09 September, 2014

Obama Meets the Chuck Todd Press

Obama Meets the Chuck Todd Press: The danger for “Meet the Press,” and shows like it, is the same as for the President: that political talk, a discourse about power and ideology, becomes a tedious exercise in labeling—good, bad, boring. David Gregory didn’t succeed because his idea of a tough question was throwing one side’s most-honed talking point at the other. He did it with a merry glint, as if he actually thought that this move was the last thing anyone would expect. But these were not smart questions. A host can’t just snatch up bits of rhetoric that look shiny in the Washington light. Neither can a President, if he expects to shape the news, good or bad.