBO's Deadwood!
Please note: I only began watching 24, at the recommendation of NB and FR readers, at the beginning of this season, so am unfamiliar with many of the characters, plot background, etc.
The plot to get rid of the Pr
February 13, 2007 - 14:56 ET by CaringwhiteguyThe plot to get rid of the President will be stopped dead in its tracks by the Congressional Black Caucus.
Mark,The VP Noah Daniels is
February 13, 2007 - 17:14 ET by Dave RMark,
The VP Noah Daniels is played by Powers Boothe, who has done some pretty good work. He was the pilot shot down in Red Dawn, portrayed Rev. Jim Jones in the movie of that sad event, he played Curly in Tombstone (the bad guy with the red shirt and white hat) and some other interesting characters.
________________________________________________
President Palmer will be found sitting against a tree in a D.C. park with a hole in his head, a .38 nearby and no brain matter will be found anywhere around. :-O
I hate newspapermen.....I regard them as spies.....If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast. -Gen. William T. Sherman
Good Idea. They could call
February 13, 2007 - 14:50 ET by MightyMouthGood Idea. They could call it "60", Everything happens within an hour! There would only be one episode, but plenty of time to have a couple dozen CTU swat team memebers die within 3 feet of Jack Bauer. :-)
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
i don't follow romney that cl
February 13, 2007 - 13:50 ET by buddyci don't follow romney that close. has he changed his position? in any event hillary has changed her position on the war and gay rights. when you find one comment from gregory about her changing her position let me know. it appears they fear romney and want to destroy him early. that makes me more interested in him and what they fear about him.
buddy -- Gregory is married
February 13, 2007 - 13:53 ET by Jack Bauerbuddy -- Gregory is married to Beth Wilkerson. Good pals with Jamey Gorelick, and the Clintons.
So don't hold your breath.
I don't beleive they fear Rom
February 13, 2007 - 15:15 ET by midnight cowboyI don't beleive they fear Romney as much as they are just trying to neutralize him, so they can clear a path for Thunder Thighs Hillary. They will no doubt do the same to McCain and Guillianni. McCain will proboaly self explode when the media turns on him. (Captian Queeg anyone?) Look at how he reacted with the Wash Post this week. As far as Guillianni they will pummel the redest of red areas of the country with his social viewpoints doing the alleged man on the street interviews in the heart of the deep south and selectively edit the ones hostile towards him. The GOP candidate that will survive will be the one who already knows the media's next move and has thought of ways to nuetralize them. My belief is they don't want Guilliani to get the nod, because NY becomes up for grabs, and the dems cannot win without NY.
i could support mccain but it
February 13, 2007 - 17:16 ET by buddyci could support mccain but it has worried me that he thinks his popularity with the press is for real. they have sucked up to him because they know he is easily destroyed. i agree with you to a point. he won't self destruct. the press will destory him with "his temper (see vanity fair), his being censored of the savings and loan mess and they will have experts telling us about the mental instability of people who have been in prison camps for 5 years. nice man who believed the press was honest.
McCain's baggage is too heavy.
February 13, 2007 - 17:23 ET by acaiguanaMcCain's baggage is too heavy.
His campaign reform idiocy is just one shoe in the bag. Worse, his coalition to dictate to Bush which judges he could appoint and how he was going to run the outcome. Worse, his continuing attacks on the Internet. Worse, his unwavering old timer status in the Senate. Makes him just another one of them.
John McCain should retire. Sorry, this man is unfit to be President. He has no leadership ideas; he cannot stand outside the 'process' and although he is a real American Hero and should get and deserves the respect accorded to his experiences as a POW; America has a lot of ex-POWs. Not enough resume enhancement to get my vote.
ACA
...
Hillary Clinton says: "I want to take those profits."
Agreed, McCain has waaaaayyyy
February 13, 2007 - 18:45 ET by midnight cowboyAgreed,
McCain has waaaaayyyy to much baggage more than Rudy and Romney combined.
The S&L scandal is just the tip of the iceburg. He has po'd just about every constituent that he would want votes from. He'll try to play up his pro-life position sensing it's Romney's and Rudy's weakness. However, when push comes to shove he doesn't help the pro-life people. Where was he when Bush sent up his supreme court nominees who are strict constructionists? He should have been doing what he can to ram them through, instead he forms this idiotic gang of 14 to basically put the nominees in a quagmire. He's ticked off evangelicals,(ala Bob Jones University and Pat Robertson in 2000). He's not a friend of the supply siders, not totally signing on with Bush's tax cuts. Tried to muddy the waters with immigration. Not a much of a free speech advocate with MCCain Feingold, claiming to get money out of politics, but we are about to embark on a pres campaign that would set spending records around 2 billion dollars. Not a very good piece of legislation. What good has he accomplished in his entire legilative career?
McCain's antics did not help in the War on Terror in America
February 13, 2007 - 18:52 ET by acaiguanaMcCain's antics did not help in the War on Terror in America. When he should have stood up with the President and spoke often and loudly from his pulpit given by the MSM to him; he waffled and allowed the doors to open wider for criticism.
He could have shown leadership then, but he chose not to do so.
He is no leader. He's a jet fighter pilot who got shot down. I'm sad for his war experience, but that's not enough. And being from Arizona doesn't make him a Goldwater.
ACA
...
Hillary Clinton says: "I want to take those profits."
Plus he helped stop a vote m
February 13, 2007 - 19:10 ET by bigtimerPlus he helped stop a vote making the tax-cuts permanent, drilling in ANWR, he is a big GW fan....and making the NRA furious with his gun show loop-hole....and I do not even want to get into his big deal with his disagreement on torture and the Geneva Convention laws.
...and the beat goes on
Where was Gregory and all his
February 13, 2007 - 17:55 ET by bigtimerWhere was Gregory and all his brethren in the leftist media when Al Gore was running?
I may be wrong, but seems to me he was once against abortion and changed his mind...conveniently.
Whoops...I forget, he is someone with a 'D' behind his name.
It's this simple-----
February 13, 2007 - 18:52 ET by misterbillIt's this simple-----McCain is one of our BIGGEST RINOs.
An ugly American is one who does not support his country.
Al Gore's change of heart?
February 13, 2007 - 19:26 ET by Gary HallAnd just when was it that Al Gore had his change of heart and became pro-abortion, anti-smoking, and anti-big oil?
Did the media buy that, with a bit more ease?
Note: just when was it that Occidental Pet. pulled out of the Colombia U'wy region? Long after Gore left the WH team.