"I'm not Tim"

VCT EXCLUSIVE:Source of Gregory Leak Revealed

According to an article in The Huffington Post, hackles are up on several executives over at NBC due to the leak surrounding David Gregory's ascension to the Meet The Press throne. What was most disturbing about this article was the scurrilous accusation that Chuck Todd was in some way responsible for the leak.

We here at Viva Chuck Todd found this libelous salvo beyond the pale of belief and responded accordingly by mobilizing our entire editorial staff late last night to get to the bottom of who exactly is responsible for the leak and hopefully inoculate The Chuck from any further blame. Our findings as of this morning were both shocking and disturbing.

According to our reporting, it appears that not one, but several people were responsible for the Gregory leak. One of the most surprising aspects of this story is that the leak came not from the news division, but from the entertainment division. Their apparent motive was a complete takeover of the news division paving the way for a revamp where a variety/game-show format would be pursued. According to multiple anonymous sources, the leader of this group was germ-phobe and host of NBC's Deal or No Deal, Howie Mandel. Sources tell us that Mandel has always had an eye on the Sunday morning news show as an excellent vehicle to parlay the success of Deal or No Deal.

The Viva Chuck Todd editorial offices have also come into possession of Mandel's notes where he sketched out changing the Meet The Press set to resemble the Deal or No Deal set where political newsmakers would sit before the 26 terraced briefcase-schlepping models and be directed to get their questions by calling on a girl one at a time who would then open the case and read the guest a probing well-researched news question or in some cases a light-hearted general interest question submitted by a viewer. The Mandel notes also revealed that back-channel arrangements had already been made to have former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton be the first guest of the new show along with a whole new round table discussion group consisting of Ben Affleck, Star Jones, Ann Coulter and The Obama Girl. There was also to be a closing musical number planned for each show performed by cross-dressing manazon RuPaul. A musician who had been hired for show's band revealed that the first number was to be a take-off on the RuPaul hit Supermodel where the main chorus lyric "you better work!" was to be aimed towards the incoming Obama administration.

Where David Gregory fits into all of this is still unclear, but the same musician who revealed the first closing number told Viva Chuck Todd that Gregory would of most likely been retained after the "coup" for his dancing and comedic talents. Over the years, Gregory has displayed an uncanny flair for R&B interpretive dance and impersonations.

While Mandel was the front man for this cadre, the true puppet master was acclaimed West Wing creator, Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin apparently was still harboring ill will towards NBC for the cancellation of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and felt that this remaking of Meet The Press would be the right formula of news and entertainment he failed to capture with Studio 60. As of this morning, representatives for Mr. Sorkin were refusing comment and directed our inquiries to their legal counsel.

Shortly before press time, NBC released a statement saying that this Sunday's installation of Gregory as the new host of Meet The Press will go ahead as planned. No decisions have been made as to whether charges will be filed against Sorkin and Mandel.

really?

Well, according to Politico.com and The Huffington Post, David Gregory is getting the MTP gig.

I'll leave the comments to all of you.

Some magical MSNBC moments on election night

As the states began to break for Obama, the anticipation on-air was palpable. Say what you will about Uncle Chris Matthews, but he gave the most endearing and genuine little speech as to what it was going to mean to have the Obamas as our First Family. Then, the always wonderful Eugene Robinson brought the Viva Chuck Todd offices to tears speaking about telling his son that you can grow up to be president. Bishop T.D. Jakes and Congressman John Lewis added sobering and historical perspectives as history was virtually unfolding by the minute.

Also, enjoy our favorite little "pitchfork and torches" moment outside the White House.

The New York Times on Meet The Press post-election and the influence of Brokaw

"...but it is leaning toward an ensemble of hosts that would be led by Chuck Todd, NBC’s political director, and include David Gregory, a correspondent and MSNBC anchor, according to a person who had been briefed on the proposal but was not authorized to comment, partly because the plans were not set. Like the turnover of anchors at all three network newscasts, the process of choosing a successor for Mr. Russert has been closely watched in media and political circles."

Uncles Matthews and Olbermann are out

Over the weekend, MSNBC decided to give it's two biggest personalities some harsh news: Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann are relieved of their duty as election night hosts. From here on in, David Gregory (yeah, we know) will be at the helm and Matthews and Olbermann will be reduced to the role of analysts.

