NBC's Lauer: Not to Be Rude, But Obama Hasn't Done Anything
NEWSBUSTERS
By Rich Noyes on Obama Watch
Even Barack Obama's fan club on NBC's Today were stunned at the President's winning of the Nobel Peace Prize. Co-host Matt Lauer found it baffling: "We're less than a year into the first term of this president and there are no -- I'm not trying to be, you know, rude here -- no major foreign policy achievements, to date."
Meet the Press moderator David Gregory felt the need to point out the "left-leaning" impulse of the Europeans who christened Obama as the world's leading peacemaker for 2009: "This is a lot more about tone than it is substantive accomplishment. In many ways, this is a European body who is more left-leaning, certainly, and opposed to the administration of George W. Bush."
Lauer followed up: "So, what you're saying in some ways and, again, not to be rude here or sarcastic, that in some ways he wins this award for not being George W. Bush?"
Gregory agreed: "I think that that is an inescapable conclusion about all of this."
Lauer and Gregory were also fixated on what conservatives would say about the Nobel committee's choice. Lauer insisted: "It's no secret that conservatives have opposed some of his foreign policy initiatives, reaching out to Iran, allowing former President Clinton to go to North Korea on that mission to free those U.S. journalists. Even that early speech in Egypt to the Arab world -- a lot of critics, conservatives, called it the 'Obama apology tour.' So how are they gonna deal with this?"
"I think his conservative critics will say, you know, a lot of sizzle here, but not a lot of accomplishment," Gregory predicted, just moments after he and Lauer had agreed that Obama lacked any "accomplishment" that would merit the award.
In their barely seven minutes of coverage on Today, NBC also repeated three times the White House talking point that Obama was "humbled" by the award. Lauer at the top of the show relayed: "The President, according to administration officials, is apparently humbled by the announcement...." Co-host Meredith Vieira soon reinforced: "And as Matt reported, the President apparently very humbled by receiving that prize...." And Gregory finished his analysis by insisting that "as honored and humbled as I'm sure the President is by this award, he would much rather have unemployment rate go down from 9.8%." |
