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  Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Jack Conway's recent ad questioning the faith of his opponent Republican Rand Paul was so beyond the pale that even NBC's Matt Lauer, on Tuesday's Today show, repeatedly hit Conway with questions about its appropriateness as he pressed, "Did it cross a line? Is it fair, even in the increasingly dirty world of politics?" The ad, which brought up allegations…

     NBC's Matt Lauer, at the top of Monday's Today show, touted the arrival of Michelle Obama on the campaign trail, as he trumpeted: "Tag team, the President and First Lady campaign together for the first time since 2008" and added that the President "pulled out his not so secret weapon at a rally in Ohio...the First Lady." Lauer, seemingly looking for any signs of hope for the Democrats,…

The frequently-maudlin Ann Curry outdid herself on Wednesday's Today show. Narrating a short video item about Russia unveiling a new set of inflatable weapons designed to fool spy satellites, Curry chirped: "Wish all weapons were like that." (Video below the fold.) Her flower-child moment brought to mind how another morning show anchor, ABC's Charles Gibson, confided to Larry King shortly…

  NBC's Meredith Vieira previewed Thursday's Today show coverage of the Delaware Senate debate by teasing viewers about "the one question that left [Christine] O'Donnell struggling for an answer" but Vieira, nor Kelly O'Donnell in her full report, bothered to note her Democratic opponent, Chris Coons, completely fumbling a basic question about property taxes. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell excerpted a…

So we’re back to this again? We’re 21 days out of the midterm elections and the media are back looking to capitalize on anti-Wall Street sentiments. On the Oct. 13 broadcast of NBC’s “Today,” host Matt Lauer referenced an Oct. 12 Wall Street Journal report to his guest, CNBC’s Jim Cramer, about Wall Street pay hitting a record $144 billion. Lauer, of course, just looked at the headline…

NBC's Meredith Vieira tried her best to get Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann off her game, on Tuesday's Today show, by repeatedly pressing her to admit that the Tea Party has "lost its focus" and was "losing its way" over social issues, adding that since some of their candidates are "so far out of the mainstream" they can't win. However Bachmann never took Vieira's bait, as…

NBC's Matt Lauer questioned Carl Paladino on Monday's Today about his recent controversial remarks on homosexuality, and hinted that his comments might prompt "violence against homosexuals" and suicides of homosexual youth, such as the recent case at Rutgers. When Paladino attacked Andrew Cuomo for taking his children to a "gay pride" parade, Lauer implied that he might take his kids to such an…

NBC's Willie Geist, substitute hosting for Matt Lauer on Friday's Today show, invited on CNBC's Maria Bartiromo to talk about the new jobs report and the two had a startling message for those in its audience who may be unemployed right now - just get "used to it." Geist, citing the liberal economist Joseph Stiglitz, asked the CNBC anchor if "higher unemployment may just be the new normal in this…

NBC's Chuck Todd, on Friday's Today, played defense for the Democrats as he relayed their spin on political commercials, noting that "outside independent groups, mostly Republican, are benefitting from the landmark Supreme Court ruling that allows big corporate donors to spend unlimited money, in some cases anonymously, on political advertising." Todd even played several clips of the President…

California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown was caught on tape in a conversation with an aide, in which that aide called his Republican opponent Meg Whitman a "whore" and CBS's Early Show, on Friday, didn't find that gaffe worthy to report, even though Brown was forced to apologize. ABC's Good Morning America, didn't do much better, as while they did report on the sexist phrased…

If Democrats are going to stem their losses, CBS’s Jeff Greenfield opined on Monday’s Evening News, they need to “convince the voters that this election is a choice” and “Republicans are just too extreme.” Greenfield’s probably right about this strategy being Democrats’ best hope — and his fellow reporters are already hard at work fulfilling their role in painting Republicans as “extreme.” On…

Just a day after NBC's Matt Lauer engaged in a rough interview with Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, Lauer engaged in a much more friendly chat, with DNC chairman Tim Kaine as he helpfully asked the former Virginia Governor, on Wednesday's Today show, what Democrats could do to best "chip away"at the GOP's lead in the polls and "counter" their messages. Lauer also jumped…

With Election Day just a month away NBC's Matt Lauer, on Tuesday's Today show, attacked New York GOP gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino repeatedly with such pejoratives as "angry" "nasty" and "dark" and accused him of practicing "gutter politics." Lauer even told the Tea Party backed candidate that if elected he wouldn't be able to get anything done because political leaders "need not to crack…

Former Vice President Walter Mondale appeared on Monday's Today show to plug his new book, The Good Fight, and NBC's Amy Robach asked the failed 1984 presidential candidate if he had any advice for Barack Obama, as the midterms approach, as she asked: "A lot has been compared to President Jimmy Carter's presidency to President Obama's" and recalling Mondale's run against Ronald Reagan: "Do you…