NBC Reporter Impressed that Obama Can Draw a Crowd in Liberal Madison, Wis.
NBC's
Savannah Guthrie, on Wednesday's Today show, proclaimed: "The President
proved last night, in Wisconsin, he can still pack tens of thousands of
young people into an arena" but lost on Guthrie was the fact that if
Barack Obama has to campaign in one of the most reliably liberal cities
- in this case Madison, WI for incumbent Senator Russ Feingold - it's
not a good sign for the Democratic Party. While Guthrie did question if
Obama could get those young voters to the polls, she went on to leave
the impression that Obama's "old campaign magic" may be closing the gap
as she noted: "The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows the
race for Congress tightening. Republicans now hold a three point lead
over Democrats among likely voters, down from a nine point lead last
month."
What Guthrie failed to report was that same poll showed some very bad numbers for the Dems. As the MRC's Brent Baker noted,
even Guthrie's NBC colleague Brian Williams couldn't ignore the poll
results that showed: "'The change that voters want' includes 54 percent
who 'hope that this Tea Party enthusiasm in the Republican Party makes
them a fiscally conservative party' and '54 percent want to see the
repeal of health care.'"
The following is the full report filed by Guthrie as aired on the September 29 Today show:
ANN CURRY: Today the President speaks out on the economy in Iowa and Virginia, while at the same time trying to re-energize his base. NBC's White House correspondent Savannah Guthrie is in Washington with more on this. Savannah, good morning.
[On screen headline: "President On The Campaign Trail, Obama: 'We Cannot Sit This One Out'"]
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Good morning, Ann. Well the President proved last night, in Wisconsin, he can still pack tens of thousands of young people into an arena, the question is can he get them to the polls? Trying to fire up the old campaign magic, the President at the University of Wisconsin at Madison Tuesday night.
BARACK OBAMA: We cannot sit this one out! We can't let this country fall backwards because the rest of us didn't care enough to fight! The stakes are too high for our country and for your future! And I'm gonna get out there and fight as hard as I can! And I know you are too!
GUTHRIE: With voter turnout potentially making the difference in tight races the Democratic National Committee is spending $50 million to get Obama '08 voters to show up in 2010. The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows the race for Congress tightening. Republicans now hold a three point lead over Democrats among likely voters, down from a nine point lead last month. The President's approval rating still stuck at 46 percent. In Albuquerque on Tuesday, at a backyard conversation with voters, the President fielded questions on everything from the economy to his faith.
OBAMA: You know I'm a Christian by choice. My mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew but she didn't raise me in the church. I think, also understanding that, you know, that Jesus Christ dying for my sins, spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings.
GUTHRIE: Meanwhile a shake-up looms here at the White House. The chief of staff Rahm Emanuel could be gone within days to run for mayor of Chicago. The President hasn't yet decided on a successor, but it's likely to be an insider. Ann?
CURRY: Alright Savannah Guthrie this morning. Thanks so much for your reporting.
-Geoffrey Dickens is the Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here
