Chuck Todd doesn’t have a lot of respect for members of the GOP.
On MSNBC’s Morning Joe Monday, NBC’s Chief White House correspondent accused “about half the Republican field from 2012” of “simply [running] for exposure to get a talk show, or for exposure to get a radio deal, or a columnist, or a deal with Fox” (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHUCK TODD: If the RNC is trying to limit the number of debates, that’s smart because that will mean what? About half the Republican field from 2012, if they didn’t have the debates they wouldn’t have run. Right? They simply ran for exposure to get a talk show, or for exposure to get a radio deal, or a columnist, or a deal with Fox, or whatever. Whatever it is, their reasons for running, it wasn’t really because they thought they had a viable shot.
You know, one of the things on the whole celebrification of the presidential cycle is that it has allowed for this underbelly of candidates that, whether it’s Herman Cain or Dennis Kucinich, people like that to say, “Hey, I can show up, I get to be on national television, on various cable networks, or various, you know.” So, if you do that, then that is smart, tactical politics.
As Todd specifically mentioned Cain, I guess he forgot that Herman was at one point in 2011 considered the frontrunner. Then sexual harassment allegations surfaced, which the Obama-loving media predictably went wall-to-wall with eventually forcing Cain out of the race.
Of course, once he dropped out, the sexual misconduct charges magically disappeared. I wonder why that was?
But Cain wasn't the only candidate last year who at one point enjoyed frontrunner status.
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) held such a position after winning the Iowa Straw Poll in August 2011.
At the end of 2011, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich led the field.
Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) was actually tied for the lead with Mitt Romney in polls taken February 2012.
So of the major candidates, that leaves Ron Paul - who most certainly wasn't running to capture a media deal! - and former Utah governor John Huntsman - ditto!
As for former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, he did apparently try to land a Fox deal after backing out of the race, but was rejected because he had already signed up to be a spokesman for Romney.
As such, I'm not sure what Todd was talking about.
Sadly, I often find myself in such a position...how about you?
(HT Mediaite)