If you feel this was a needed move based on journalistic integrity or, if you're like us and have a brain-spraining time trying to imagine these two chiming in on election night as second fiddles to David Gregory, go ahead and participate in our newest poll:

The Chuck and David Gregory on Meet The PressTwo men enter-One man leaves

The Chuck had a blisteringly great performance on Meet the Press this past Sunday where David Gregory made a fine Goose to The Chuck's Maverick. The Chuck pretty much laid out a chronological formula as to when Obama is going to make his VP announcement, spoke authentically about average voter perception regarding Iraq withdrawal and named the first logical bipartisan congressional agenda item in a McCain presidency. Oh Chuck...you make it look so damn easy. Gregory followed up each point The Chuck raised citing his White House sources.

But the best moment came at the closing (47:18) when Tom Brokaw threw Gregory a bone basted in irony and Chuck Todd fans a big brightly wrapped Christmas present with the following remarks:

Thank you very much David Gregory, our NBC White House correspondent, and of course star of MSNBC, "The Road to the White House." Chuck Todd, our political director, we'll be seeing a lot more of you here on MEET THE PRESS and, of course, on all the platforms of NBC News and MSNBC in the weeks to come.We have to leave it there. We'll be right back.

"Star". "Star"? Who calls the anchor of a fancy webcam show, that when viewed through the prism of ratings is doing slightly better than Tucker which it replaced, a "star"? The New York Observer did a whole piece on Gregory's Sunday MTP appearance and the pentimento-like subtext surrounding the sign-off. The article especially savored the part where Brokaw got Gregory's show's name wrong - it's "Race for the White House" not "Road to the White House" - ouch.

And then there was The Chuck who essentially got handed the proverbial keys to the executive washroom by Brokaw. "We'll be seeing a lot more of you here on Meet The Press and, of course, on all the platforms of NBC News and MSNBC in the weeks to come" - ouch, again.

In the world of metaphors, it pretty much shakes out like this: the president of the math club who plays a mean french horn just beat the smarmy quarterback for homecoming king.

Sunday is going to come whether we like it or not

You've heard it, we've heard it - The macabre murmur of necessary speculation on who will fill Tim Russert's chair. Politico.com and National Review Online have already weighed in on the potential heirs as have multiple blogs with insightful, albeit biased, yet consistently respectful opinions on the next chapter of Meet The Press.

The reason that we've decided to chime in on this uncomfortable subject is because at last count by our editorial staff, Chuck is at the top of most lists. As you read their observations, you understand that Chuck is the visceral choice. He emulates the qualities that Russert did; a warm humility, disarming intelligence and a voracious appetite for all things sport and politic. On the flipside, the logical choice is David Gregory. Logical in the sense that he's a known quantity by having been a guest-moderator several times before and is a fixture of the NBC News Political team. But what echoes constantly when Gregory's name is brought up is his elite arrogance and cozy relationships he shares with key political figures sometimes skewing his objectivity.

Andrea Mitchell, Gwen Ifill and Chris Matthews (I know) have been suggested as well. Even Tom Brokaw is making the lists. The new talent such as Keith Olbermann (not new per se, but new to this level of serious consideration for political coverage) and David Shuster have been hinted at with the all usual right-wing pot shots reserved for Olbermann.

Many people have pointed out the similar backgrounds both Chuck and Russert shared. The humble roots, strong family ties and respect for the golden rule. Some of the more heart-wrenching moments on Friday were when people like Andrea Mitchell and Keith Olbermann introduced Chuck as essentially one of the best things that happened to the NBC news team in a long time and each one emphatically praised Russert for being the one responsible for bringing Chuck on.

Let's just put it out there and freely admit that this is hardly the repository for objective analysis on Chuck Todd and the NBC News Division. We all want the best for Chuck and Meet The Press. What we don't want is a hasty solution in the midst of this historic election that causes a truncated epilogue to the tragedy that was Friday.

That's why we want to hear from you. Knowing that the vast majority of us would want nothing more than to see Chuck ascend to this role - we also know that there will be some decisions made on grounds antithetical to emotion. With that said, vote in the poll below and leave comments on why Chuck should get the job or why he shouldn't. Perhaps the right people who have influence read Viva Chuck Todd. We certainly like to think Tim Russert did.

The Chuck brings a gun to a knife fight

Allen, Cowan, Gregory, Mitchell and O'Donnell. The whole lot of them brought opinions to the Meet The Press table this morning. The Chuck, he brought numbers.

Check it: