NBC Touts Obama Campaign Smearing Romney 'As A Middle Class Job Killer'
On Monday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams attempted to
conflate the JPMorgan $2 billion loss with Mitt Romney's business record
as he declared: "The Obama campaign may have 
had this JPMorgan
story in mind when it picked today to launch a new ad attacking Mitt
Romney's former firm, the private equity giant, Bain Capital, as a
middle class job killer."
Chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd followed by proclaiming that
the Obama team was "...attacking Mitt Romney's time at Bain Capital for
what, in some people believe, are rough ways that they went about
buying up some companies, leveraging them...what the campaign believes...says about Mitt Romney's leadership on the economy, that he'll be ruthless in this."
On
Tuesday's Today, co-host Ann Curry pressed Romney adviser Eric
Fehrnstrom on charges made in the Obama attack ad: "...this two-minute
ad and the six-minute video, that really focuses on the closing of – of
this steel mill. I wonder if Mitt Romney now thinks that closing of that
steel mill was a mistake?"
Fehrnstrom ripped the ad: "Well, I think these attempts by President
Obama to distract from his own poor record on the economy is the biggest
smokescreen since Mount St. Helens erupted."
On Nightly News, Todd summarized both the Obama ad and a Romney ad
touting a Bain Capital success story. During his report on Today, clips
played of both ads, with Todd explaining:
Meanwhile the Obama campaign is turning its attention this week to Mitt Romney's business record, slamming Romney's old private equity firm, Bain Capital, for buying and later closing a Kansas City steel mill....The Romney campaign quickly responded with its own web ad, highlighting what they believe is a Bain Capital success story, Steel Dynamics in Indiana.
Todd did point out hypocrisy on the President's part:
...an awkward attempt to raise big Wall Street money while bashing some of Wall Street's practices, at least when it comes to how Mitt Romney did it....The President's last event in New York City was at the home of the president of a hedge fund that's twice as large as Bain, and there, the President praised the free market system. They've been trying to walk a line, Ann, a little bit, on how much they bash Bain versus Mitt Romney.
Here is a full transcript of Todd's May 14 Nightly News report:
7:04AM ET
BRIAN
WILLIAMS: The Obama campaign may have had this JPMorgan story in mind
when it picked today to launch a new ad attacking Mitt Romney's former
firm, the private equity giant, Bain Capital, as a middle class job
killer. We heard a lot of this during the campaign. NBC's political
director, chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd with us from our
D.C. newsroom tonight. Chuck, good evening.
CHUCK TODD: Good evening, Brian. Well, it worked for Ted Kennedy in
1994 when he ran against Romney, and it worked for a time for Newt
Gingrich during the South Carolina primary earlier this year. And so
attacking Mitt Romney's time at Bain Capital for what, in some people
believe, are rough ways that they went about buying up some companies,
leveraging them, and so the Obama campaign unveiled a two-minute ad.
But it turns out they didn't spend that much money on this ad, it's
only going to air one time in a few markets on one day this week, but it
tells the story of GST Steel in Kansas City. And what the campaign
believes it says – is that it says about Mitt Romney's leadership on the
economy, that he'll be ruthless in this. To respond, Brian, the Romney
campaign went up with its own ad, what they believe is a Bain success
story. It's about a company called Steel Dynamics in Indiana, that Bain
essentially helped restart from scratch.
WILLIAMS: And Chuck, it's commencement season. Both Romney and
President Obama chose audiences to go right after a red meat message,
didn't they?
TODD: It sure did. You know, President Obama today was in New York
City, speaking at his alma mater, actually on the campus of his alma
mater, Columbia, but he was the commencement speaker for the all women's
college Barnard, and it was there he sounded almost like a campaign
speech, trying to drive up the gender gap, talk about women's issues. He
really hopes that helps him. Mitt Romney on Saturday was at the
evangelical school in Virginia called Liberty University. And it was
there he sort of gave a speech, Brian, that was as much about talking
about his Mormon faith and the things they have in common with the
evangelical Christians, but the loudest applause line came when he
talked about that he was for marriage between one man and one woman,
Brian.
WILLIAMS: Chuck Todd in our D.C. newsroom with all things political tonight. Chuck, thanks.
Here is a portion of Curry's May 15 interview with Fehrnstrom:
7:08AM ET
(...)
CURRY: You know, meantime as we just heard in Chuck's report, there is
this move now by the Obama campaign, aggressively, to now attack your
candidate, his record at Bain Capital, including wit
h this two-minute ad
and the six-minute video, that really focuses on the closing of – of
this steel mill. I wonder if Mitt Romney now thinks that closing of that
steel mill was a mistake?
FEHRNSTROM: Well, I think these attempts by President Obama to distract
from his own poor record on the economy is the biggest smokescreen
since Mount St. Helens erupted. Look, Steve Ratner, I think had it right
when he called this attack by the Obama campaign unfair. Steve Ratner
is a former top official on the Obama economic team, and he said that
Bain Capital has a superb reputation in the community and that they
acted responsibly, and that they're one of the leading private equity
firms in the world. Look, we know from our own 401(k) investments that
not every stock we buy, not every company we invest in, turns out to be a
winner. But over the long haul, Mitt Romney has had many more successes
than failures. He's learned from both experiences, and that's what
makes him so qualified to lead on jobs and the economy.
(...)
-- Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow Kyle Drennen on Twitter.
