CNN and MSNBC could barely contain their excitement in the moments following Tuesday’s Hillary Clinton rally featuring President Obama on the heels of the FBI deciding not to recommend charges in her e-mail scandal as MSNBC’s Brian Williams and CNN’s Jim Sciutto seemed to be acting as though Obama was still the candidate (and not Clinton).
Speaking to Williams, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd noted that Obama will take a more active role in supporting his successor than previous Presidents have so viewers will see a rare sight of “an outgoing president enthusiastic about the campaign trail and a nominee that will want him a lot on the campaign trail.”
Todd further stated that it’s “actually something we haven't seen in multiple generations” and this served as the perfect segue into the disgraced former NBC Nightly News anchor’s absolutely gushing praise for the President possessing oratory skills “not quite like anyone we’ve ever seen”:
Yeah, I was going to say people can feel the way they do about this President, love him or hate him. From a delivery standpoint, he has a unique set of skills from the podium and as a communicator, he's not quite like anyone we've ever seen.
Over on CNN, it was a similar scene as The Lead’s fill-in host Jim Sciutto turned to former Clinton aide and CNN political commentator Patti Solis Doyle to exclaim what “an ebullient, energetic President Obama that we saw there” and wonder “[h]ow powerful of an endorsement for her?”
A few minutes later, the one-time Obama appointee recapped the President’s remarks endorsing Clinton at a Charlotte, North Carolian rally as showcasing “an exuberant President Obama as he just said then, fired up and ready to go, recalling that campaign chant from eight years ago this though in support of Hillary Clinton.”
Going once again to Solis Doyle, Sciutto wondered:
Patty, if I could go to you first, certainly a fired up, pumped up President Obama there. How powerful of a voice is he? You and I have spoken about your own concerns about the Clinton campaign, doubts about whether or not Democrats will be excited about her. How important is his voice in winning those Democrats over, in effect to back her enthusiastically?
The relevant portion of the transcript from the 4:00 p.m. Eastern hour of MSNBC Live on July 5 can be found below.
MSNBC Live
July 5, 2016
4:30 p.m. EasternCHUCK TODD: You know, I was thinking, Brian, John McCain I think basically did a photo op at the White House, sort of perfunctory, when he was the presumptive nominee and met with President Bush. Al Gore kept Bill Clinton away. George H.W. Bush didn't get as much of Reagan as I think he wished he could have had. What you have here is the first time in a long time, we’re going to have an outgoing president enthusiastic about the campaign trail and a nominee that will want him a lot on the campaign trail. That’s actually something we haven't seen in multiple generations.
BRIAN WILLIAMS Yeah, I was going to say people can feel the way they do about this President, love him or hate him. From a delivery standpoint, he has a unique set of skills from the podium and as a communicator, he's not quite like anyone we've ever seen.
TODD: He's the best campaigner right now in the Democratic party, period. This is one of those cases where I don't think you want a lot of joint events between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama because there's that sense of as a campaigner, he's just more comfortable than she is, but you do see why you may see a lot more Barack Obama than you will see Bill Clinton on this campaign trail.
The relevant portions of the transcript from CNN’s The Lead on July 5 can be found below.
CNN’s The Lead
July 5, 2016
4:23 p.m. Eastern
JIM SCIUTTO: If I could go to you first, Patti, there — that was an ebullient, energetic President Obama that we saw there. How powerful of an endorsement for her?
PATTI SOLIS DOYLE: I think it’s a huge endorsement for her. As you said, it was really a strong, ringing endorsement and this is coming from someone who is the current President of the United States.
(....)
4:28 p.m. Eastern
SCIUTTO: You have been listening to President Obama there — an exuberant President Obama as he just said then, fired up and ready to go, recalling that campaign chant from eight years ago this though in support of Hillary Clinton, her run for president, the first time he’s been on the campaign trail. A really resounding endorsement from President Obama.
(....)
4:33 p.m. Eastern
SCIUTTO [TO DOYLE]: Patty, if I could go to you first, certainly a fired up, pumped up President Obama there. How powerful of a voice is he? You and I have spoken about your own concerns about the Clinton campaign, doubts about whether or not Democrats will be excited about her. How important is his voice in winning those Democrats over, in effect to back her enthusiastically?
