Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel argued this morning that the reason people are still talking about Clint Eastwood's remarks Thursday night is because Romney's speech was, "devoid and vacuous of any ideas."
"There was nothing there," Emanuel said, "so the space post the convention is being about Clint Eastwood."
He continued to lay out the case for why President Obama deserved re-election saying, "If people want to know about the first term, very simple. General Motors is alive and well, and Osama bin Laden is not. And that's what got done."
On the roundtable, the gender gap was front and center. President Obama has a lead in our latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll among women by ten points. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina lamented what she believes is the treatment of women as a "special interest group," by the political parties - particularly the Democrats.
"Women are over half the populations. They are not single issue voters. ... The Democratic party continues to milk this issue and manipulate women as single issue voters."
(Watch Chuck Todd's breakdown of the numbers on the gender gap here from today's program.)
You can watch the entire program on our website to hear more from our roundtable on the gender gap, and what we can expect from the Democratic National Convention which kicks off this week in Charlotte, NC.
We'll be back next week. If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.
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I would just like to say that for the most part the Republicans have been devoid of solutions and very quick to transfer their failures across the aisle. I think we need to get rid of the two party system and replace it with a system where one is judged on his or her ideology. Thus we can return the country to a thinking political populus . Ideology and thinking are big with me, that is what I listen for.
I loved it when Paul Friedman stated he was a Planned Parenthood Democrat, period, end of sentence end of paragraph. Then Newt challenged him and he folded like a church chair stating, I'm here because I'm a journalist.
Why don't your try and get some policy people on rather than other journalists? They show up w/ biased points of view and then cannot substantiate them because they aren't policy people!
Come on! This election is too important to be listening to this drivel or "Hooray"
Newt is stupid, Abortion at 8-9 months. Dumb-ass it's meet the press, you need to go back and see that part of the program again!
I am embarrassed for the Republicans.Horrified for Clint Eastwood and thoroughly disgusted w/ the disrespect for our president By all.I am embarrassed for all of those white people spreading their hate in ugly hats & chants .As I am white I can say that.I feel that Mr.Romney blew his chance to offer any solutions other then point out the mistakes that the Republicans made & fight Obama at every angle to defeat our president and if that took our credit rating down and everybody lost their jobs and homes then so be it You are on your own.Am I better off then four years ago? No But I see the future if Obama stays put .I think he sees the Republicans do not play fair & he is going to fight w/ the truth & less money
The Honorable Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, took time out from his day job, and time away from his needed sleep to tell me all that I need to know.
"If people want to know about the first term, very simple. General Motors is alive and well, and Osama bin Laden is not. And that's what got done."
The only change I have noticed is my haircut. Once it was cut weekly. In the past three years it is cut every fortnight.
Gregory needs to man up. His refusal to clearly call out Ryan's lies lowers not only MTP's credibility but the overall discourse. If the 4th estate refuses to speak truth to power who will? Who can we trust?
I see a marked difference in MTP now. During Russert's time we saw, when either side went over the line, he guided them back purposely with their very own words. Now when we need a vanguard the most, MTP lacks both purpose and direction. MTP only captures the moment by accident now, as less skilled politicians find their way to the stage more easily and stumble.
If Romney-Ryan win knowing they are unaccountable to anyone, the claims they could make to cover deeds in office could threaten the very fabric of the government. And there will be no going back, politics in America will change forever.
Great panel discussion this week. Fact is there was no substance to the Rep. Convention and I have more respect for the Rep. guest on MTP & ABC's This Week who pretty much admitted it. Gingrich was totally off base with his abortion bias "outrage" and I applaud Paul Friedman and you David. I might be open to Gingrichs argument were it not the Rep. Party position to ban all abortion. I will always be for a persons right to choose when it comes to their own bodies.
Why wasn't the Romney statement "We band behind the President" after an election tested and challenged when you have sitting there Newt G who was one of the conspirators to disrupt the progress and recovery of the nation as a Minority party that could stop the Senate from the first day of the Obama Administration On. The Democrats did not have a Super Majority in the first 2 years of the Obama Administration and to let the lie that Obama could have had what ever he wanted if False. In addition it took 8 years for Bush to Mess up the progress made under Clinton, Yet within Days and Weeks the GOP were complaining that Obama hadn't kept his campaign promises. ALL along for 4 years they have been plotting the frustration and failure of the economy for their own political gain and they so much as admitted it.
Biden said un chain Wall street, you'll be in chains... That is a reference to Financial Burden not Slavery.
Newt you lie again Biden was talking about regulatory shackles ...
Newt, your view on tax funded abortions are flawed, Tax supported abortions only happen in case of Rape or Incest or the Medical Needs of the Mother. Get out of women's pants would you. How about laws keeping men's zippers UP.
Where was the Woman's Voice when the topic of women's health was being heard in the HOUSE? NO WOMEN on the panel, and none were planned to testify. Republican women have abortions, and you bet some of those are done at tax payer's expense. Republican women are occasionally raped or victims of incest or medical problems that require an abortion.
Stop paying for Viaga and their may be fewer abortions.
I'm watching today's show. Again, I discovered why I dropped watching Meet the Press. What a bunch of self-promoting BS, especially newt, the lying, felony, mean-spirited a-hole of all lying, crooked politicians. geezzzzz! historian, an out of date newscaster, a newspaper guy of applesauce content; no wonder David cannot ask questions of merit: There's no one of merit in the guests. newt is no more than another opportunist with money. He has nothing else to do in life, but get disgustingly fat, and run around the country having fun ranting about everyone's extreme position. newt is a guy who makes running for office a job. Running for office enable him to steal money from those who can least afford it. Reminds me of a televangelist: How about a tele-political jelly-fish begging for money from the ignorant.
Regarding Eastwood, I hope we all make it to 82-and can walk up to the podium and talk. Clint is an American Icon; give the guy a break.
What was missing today(meet the Press) was any discussion of the collaspe of the housing market, which was was a major force in our economic recession. Both parties guilty in this regard.
Finally ,President Obama saw the financial collaspe caused by bad mortgages; all the money in the system was tied up in toxic assets-or bad mortgages. While wanting all to own a home is admirable, this got out of hand,creating a housing bubble that crashed the financial system.
The President saw this, plus rising debt and unemployment!
So what did he do-NOTHING!
Instead he had the House and Senate and ran with one of the most egregrious spending sprees in political history, spending 5 trilion in less than four years. the only thing that stopped this partisan spending spree was the Republicans taking the House.
Both sides of the isle are obstinate and obstructionists-which has gone on for years, yet most presidents manage to 'LEAD'AND GET SOME THINGS DONE'
The President has been enept at leading anything!
The Stimulis bill was more paybact to the President's constituents, than job creation-which is the major reason it failed.
Whem asked abot it, President Obama, sitting by his job's czar, Geoff Imault-who is also President and CEO of General Electric, LAUGHED, AND SAID 'i GUESS THE STIMULIS WASN'T SO STIMULATING'!!!!!
Millions of Americans hurting, out of work,and loosing their homes,and Imault and the President laugh????? Unconscionable.
And let's take Geoff imault, GE's head man and the job's czar. What specifically has he done for 'JOBS'????
The left bashes Romney about Bain Capital , while Imault has laid off over 22,000 people at GE; further he is outsourcing jobs to build airplanes in China; in fact, GE is outsourcing all over the place-so where is the Left's rage????
I'll bet if you contacted these 22,000 folks that lost ther job-and benefits, I'll bet you will find many hurt by the loss of their medical insurance!!!!
President Obama could have addressed the financial meltdown from the getgo; instead he spent more money than all presidents in history.
He cannot lead; he is incaple of getting anything done.
He has refused to address the debt, probably because he is afraid it will cost hin votes.
He is the first President in history to not have established an opperating Budget! Three times he has presented a budget to the Senate-controlled by Democrats- and he cannot even get ONE VOTE from his own party because the spending he is asking for is so absurd-and unsustainable!!!
The last Senate vote was 89 to 0 against.
We have the States suing the government and visa-versa; we have ICE agents suing their boss 'THE GOVERNMENT'.
