Martha Coakely

On Tuesday's Today show NBC's Kelly O'Donnell -- apparently reaching to find something negative to say about the surging Scott Brown --  accused the Republican Massachusetts Senate candidate of running away from his own party as she questioned: "You don't mention the Republican Party much in your campaign. Why is that?" To which Brown quickly asserted: "I think people know I'm a Republican. That's never been a secret."

However O'Donnell didn't let Brown have the last word on the topic, as she elaborated: "Not a secret, but clearly not on display. No mention of being a Republican on Brown's bus, signs or campaign ads. So Coakley made it a point in hers." O'Donnell went on to run a clip from a Martha Coakley ad, the first of two clips from ads produced by the Democratic candidate.

Incidentally O'Donnell never aired a clip from a Brown ad. She did, however, air a radio show clip of Coakley embarrassing herself by identifying Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling as a "Yankee fan," but she then quickly introduced a clip of Vicki Kennedy defending the gaffe: "To Coakley's defense came Ted Kennedy's widow Vicki, who told NBC News there are bigger issues at stake."

The following is the full O'Donnell segment as it was aired on the January 19 Today show: