Free Republic

If there's one person in the NBC news stable who combines solid political analysis with a commitment to fairness, it could be political director Chuck Todd. Proof thereof comes from no less a certified conservative source than Tom DeLay. Appearing on this evening's Hardball just after Todd had offered his breakdown of the electoral map, DeLay allowed that he "can't dispute" any of Todd's analysis, prompting Chris Matthews to exclaim "that's a development for us here: objective truth for you!" So what was that Todd analysis that DeLay didn't dispute? There was much to it, but for present purposes let's...

He calls it Hardball but Chris Matthews showed again tonight he's a softy when it comes to Barack Obama. Poor Chris was palpably crestfallen when NBC News political director Chuck Todd laid out the case, chapter and verse, that political payback, even revenge, explained Sen. Bob Casey's endorsement of Obama as much or more than the "spiritual" reasons Chris so wanted to believe in. CHRIS MATTHEWS: I didnÂ’t expect this guy. HeÂ’s a very cautious U.S senator in his first year, his first term, and what did he do? Almost a spiritual announcement he made today: IÂ’ve got to be...

Credit Chuck Todd for candor. The NBC News Political Director has acknowledged that the media is poised to take a third-place finish by John McCain in Iowa, declare him the winner and catapult him to victory in New Hampshire. Todd appeared with the Politico's Roger Simon on this afternoon's Hardball. View video here.

<p>Darn it, when will Osama Bin Laden's jack-in-the-box moments start hurting Republicans, as they should? That was the prevailing sentiment on today's "Morning Joe." At 6:40 a.m. EDT, reacting to the news that OBL is planning to release a new video to mark the sixth anniversary of 9-11, Host Joe Scarborough expressed his perplexity to NBC News political director Chuck Todd.</p>

<p>Is MSNBC becoming Catfight Central? A few days ago I noted this epic dust-up on the cable network between conservative radio talk show host Melanie Morgan and feminist Naomi Wolf. Today's "Morning Joe" brought more fireworks of a feline variety, as NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd took some serious swipes at Anderson Cooper and his hosting of last night's CNN/YouTube presidential debate.</p>

When word emerged yesterday that NBC had named Chuck Todd, currently the Editor-in-Chief of National Journal's "The Hotline," as its new political director, my curiosity as to his personal politics was naturally aroused. I found a MediaBistro article that included this intriguing sentence: "Before coming to the world of political reporting and analysis, Todd earned practical political experience on initiative campaigns in Florida and various national campaigns based in Washington, D.C." That in turn naturally raised the question: on just whose national campaigns and which Florida initiatives did Todd work? Deciding to go right to the source, I sent...

by Mark Finkelstein September 13, 2006 - 19:59 Chris Matthews is as frustrated as an able-bodied seaman after six months without shore leave. After 12 long years in the desert of the congressional minority, Matthews clearly senses this is the year for the Dems to snatch back the Speaker's gavel. His frustration is borne of the fear that the Dems will squander the opportunity out of timidity - an unwillingness to attack President Bush on the war in Iraq. Things boiled over on this evening's Hardball. With guests Howard Fineman of Newsweek and Chuck Todd of the Hotline as witnesses...

by Mark Finkelstein March 11, 2006 Tonight's Hardball post-mortem special on the just-concluded Memphis straw poll of GOP presidential hopefuls was a treasure trove for political junkies. One obvious conclusion: it was good night for Mitt Romney. For a notherner, someone from Massachusetts and a Mormon at that, to finish second in the South, was a notable accomplishment. But Chuck Todd of the Hotline suggested another headline: "The biggest thing: we'll look back at this conference by saying this is when we found out that Haley became McCain's southern sherpa. He has made McCain bona fide. I think a Haley-McCain...