We have the President calling the wealthy !% fat cats and other names; ergo here comes the 99% all upset.
This is the most devisive President in history.
He refuses to take any responsibility, even though his policies hgave contributed to many of the problems. There isn't a business in this country that is going to hire anyone until they know the total affect of the HC bill on their business.
By the way, if you have NOT read the bill, you cannot argue for or against.
It's time for a change-This President had his chance!
I am one of the most frustrated woman voter and tax payer of all time. Their are so many issues that I worry about. The big one is- not working together. I want a clear plan from both candidates. I don't want spins from the handlers or the partys. The blame game is counterproductive . I know this is a very naive and a Cinderella view.
President Obama did a very good thing stopping the pipeline. Their proposed route was dangerous and illconceived. You should not be near water or aquifers. In the long run, water is more precious than oil.
I fault the media for not educating the vast majority of the public on exactly what a private equity guy actually does to make his fortune, as Romney did. Read this to educate yourselves! I also resent the Las Vegas mafia "buying" their presidency through "private" mega donations! The GOP & Romney treat our government as a business. It is Not! Nor does the government have any business with my reproductive body or my religion! I personally am more interested in keeping our infrastructure functional and schools top notch, yadda. Obama has done a tremendous amount in his 4 years in the direction I look for, while McConnell and the GOP have trashed the country in their effort to take it over again. Scary folks!
Thanks for a good show today...
I came over to this site because I heard a few stations talking about how much this network spins the news. I thought that is not possible, when CNN says NBC is spinning the news you know something is up. After looking at the news for a few days and I am astonished to see how true it is. Virtually all the news has a horrible slant and some of it is simply dishonest. As an independent that will vote either way I am appalled that this news organization is no longer in the news business. NBC is a political machine that no longer reports the news, they should have disclaimer when entering this site or watching their network stations.
I believe the biggest hurdle Obama has had to face is Republicans not willing to reach across the isle in a bipartisan effort to help both sides work together. They would rather see the country fall into worse problems than work with Mr. Obama. I wont ever vote republican because they do not "care," they just want things their way. I am disgusted by Romney and Ryans pandering people as well. All politicians pander some, but they have made themselves an embarrassing spectacle. A whole lot more of the show today should have been on Paul Ryan and his grand lies in his speech. Honesty was 100% missing from him. I thought he might be different-he is not. David Gregory is kind of weak-I miss Tim Russert!
SERIOUSLY?!!! "Devoid and vacuous of any ideas?!" Sounds like Obama's past four years! Sounds like something Rahm would put out. Rahm needs to spend less time campaigning for Obama and more time stopping the epidemic of shootings in Chicago!
Chicago is so corrupt, if everyone voted for Romney, Obama would still win.
Im a independent who votes with the Repubs 55% of the time but even me is noticing the media bias with the so called old mainstream media of New York Socialst times-MSNLSD,NBC Provda,and even ABC(will leave out CBS,PBS,even the Huffington Post has been a little more balanced. I like how ABC cuts off a latino female govenor in there coverage and goes to a latino talkng head to talk about how the Repubs dont have enough diversity, lol.... Mia Love and Congressman Davis both Black get knocked off the air on the pretext of the hurrican coverage which was barely talking about on their network all day long and didnt amount to a whole lot compared to what they were expecting out of it... . and of course when it is the Dems turn they Times,ABC and NBC-MSNLSD will be fawning and falling over themselves and there probably already getting set to type on their laptops what a great convention the Dems held and hasnt even started yet. Obama can split a baby in half and they will weep with joy and worship the ground he walks on... And just to show you Im not a right wing talking point, fox does the same thing only the opposite and Im actually voting Democrat in the state Senate race.. But I'm sure I will get hate post for the "Bitter Left" who think if you criticize Obama you hate the poor and are a racist and hate women and school children, etc etc... Dont really care what the haters say, let me say that in Advance...
You can always watch the U.S. Congress at work by watching C-Span. They don't show everything, but there is enough shown to give good evidence of where the fault lies in this mess. If you see how these Republicans act and then try to blame the media for their behavior, you need to have your head examined.
This is accurate. Right before they took off for the summer break there was a lot to see in the CSPAN re the Republican(Tea Party influenced) Representatives were showing their true colors. It is amazing that more wasn't discussed about their behavior bad as it is.
Rob Emmanuel did a great job in my opinion on Meet The Press Sunday with his discussion of the accomplishments of President Obama.
Well, Carol, Rob Emmanuel (who ever that is) may have done a great job. But Rahm Emanuel was his usual bullying, delusional self - distorting facts and making up new ones. (crime is down in Chicago by 10%) Please!
Everyone seems to agree that it's the year of the Women's Vote.
Carly says women are multi-issue engaged and shouldn't care about the Republican Platform (and top candidates) views on rape and abortion because, well, because they aren't really going to do anything and, we're a multi-issue gender!
Doris K. says the Platform matters, words matter, and actions matter. Women have seen the legislative agenda of Republicans for the last 3 plus years, so they know that when Romney tells Huckabee he'd support a Personhood amendment because that's they're best strategy - well, women understand that your Party Platform does indeed tell the nation what your party will attempt to do if elected.
Tom says American women are concerned that their view that it's 'their body' is "not entirely embraced" by Republicans. I hope Stewart nails you with that euphemism next time you're on the Daily Show!
I hope women will settle this pregnancy/abortion issue one way or the other this election as I'm getting sick of hearing about it all the time. I don't care how women vote, seeing how little Republican's care about Constitutionally protected Individual Liberty scares the crud out of me. I've turned Democrat. Unbelievable!
The Democratic National Convention will be a great forum for President Obama and all the great supporters of his reelection to reach the American people.They would like to keep this country a Democracy (for all) and not become the Aristocracy (for the elite few on top)which is in the planning stages of the Republicans(with the Tea Party influence unfortunately). Caring for all doesn't mean not aspiring to achieve higher wealth for them.The Romney- Ryan ticket sugar coated is a disaster for the majority of this country.Actually for more than the majority.(Approx 300 million people)No matter what they come up with (mothers (rich to begin with) so that if there plan failed their mothers are already well taken care of..With Ryan's 6 bathrooms I'm sure his Mom would be fine)...Clint Eastwood and skits that border insanity,and all the negativity that has been spun.Also how would Presidential nominees with the affiliations to Extreme Religions be better for the country?Would Mormonism (secrecy etc) and Atheism(Ayn Rand is evidence of this from the online video where she admits this plus selfishness is her motto and fend for oneself type behavior is promoted)? It may be o.k. for the top 1% but for the 300 million who do not ascribe to these principles we may have a problem .A BIG PROBLEM. Vote for the safety ,and protection of ALL of our people and our country. OBAMA-BIDEN 2012
David, you are a continued embarrassment to Meet the Press. You let Newt go unchecked on his false abortion claim about Obama and are so clearly a closeted Republican that you should just be honest and say it. You have really ruined what once was a great show. Tim Russert has definitely rolled over in his grave more than once over the lack of journalistic integrity you practice. I wish NBC would find a new moderator and restore some class to the show.
David, I think you do an excellent job moderating the show, and I'm sure it's a tough job. I have to thank you for your facial expression after Rahm Emanuel said crime was down by 10% in Chicago. Ha! You had the restraint not to say, "Since when? Tuesday?" But the look on your face said what we were all thinking...
He is such a deluded egomaniac, he's willing to let the people in his own city die week after week rather than acknowledging this horrific problem and then actually doing something to prevent it. One can only wonder how long the great people of Chicago will tolerate such ineffective leadership and lack of true concern.
David,I enjoy watching you put the politicians on the" hot seat" with some of your questions. Both candidates running for President are going to create jobs. Please find out how they plan to do this. Are they going to have congress tax the company's that took all are jobs to Mexico,China or the rest of the 3rd world because of labor cost? I dont know of any middle class Americians that had a part in the decision making process of keeping jobs here or sending them abroad for more profit. The CEO's of these large corporations believe they are worth 100s of millions for the job they perform but the average worker isnt worth a decent wage. GREED GREED GREED.