In this web-only exclusive from David Gregory (complete with butler serving food in the background), we can see that Gregory clearly has his finger on the pulse not of the concerns of Americans, but of the Republican agenda.
It's all in the framing. Pointing out that Ryan is standing firm with his budget is not all that admirable, especially when Mitch McConnell refuses to whip his party for support of the budget, congressman are being confronted by town hall participants demanding that the Republicans leave Medicare the hell alone and individual Republicans back away from the plan. So what we have is not an instance of political courage, but of willful ignorance.
With unemployment high, one in seven Americans receiving food stamps, is it political courage for Ryan to try to strip even more of the safety net away from Americans? Does his plan actually do anything that he claims (address the deficit, give seniors more choice, and put us on the right fiscal trajectory)? No and hell no.
What Americans want right now is JOBS, by more than a two to one margin. Americans don't think the very wealthy need more tax cuts. And by the way, the Democrats do have a plan, not that you'd know it from listening to Ryan or his enabling mouthpiece in Gregory.
So why, David Gregory, is the Ryan budget the defining issue of this election? Seems to me that the defining issue of this election is how much attention the Republicans will give the real concerns of American voters.
But David Gregory has never met a Republican meme he didn't like. Look how he frames Obama's speech at AIPAC today and wondering if he'll get a "rough ride" there and if his position on the Middle East peace process will "hurt" him. Never mind that Obama has said nothing ostensibly different than previous presidents, nor will anything he says have as much effect as the immediate players in the peace deal, so why does Gregory frame it as assuming failure and/or political cost? Could it be because that's what his buddies in the GOP are doing?
