David Gregory teased Sunday's Meet the Press by highlighting a clip of himself pushing Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to upset conservatives in getting a budget deal, presumably by agreeing to raise taxes. “We go behind the scenes and on the record with Governor Romney less than two months before the election to press him on how he will turn around the economy and solve the nation’s debt crisis.”
NBC then showed Gregory pressing Romney: “Are you prepared to cut a deal with Democrats that would cause conservatives to revolt? Is it that important to get a deal to get us away from this fiscal cliff?”
In the subsequent interview, Gregory pursued his agenda by cutting off Romney when the ex-Massachusetts Governor didn’t agree with Gregory’s premise: “But are you going to, will you cut a deal to compromise even if it risks a conservative revolt?”
Audio: MP3 clip [1]
If Gregory lands a sit-down with President Obama before the election, will he push him to agree to budget cuts which will lead liberals to revolt?
From the interview conducted Saturday on the rooftop of a building in Boston:
DAVID GREGORY: Are you prepared to cut a deal with Democrats that would cause conservatives to revolt? Is it that important to get a deal to get us away from this fiscal cliff?
MITT ROMNEY: Well, it’s critical to get the country on track to avoid the kind of financial calamities you are seeing around Europe. And I have a plan that does that by really doing two of the key elements that are necessary-
GREGORY: But are you going to, will you cut a deal to compromise even if it risks a conservative revolt?
ROMNEY: There’s nothing wrong with the term compromise but there is something very wrong with the term abandoning one principles. And I’m standing by my principles and that is, I am not going to raise taxes on the American people. The problem in our country is not that we’re not paying enough taxes, it is that we are spending too much money and the economy is not growing as it could and should...
-- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here [2] to follow Brent Baker on Twitter.