ABC and NBC Omit Any Mention of Midterm Elections on Day Two Weeks from Election Day

On Tuesday, ABC and NBC made no mention of the upcoming midterm elections, which were two weeks away from Tuesday and include numerous Senate races that will decide whether Republicans or Democrats control the U.S. Senate.

ABC’s Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, NBC’s Today, and NBC Nightly News made no mention of the midterm elections in their newscasts while the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley ran not one but two segments on the topic during its Tuesday night broadcast. [MP3 audio here [1]; Video below]

In the first segment, CBS News anchor introduced the story by CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett by noting that “[o]ne veteran politician noticeably absent from the campaign trail is the head of the Democratic Party: President Obama” as he only attended his first campaign rally of the cycle on Sunday.

Garrett began by stating that, while the President will not appear on the ballot on November 4, “he’s talking like he is” and that has been much “to the dismay of some Democrats.”

In a rare mention for any of broadcast network, Garrett mentioned the President’s current approval rating (according to the most recent CBS News/New York Times poll [2]) of 42 percent and that it is “even lower in Republican-leaning states that will decide” Senate control. 

In further pointing out Obama’s unpopularity, Garrett said many Democrats are reserving soundbites in their campaign advertisements for figures such as former President Bill Clinton (instead of the current President). 

Beyond that, the CBS News chief White House correspondent compared the political enthusiasm among Democrats seeking to campaign with Obama and the number of rallies he’s attended on October 21 in both 2010 and 2014: 

The Obama phenomenon attracted adoring crowds and Democrats galore in 2006, 2008 and as President in 2010 and 2012, but not anymore. So far this cycle, the President has headlined just two rallies and 61 fund-raisers. At this point in 2010, another tough mid-term election, he attended seven rallies and 60 fund-raisers and would go on to lead 17 rallies and 69 fund-raisers before Election Day. The President will attend five more rallies before election day, but none involve tight Senate races.

Garrett concluded by mentioning White House officials who privately suggested that having the President appear in states with close Senate races like Colorado, Georgia, and North Carolina could boost turnout among Democrats, but “so far, no one has called.”

Following that, Pelley turned briefly to CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes for a one-minute-and-13-second breakdown of the Senate. Cordes credited Republicans with having the “all but locked up” three (Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia) of the six seats needed to takeover Senate control from the Democrats and that “there are seven seats that are held by Democrats” who Cordes admitted “are very vulnerable right now.”

Cordes mentioned that some of the vulnerable incumbent Democrats are from “states like Arkansas and Louisiana, so Republicans have a number of ways to get a majority.”

Instead of acknowledging President Obama’s unpopularity ahead of the midterm elections or even the midterms itself, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir found it important to inform viewers that the band Led Zeppelin is being sued by an artist claiming the music from their song “Stairway to Heaven” was stolen. 

In addition, ABC’s evening news program devoted a full segment to reporting on a recent guest from CBS’s The Price Is Right who spun a dollar on the program’s wheel (giving him $1,000) and then another (giving him an addition $25,000) before winning his showcase prize package at the episode’s conclusion.

The complete transcript of the segment on President Obama’s unpopularity on the campaign trail from the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on October 21 is transcribed below.

CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley
October 21, 2014
6:33 p.m. Eastern

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: Midterm Elections]

SCOTT PELLEY: The mid-term elections are two weeks from today. One veteran politician noticeably absent from the campaign trail is the head of the Democratic Party: President Obama. He didn't attend any campaign rally until just this past Sunday. Here's chief White House correspondent Major Garrett. 

MAJOR GARRETT: President Obama is not on the ballot this November, but to the dismay of some Democrats, he's talking like he is. 

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: A lot of the states that are contested this time are states that I didn't win. The bottom line is, though, these are all folks who vote with me. They have supported my agenda in congress. 

GARRETT: The comments on Al Sharpton's radio show came as Democrats in competitive races try to distance themselves from the President. His 42 percent approval rating nationally is even lower in Republican-leaning states that will decide control of the U.S. Senate, like Kentucky where Senate candidate Allison Lundergan-Grimes has appeared with former President Bill Clinton, but won't even say if she voted for Mr. Obama. 

ALISON LUNDERGAN-GRIMES: Every Kentuckian has the right for privacy at the ballot box. 

OBAMA: Give it up for Anthony Brown, your next governor. 

GARRETT: Even candidates who invite Mr. Obama like Maryland's Democratic nominee for Governor, Anthony Brown, reserve their TV time for that other President. 

FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: And you must have a leader and that’s what Anthony Brown is.

GARRETT: The Obama phenomenon attracted adoring crowds and Democrats galore in 2006, 2008 and as President in 2010 and 2012, but not anymore. So far this cycle, the President has headlined just two rallies and 61 fund-raisers. At this point in 2010, another tough mid-term election, he attended seven rallies and 60 fund-raisers and would go on to lead 17 rallies and 69 fund-raisers before Election Day. The President will attend five more rallies before election day, but none involve tight Senate races. Privately, White House officials believe a visit from Mr. Obama could boost Democratic turnout, perhaps decisively in Senate races in Colorado, North Carolina and Georgia, but, Scott, so far no one has called. 

PELLEY: They want him for the fund-raisers but not on the stump. Major, thanks very much. 

The full transcript of the segment devoted to analyzing the upcoming Senate elections on the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on October 21 can be found below.

CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley
October 21, 2014
6:35 p.m. Eastern

SCOTT PELLEY: For the Republicans to take control of the Senate on Election Day, they need to win at least six seats that are now held by Democrats. What are their chances? Well, our congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes is right here with us tonight. Nancy? 

NANCY CORDES: Well, Scott, it appears that Republicans have all but locked up three of those six seats they need. They are all seats in Republican-leaning states where Democratic incumbents are retiring. So that means they need to find three more and there are seven seats that are held by Democrats and they are very vulnerable right now. Some of these are states the President lost in 2012 by double-digit, states like Arkansas and Louisiana, so Republicans have a number of ways to get to a majority, assuming that they don't lose one of their vulnerable seats, but there are only a couple. 

PELLEY: The CBS News elections and polling unit has been crunching the numbers, as they're always doing, what's our best projection two weeks out of whether the Republicans can take control? 

CORDES: Well, according to our battleground tracker, if the election were held today, the Senate would go from Democrats holding the majority, 55 seats to 45, to Republicans controlling the Senate, but by the slimmest of margins, 51 seats to 49, so it’s a real nail-biter. 

PELLEY: But the only poll that matters is Election Day. 

CORDES: Absolutely. 

PELLEY: Nancy, thank you so much.