Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
- The Washington Post featured an article this week on Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul and his appeal to young voters. Paul tried to explain his draw of young voters, saying “I’ve been asking the question myself for a long time. I talk a lot about freedom. It’s a young idea.”
- In a new report by the Pew Research Center, Paul has the most favorable coverage from all presidential candidates examined on Twitter. Fifty-five percent of messages about Paul were positive, while only 15 percent of the messages were negative.
- Watch his last appearance on MTP.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin released a statement this week concerning the nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He said, “Cordray is competent, qualified, and an honorable public servant and his nomination deserved an up-or-down vote…I hope we’ll be given another chance to confirm Richard Cordray to this important post.”
- In a tweet this week, Durbin addressed the payroll tax plan facing Congress. He said, “We’re going to stay in DC until we extend the #PayrollTaxCut. Our holiday gift to #American families is *not* going to be a tax increase.”
- Watch his last appearance on MTP.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
- Sen. Lindsey Graham commented on GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich this week in the Wall Street Journal. He said, “There was the Newt that got us all frustrated and upset. That’s the guy that was erratic. If you could bring out the best of Newt Gingrich and encapsulate that, you could have a transformative president.”
- As a member of the Armed Services Committee, Graham and Sen. John McCain released a statement this week onPakistan. They wrote, “all options regarding U.S. security and economic assistance to Pakistan must be on the table, including substantial reductions and stricter standards for performance.”
- Watch his last appearance on MTP.
Roundtable: Branstad, Castellanos, Koppel, Myers, Todd
- Governor Terry Branstad (R-IA) analyzed the GOP presidential candidates and their potential in the Iowa Caucuses. On Ron Paul, he said, “He [Paul] has got probably the best organization and has a very loyal following. … I don’t think he’ll win, but I think he will get 15 to 18 percent.” Watch his last appearance on MTP.
- In a blog post on PRESS Pass, Republican strategist Alex Castellanos wrote about the Republican race for the presidential nomination. In regards to Newt Gingrich, he wrote, “Can Newt Gingrich possibly win this nomination? Today, no. However, if Romney's balloon-thin campaign suffers the slightest prick, no one else can win it, either. Then it's anybody's game, including Gingrich's.” Watch his last appearance on MTP.
- Ted Koppel was named a correspondent for NBC’s news magazine show “Rock Center with Brian Williams” this October. Koppel’s premiere piece on “Rock Center” will be featured on the December 12th episode. Watch his last appearance on MTP.
- Senior Investigative Correspondent for NBC News Lisa Myers had a piece on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams this week which focused on Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. The piece featured Gingrich’s journey to being a2012 presidential candidate.
- NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd wrote on NBC’s First Read this week about Newt Gingrich’s rise in the polls. He wrote, “one other advantage Newt has to POTENTIALLY survive this Romney onslaught: Romney’s own issues with theconservative base. And if conservatives feel like they have to ‘hold their noses,’ they just might pick the guy who they feel was with them from the beginning.” Watch his last appearance on MTP.
Follow these guests on Twitter:
- Ron Paul: @RonPaul
- Dick Durbin: @SenatorDurbin
- Lindsey Graham: @GrahamBlog
- Terry Branstad: @TerryBranstad
- Alex Castellanos: @alexcast
- Rock Center with Brian Williams: @RockCenterNBC
- Lisa Myers: @LisaMyersNBC
- Chuck Todd: @chucktodd
Leave a Comment:
I have been extremely disappointed in David Gregory's managing / leading the show over the past two weeks. I am in no way a hard-right Rep, but it is evident that DG fails to confront the Dem's and Rep's in a meaningful way. I am finding MTP losing its value as a show that provides a discussion / debate. Like today, he merely stepped back allowed the same old Dem and Rep spew their ideaology. It was a waseted 20 minutes...poor show and declining quality.
Glen, I could not agree with you more.. David Gregory's attempt at hard hitting questions fall short on all levels. He just regurgitates the same old garbage that everyone else does. He has a very powerful platform, yet, he and his show are seriously lacking direction and a niche. It's just more of the same..
Dear David Gregory,
I was excited to see that you were having Ron Paul on your show this morning. I made an extra effort to be in front of a tv just to watch. However, if I were you, I would be embarrassed by such a terrible interview. All of your questions seemed to be about trying to direct Ron Paul towards discussing Newt And Mitt and which one he preferred and might choose to support. Why would you waste such a great opportunity to have a meaningful dialogue about the direction of our country and his plans for making America great again? I could only wish for 10 minutes of his time for a one on one meaningful discussion with Ron Paul. Instead, you wasted several minutes trying to back him in a corner about whether or not he plans to run as a third party candidate. He has been asked that question on every interview he has done lately, so why continue to ask dumb uncreative questions? This is just another example of how the press continues to ignore Ron Paul as a serious candidate. While you did have him on your show, you insulted him and his supporters by focusing the interview on the other candidates and not really allowing him to discuss his views on anything important or meaningful. I will not be watching your show anymore and I will make sure I share my thoughts about your awful interview with all of my friends on facebook. Shame on you!!!
~Pat from Florida
David Gregory more than made up for what the previous comment writers complain about when he allowed Governor Terry Branstad (R-IA) to rant on as though he was on a paid political advertisement for Republicans. His cheap shots and disrespect for President Obama, however dissatisfied the public may be with his performance, were appalling. In the moments before, you were all giving praise to former Speaker Newt Gingrich for the "polite" way in which he tears apart his Republican colleagues. Then allowing Branstad to pillory the President in the way that he did was a disgrace. Great fan of Mr. Gregory and an avid supporter of MTP, but allowing rabid partisanship from a "third party" was quite inexcusable.