In between manning Microsoft Surface, First Read and the slate of appearances on NBC/MSNBC the Chuck found time to head over to Georgetown for a little salmon and grilling by Carol Joynt in her local Q&A. The man hasn’t slept since February but he still found time for this and it is why we adore him!Chuckolytes will be thrilled to know that The Chuck is beloved and respected here at home as he is out on the Internets.
For the Viva Chuck Todd crew, I believe you have officially outdone the likes of The Drudge Report and Page Six of the NY Post in importance. Carol Joynt kicked off her interview not with the latest Gallup Polls, the Sarah Palin factor or how the Economic crisis was shifting the election – no, no with her priorities straight Ms. Joynt led the afternoon’s Q&A with VCT and the Chuckolytes (I swear we should have tour t-shirts). The Chuck’s response – “I keep my head down – they’ve been very kind…I just don’t want them to go negative”.
The interview covered a multitude of topics in all too brief an hour. Highlights included, The Chuck’s time at Hotline and his 15 years of work to wanting to kill Scarborough over the lame nickname “Chucky T”. Here is a sampling of The Chuck’s brilliance:
On Hotline: “It was way ahead of it’s time… a lighthouse for politics… I figured out how to read it on my Kindle.”
On the gossip about NBC/MSNBC in fighting: “There are a lot more untruths out there then truths."
On Russert: “I lost my father when I was sixteen. I feel the same way about Tim everyday when I have this list of 75,000 conversations I wish I could have with him.”
On Russert’s power at the network: “When someone passes on, there's always a mythology of the power someone had. Maybe what made Tim powerful within the news network is that he had more power than he ever used.”
On becoming the host of Meet the Press: “There’s no right answer to that question… To tell you the truth I don’t know if I want the job. Who wants to be the idiot who follows in Tim's shoes. Not only that, but you have to follow in Tim's shoes and now Tom [Brokaw]'s shoes.”
On the Internet: “The Internet is begging to be organized.”
On Bill Gates: “Steve Jobs is always going to be cooler than you, get over it”
On the rise of Cable News: “And then came the gift to cable news – Monica Lewinsky.” [as what catapulted cable news to prominence].
On those Polls: “Polls are going to be wrong this cycle...[because] it is going to be the percentage of the electorates [that determines the outcome].
By far The Chuck’s take on what makes the 2008 election historic is what sets him apart from the rest of the pack. “This is a marker election, not because of the first black nominee of a major party, or because of the first woman on a Republican national ticket, but because both of them are post baby boomers. 2008 shuts a door on baby boomers. The baby boom generation is going to have to do some soul searching about what happened. It should be Tom Brokaw’s next book. How this whole generation that ran the sports world, ran Wall Street, ran the business world… Baby boomers failed us as leaders.”
With modesty, humility, intellect and a dash of sarcasm The Chuck deftly sustained the sometimes intrusive questioning of the interviewer (who at times I just wanted to smack for interrupting him mid sentence). Although Joynt does deserve some props for coining a new turn of phrase – in referring to a fellow journalist’s changing his facial hair Joynt stated, “When I saw him the other day it was completely redone as a Chuck Todd”. That’s right folks; we have the beard, the goatee and now, The Chuck Todd – tell your neighbors.
The interview came to an end to which Chuck simply said, “This was almost fun.” And with that he paused briefly for photos and quickly dashed off in a cab back to Nebraska Ave.
filed by Viva Chuck Todd Senior Field Corespondent, Dalissa
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