Meet the Press

Out the 41 questions directed to the six Republican presidential candidates during Sunday's NBC News/Facebook debate on Meet the Press, 25 of them were from the left, 13 questions were neutral, mainly about the campaign horse race and electability, and only three questions pressed the candidates from the right. Early in the debate, moderator David Gregory demanded to know how much "pain" the…

On Sunday's Meet the Press, host David Gregory urged Rick Santorum to blame congressional Republicans for Washington gridlock: "...approval of Republicans in Congress, stands at 26%. That's far less than the President's approval rating....Do you fault Republican leaders in Congress for not doing more to make government work better, through more compromise with the President?" In response,…

On Sunday's Meet the Press on NBC, as guest Rick Santorum criticized President Obama because he refused to support a democracy movement in Iran that might have weakened the anti-America radical Muslim government of Tehran, but, by contrast, supported a democracy movement in Egypt directed against a pro-America government - which resulted in an election that recently handed more power in Cairo…

In an interview with House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday's Meet the Press, host David Gregory blamed Republicans for blocking an extension of payroll tax cuts by supporting a new oil pipeline: "You want to say, 'Look, we'll extend it for a year if the President makes a quicker decision on this pipeline.' White House officials I've talked to say you are guaranteeing that he'll say no..."…

As Congresswoman Michele Bachmann made the point on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that the national debt has increased dramatically under President Obama compared to under President Bush, host David Gregory interrupted and attempted to dismiss that fact: "Congresswoman, that just misstates the record....For accuracy, the debt exploded under the Bush administration." [Audio available here]…

As NBC's Meet the Press panel ripped into Newt Gingrich on Sunday for his comments on poor children in inner cities lacking working role models, Manchester Union Leader publisher Joe McQuaid was the lone voice of dissent: "I think he gets a bum rap on the child labor thing." That prompted host David Gregory to declare: "Are you really saying that the working poor in this country don't have…

Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Random House executive editor Jon Meacham described the political comeback of Republicans: "...we were all sitting around in 2009, and this was a new era. It was an entirely different time. And I think it was a implacable opposition, which is not to say it's wrong, but it was an implacable opposition." Host David Gregory quoted Meacham's…

In an interview with Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, host David Gregory dismissed concerns that raising taxes could harm the economy: "But the notion that tax cuts or tax increases somehow impact economic growth, we know historically that's simply not the case....Isn't that one of the falsehoods that's peddled in Washington?" [Audio…

As is to be expected whenever he's in front of a camera, Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson, appearing on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday, accused Republicans of exploiting "racist elements" in the society. Fortunately for viewers, the lone conservative on the panel, National Review editor Rich Lowry, pushed back against this nonsense (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Was Alina Cho flirting with Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) on CNN Monday? While discussing the Super Committee's failure on American Morning, Cho oddly said to her guest, "Just yesterday on Meet the Press you said there were things you agreed to that you didn't want to talk about public, which sounded very sexy I might add" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

While grilling Arizona Senator Jon Kyl on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, host David Gregory tried to bolster the argument for tax increases: "The Bush tax cuts...real deficit hawks, many of them happening to be Republicans....said let them all expire for everybody. For the rich, for the middle class. If you really want to get serious about the deficit, let the Bush tax cuts expire for…

White House senior adviser David Plouffe made headlines last month when he told NBC's David Gregory that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney "has no core." On Sunday's Meet the Press, the host decided to play the part of one of Barack Obama's closest allies and ask Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), "Does Romney have a core politically?" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

She hasn't accomplished a darned thing on television yet, but Chelsea Clinton is already being compared to the late Meet the Press host Tim Russert. Such almost unthinkable praise emerged from NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight Monday (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Interviewing former Democratic Senator Chris Dodd on Sunday for Meet the Press's Press Pass, host David Gregory described Dodd's exit from politics this way: "...you stepped out of politics, and one of the things that you were really disappointed about what – the state of the politics in Washington, the inability to compromise, the venomous relationship in Washington..."     That was quite a…