NBC Airs Obama Campaign Press Release and Pretends It's News
At the top of Thursday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams did
his part for President Obama's re-election as he announced: "Game on. The President and Vice President hitting it hard tonight on the campaign trail." Introducing
the supposed news report, Williams touted how Republicans were "eating
up time and money and effort" in the primary race, while "Democrats were in full fall campaign mode."
White House correspondent Kristen Welker sounded more like the White
House press secretary as she set up a string of sound bites from Obama
and Joe Biden: "President Obama defended his energy policy in suburban
Maryland today, and attacked his GOP rivals....Assuming the traditional
vice presidential role of campaign attack dog, Biden bared his teeth
before a receptive audience of auto workers in politically-important
Ohio....he slammed the Republican candidates who opposed the auto
bailout." Not a single Republican sound bite was included.
Welker wrapped up the blatant Obama campaign cheerleading by promoting a new propaganda video: "Now also today, the
campaign released a 17-minute documentary. It was put together by
Oscar-winning director Davis Gugenheim and narrated by Tom Hanks. It's
the Obama team's way of saying, 'Game on.'"
On Friday's NBC Today, fill-in news anchor Tamron Hall followed the
Nightly News lead as she proclaimed: "The Democrats are ramping up their
re-election campaign with President Obama traveling to Chicago and
Atlanta today for fundraisers. And in Ohio Thursday, Vice President Joe
Biden attacked the Republican candidates by name, saying they would
bankrupt the middle class."
Unlike Welker's report, Hall did take some time to provide updates on
the GOP race, focusing on gaffes and difficulties for the Republican
candidates: "Meantime, Rick Santorum, who's trying to win Sunday's
Puerto Rico primary, said he was misquoted when a local newspaper
reported him saying that if Puerto Rico wants to become a state,
everyone should speak English. Mitt Romney is scheduled to campaign on
the island today amid reports of campaign money troubles."
Here is a full transcript of Welker's March 15 Nightly News report:
7:00PM ET TEASE:
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Game on. The President and Vice President hitting it hard tonight on the campaign trail.
7:06PM ET SEGMENT:
WILLIAMS:
And now we turn to presidential politics. While the GOP primary season
continues to grind on, eating up time and money and effort they would
rather devote to the general election campaign, today the Democrats were
in full fall campaign mode, seemingly, with Vice President Biden taking
on the GOP on the economy. Our report tonight from NBC News White House
correspondent Kristen Welker.
KRISTEN WELKER: With Republican candidates hammering him for high gas
prices and calling for more drilling, President Obama defended his
energy policy in suburban Maryland today, and attacked his GOP rivals.
BARACK OBAMA: Lately we've heard a lot of professional politicians, a
lot of the folks who are, you know, running for certain office, who
shall go unnamed. They've been talking down new sources of energy.
WELKER: The President didn't name names, but Joe Biden sure did.
JOE BIDEN: Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, these guys
have a fundamentally different economic philosophy than we do.
WELKER: Assuming the traditional vice presidential role of campaign
attack dog, Biden bared his teeth before a receptive audience of auto
workers in politically-important Ohio.
BIDEN: The guy I work with every day, the President, he didn't flinch. This is a man with steel in his spine.
WELKER: And he slammed the Republican candidates who opposed the auto bailout.
BIDEN: A million jobs saved, 200,000 new jobs created, and the verdict
is in, President Obama was right and they were dead wrong.
WELKER:
The speeches were held at the exact same time, a ploy for a campaign
split screen? The White House deflected that question.
JAY CARNEY: I would refer you to the campaign.
WELKER: But strategists say the imagery is clear.
STEVE MCMAHON [DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST]: Joe Biden is doing what vice
presidential candidates often do, which is calling the other side out on
issue differences.
WELKER: Now also today, the campaign released a 17-minute documentary.
It was put together by Oscar-winning director Davis Gugenheim and
narrated by Tom Hanks. It's the Obama team's way of saying, "Game on."
Brian.
WILLIAMS: Kristen Welker across town from us here in Washington at the White House. Kristen, thanks.
-- Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow Kyle Drennen on Twitter.
