Chuck Todd, the ginger-haired sane one on MSNBC, is writing a book about the election called How Obama Won. And since it deals with a similar subject matter as Gwen Ifill's, he will probably be banned from ever talking to another politician again because, he is biased. That's what happened to Ifill, right?
So that probably means that he's ineligible to host Meet the Press, and it's going to go to one of those more objective MSNBC'ers, like Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, or an angry dog with worms. You know, anyone other than a logical choice.
With the election finally upon us tomorrow, it's time to move beyond who's going to play house in the White House to who's going to fill Meet The Press' moderator chair, to replace Tom Brokaw, who replaced Tim Russert on an interim basis. Back in June, when Russert died, the list of possible candidates included these names: Andrea Mitchell, David Gregory, Katie Couric, Chuck Todd, Gwen Ifill, and Tom Brokaw. Now that we're approaching the timeline of when NBC News will supposedly make a decision — between Nov. 4 and Dec. 31 — the names being floated about are: Andrea Mitchell, David Gregory, Katie Couric, Chuck Todd, Gwen Ifill, and Tom Brokaw. Oh good: Change we can believe in. [NYT, earlier]
Chuck Todd was in the room when the Mcainiac and Palindrone did their one-two step interview with Brian Williams last night. And not to mince words, the NBC News Political Director was a little underwhelmed: "I couldn't see chemistry between John McCain and Sarah Palin. I felt as if we grabbed two people and said 'here, sit next to each other, we are going to conduct an interview.' They are not comfortable with each other yet."
No chemistry between old man and frigid beauty queen? You don't say:
CONTINUED »
Some folks can actually see beyond Nov. 4, to a time after Americans know who their next president will be. And who their next Meet The Press moderator will be. Right now, Tom Brokaw is filling in for the deceased Tim Russert, but he's only holding things down till the election. Then, a replacement will be named; some suspect multiple moderators might be chosen (unlikely, say we). David Gregory and Chuck Todd are said to both be serious contenders. They are both white men, just like Russert and Brokaw! Which has led some — including those capable of registering domain names — to urge NBC to consider non-white, non-male candidates. We hear there's some lady named Gwen Ifill? CONTINUED »
Accustomed to playing defense, MSNBC president Phil Griffin finds himself in a worn-in seat prescribing euphemisms toward his embattled network. With the in-fighting between Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough, and David Gregory taking a backseat to the assumption that Griffin & Co. caved to right-y criticism that the network's coverage leaned too far to the left — thus resulting in K+M moving back to pundit-only chairs — MSNBC now finds itself again defending its internal decisions. If only criticism of the cable news network, then, were coming from Fox News and sites like Olbermann Watch. In fact, for months it's been NBC News insiders who've besieged the ears of Griffin, NBC News president Steve Capus, and GE chief Jeff Immelt, begging for change. So who's been complaining? CONTINUED »
JOSSIP REPORTS — With Keith Olbermann back in New York and supposedly making up with Chris Matthews, and Joe Scarborough insisting everyone at the network is going to have Thanksgiving together, everything should be hunky-dorey at NBC News, yes?
No.
Joe Scarborough is still taking shots at Olbermann on the air (excellent video here). Oh, and then there's this little matter of Chuck Todd, David Gregory, and Brian Williams — and Meet The Press. It's a clusterfuck, and these are the details: CONTINUED »
There's a conspiracy theory brewing about how the off-air conversation between Chuck Todd, Mike Murphy, and Peggy Noonan made its way to the web. Suspects the reactionary News Busters: somebody leaked it!
Really? What gave it away? The fact that the conversation took place off-air during a commercial break, and nobody outside the network could've seen it? Sounds like somebody put their investigative journalist hat on.
[An earlier version of this item used the headline "MSNBC Forgets To Cut to Commercial, Hanging Chuck Todd & Co. Out to Dry on Palin." It turns out MSNBC did cut to commercial, but their mics were still live and recording, and that recording got leaked.]
