On Friday in a Facebook hangout, in a statement noted Saturday afternoon by Tim Graham at NewsBusters, MSNBC's Chuck Todd described himself as "stubbornly neutral."
Sunday, Mr. "Stubbornly Neutral" attacked the NRA on "Meet the Press" for having the nerve to oppose President Obama's Surgeon General nominee, a man who is obsessed with gun control. Democrats who have thrown away the cloture rules in the Senate could push the nomination through immediately if they wished, but the political cost of confirming a guy who believes that "Guns are a health care issue" is apparently too high. Then on Tuesday, as noted by Politico's Hadas Gold, Todd went to a far-left propaganda organ which has a track record of coordinating its efforts with the White House to issue an emotional mea culpa for having hurt the Kentucky senatorial campaign of Democrat Alison Grimes (bolds are mine):
Chuck Todd: Grimes criticism was 'sloppy'
Chuck Todd said he felt "physically ill" after he found himself in the middle of the story — and campaign ads — for criticizing Alison Lundergan Grimes, the "Meet the Press" host told Media Matters in an interview published Tuesday.
"I don't like being part of a political campaign," Todd said. "... [I]t gives me heartburn. All right? It gives me — it makes me, you know, literally physically ill."
Earlier this month, Todd told MSNBC that the Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate had "disqualified herself" from the race by refusing to disclose whom she voted for in 2008. Todd's remark is now the final clip on a six-figure ad buy by Sen. Mitch McConnell's campaign.
"I wasn't trying to inject in the race. I'll admit to have hit a sort of a — you hit a tipping point where you get so worn down by politicians constantly bullsh-- you know, obviously obfuscating," Todd said.
Todd said the media should have less tolerance for talking points from politicians.
"I think I was shorthanding the 'disqualify' line a little bit, meaning, I think that that type of statement to some voters is going to feel like she's disqualifying herself because she's not being straight with the voters, and at the end of the day, honest and trustworthy," Todd said.
C'mon, Chuck.
You said that Grimes "disqualified herself" with her non-disclosure. While obviously your opinion at the time, it's clear that you meant that Grimes does not deserve to be a United States senator if she won't own up to who got her vote for President two years ago. Now you're "physically ill" because, in a rare unguarded frank moment, you hurt the campaign of a Democrat. It's way too late to try to weasel your way out now.
What Republican Mitch McConnell's use of your statement against Grimes shows is that you're correctly perceived by the vast majority of U.S. viewers who even know who you are as a garden-variety lefty who happens to have a microphone and a job at a far-left news outlet. Your assessment that Grimes disqualified herself is noteworthy precisely because you are not "stubbornly neutral."
Truth be told, Chuck, you're just about the only person in the entire country who believes you are "stubbornly neutral." Hope you're feeling better.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
