Casual Observation

Based on the staff that they already have, NBC‘s choice of Chuck Todd to host Meet the Press makes perfect sense. He will modestly improve the show for the simple reason that he actually has a better understanding of politics than David Gregory. However, I don’t think he’ll make the show “must-see” television. Maybe he will surprise me, but I expect it will just accelerate a drift I have seen from Todd over recent years away from solid analysis into more of a dispassionate “objective” perspective that really adds very little to the debate. Considering the condition of American politics at the moment, we could use someone like Norm Ornstein as a host. Chuck Todd isn’t going to call crazy “crazy,” and that’s a problem.

17 Comments

seabe on August 11, 2014 at 1:15 pm

I remember back in 2007 and 2008 I was cheering on Chuck Todd because I was like “wow he comes to many of the same conclusions I come to.”

Not that I was spitting out anything award winning, must-see, or particularly insightful, but then you have our current media…

I’m not sure when I began to hate his little schtick, or when he began his transformation, but what sticks out most to me was his comments to Jeremy Scahill on Bill Maher:

Right as we walked off stage, he said to me, “That was a cheap shot.” I said, “What are you talking about?” and he said, “You know it.” I then said that I monitor msm coverage very closely and asked him what was not true that I said on the show. He then replied: “That’s not the point. You sullied my reputation on TV.”

That’s who Todd is and forever will be.

Phil Perspective on August 11, 2014 at 1:48 pm

Isn’t that telling? Chuckster was pissed because he got called out for lying.
- Nefer on August 11, 2014 at 2:19 pm
  
  Not surprising. After all, didn’t he whine that it was not the media’s responsibility to call out falsehoods? I don’t think his presence will make the Sunday morning gasbag shows any less gassy.
- seabe on August 11, 2014 at 2:21 pm
  
  Get the smelling salts. Scahill doesn’t abide by the Villager standards of “Chuck is a good man, and I respect his opinion; he’s a friend of mine.”
  
  Everyone knows torture is just yucky political catnip issue like abortion that distracts us from the important issues of the day, such as how much (not if) we should cut Social Security by to reduce the deficit.

Phil Perspective on August 11, 2014 at 1:52 pm

Can anyone tell me what Chuck Todd bring to the table? Is he a personality? Isn’t watching paint dry more fun than watching Chuckster on TV? You know what’s funny? For all the crap it takes, I wouldn’t be suprised if the Liverpool/Southampton EPL match beats MTP in the ratings. And NBC-SN is a lot higher up on the dial!!

seabe on August 11, 2014 at 2:16 pm

Well before he went full on Villager — although as I said he probably always had been, his job description was just different at the time — but when I liked him he didn’t give you bullshit about polling data. There was some horse race journalism about him, but significantly less than everyone else. He gave polling data, showed what states were most important, and dropped it there. That’s what I liked about him at the time. Now? He’s as worthless as the rest.

Oscar In Dallas on August 11, 2014 at 2:02 pm

Maybe I’ve missed it, but what is the relevance of “Meet The Press” or “This Week” or any of the other Sunday shows? Does anyone actually get information from these shows? I’d think The Daily Show and even The Cobert Report are more informative.

on August 11, 2014 at 2:02 pm

My 89 year-old mom tells me I am related to Chuck Todd, he’s something like a second or third-cousin. I do not find this particularly positive.

Marie2 on August 11, 2014 at 2:13 pm

Second cousins can be fairly far removed from one. I’ve only met three of mine and I have at least a hundred. One of whom was an active tea party member before his recent death.

TarheelDem on August 11, 2014 at 2:10 pm

Gregory was a problem. After all he was the guy as White House correspondent who pointed out where the pilot who flew into the White House during the Clinton era should have aimed to get the First Family.

But the hidden problem in all these Sunday talk shows is the guest list and the producers (or the instructions that producers are getting from their bosses).

As long as they continue to be GOPravda, everyone else will just tune out and the GOPartyHeads will tune to Fox where they can get the hi-test version of the message stream.

When the obsession is about the personality of the host, the show has departed widely from its origins. Who remembers Margaret Rountree, Ned Brooks, or Lawrence E. Spivak?

Meet the Press was originally presented as a 30-minute press conference with a single guest and a panel of questioners.

The recreation of Rountree’s original concept today would look like Julian Sanchez, Marcy Wheeler, Amie Stepanovich, and Kevin Gosztola interviewing John Brennan for 30 minutes. Or Martin Longman, Markos Moulitsas, Jane Hamsher, and Heather Parton interviewing Debbie Wasserman-Schultz or John Boehner for 30 minutes.

Raypc800 on August 11, 2014 at 2:48 pm

NBC blew it yet again. They should of chosen Weird Al Yankovic. Now that would of brought real change to the show. It also would of fit right in with all of the GOP guests they have.

Phil Perspective on August 11, 2014 at 2:50 pm

They should of chosen Weird Al Yankovic.

At least that would provide some entertainment value. Right now, ingesting liquid Draino is more exciting.

karl pearson on August 11, 2014 at 3:43 pm

I haven’t watch the Sunday morning talk shows in years. Now I have even stopped reading the roundup of the shows. Over time, I do not think Chuck Todd will increase the ratings for Meet the Press, either.

bcemore on August 11, 2014 at 5:15 pm

Too much politics and horse race and not enough policy on all those shows. Chuckie will just make it worse since he sees no worth in calling out BS no matter who is serving it up. It’s not his job to get to the truth. He is all about the horse race. There is no way, on any of these show to gain information about policy decisions and impacts proposed by either party.