Haven't people learned anything from Jesse Jackson?
If you're wearing a microphone, don't say anything you don't want the world to hear! MSNBC's Chuck Todd, political consultant Mike Murphy and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan all put their foots in their mouths today when, after thinking they had gone to commercial, the trio ripped on McCain's "cynical" Sarah Palin veep pick.
The conversation gets really good when Todd wonders, "Do you think the Palin pick is insulting to Democrats? Is the really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?"
While Joe Lieberman is arguably not a wise VP pick for John McCain, choosing the Connecticut senator would have on effect on politics: Florida's Gov. Charlie Crist could get un-engaged.
That's the theory Chuck Todd floated today, sort-of-but-not-entirely outing Crist — who's widely suspected to be gay — while discussing McCain's potential running mates and the idea there's a "glass ceiling" for the unmarried.
SCARBOROUGH: Did he get married? I thought he was engaged. Is he engaged or did he get married?
TODD: After Friday the engagement might be off if he’s not the running mate., right? … I don’t know!
EVERYONE ELSE: *awkward!*
Yesterday, NBC News political director Chuck Todd anchored an hour of daytime programming for MSNBC. He also told colleagues he's going to anchor an hour a day during the network's convention coverage, newsroom sources tell us.
Know what Todd's colleague David Gregory said to his colleagues? That Todd is "gunning" to be the host of Meet The Press — a gig Gregory is said to desperately want for himself.
Too bad our informants say common opinion under the 30 Rock umbrella reveals few staffers want either of 'em to get the gig.
The candidate everybody is pining for? A certain presidential debate moderator. CONTINUED »
The ridiculous, and awesome, website ChuckToddFacts.com — Slogan: "The answer is Chuck Todd. The question is irrelevant." — offers a whole cache of trivia about the NBC News political director and Meet The Press moderator possibility.
• Chuck Todd has never been a virgin.
• Nationally, Chuck Todd leads John McCain by double digits.
• The acronym CIA stands for Chuck Is Awesome.
These facts have not been vetted by Jossip's fact-checking "department."
Broadcasting from the hills of Wyoming yesterday, Meet The Press, the third since Tim Russert died and Tom Brokaw's first since being named permanent interim moderator, was, by all accounts, nothing like the broadcast viewers remembered. Brokaw anchored a (taped) segment from the Western Governors’ Association. Invited guests, usually booked to at least spur some argument, included Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. of Colorado and Gov. Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming, who "me too'd" each other. The only modicum of debate? With NBC's own political director Chuck Todd. CONTINUED »
Despite conventional wisdom relayed to us earlier this month, NBC News' D.C. deputy chief Wendy Wilkinson does not appear to be the top candidate to take over the head position Tim Russert left empty with his death. Rather, NBC News SVP and Newsweek veteran Mark Whitaker is fingered as a likely successor, with political director Chuck Todd in the running as well. [NYO]
On last night's Countdown, Keith Olbermann preemptively named Page Six's Paula Froelich his "Worst Person in the World" after finding out she was working on an item, for today's column (here's the item), that accused colleague Chris Matthews of gunning for the Meet The Press gig at Tim Russert's funeral. Matthews denied the charge on the record, and said the "agent type" he was speaking to was real-estate developer Bob Monahan, and that their conversation wasn't about his plot to secure the gig, but about an upcoming speech Matthews was going to give to a group of mayors. As for Olbermann, P6 quotes a source saying he's threatened to quit if he isn't named to the MTP gig; Olbermann also denies the claim. And it better be true, because everybody we've spoke with says Olbermann and Matthews are about the last people NBC News president Steve Capus plans to install on the Sunday morning talker. Russert himself took a liking to political director Chuck Todd, though it's also unusual that Russert is said to have bandied about Todd's name as his pick of successor, since Russert, while still alive, had no plans of giving up the show anytime soon.
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