The Chuck ToddCast: The Harris campaign's first fumble, plus Nelson Rockefeller's place in history on DeepCast

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DeepSummary

In the first part of the episode, Chuck Todd discusses Kamala Harris' campaign strategy and the significance of her avoiding mainstream media interviews. He argues that this decision raises unnecessary scrutiny and goes against the approach of successful campaigns like Trump's in 2016, which embraced all media exposure opportunities.

The main segment features Chuck's interview with author Marcia Barrett about her new book on Nelson Rockefeller and the decline of moderate Republicanism. They explore Rockefeller's political philosophy, his battles with the conservative wing of the GOP, and his efforts to build a multiracial coalition.

Towards the end, Chuck reflects on the current state of the Republican Party, drawing parallels between Rockefeller's struggles and the ongoing tensions between moderate and conservative factions. He discusses the few remaining 'Rockefeller Republicans' like Mitt Romney and speculates on the future of moderate voices within the party.

Key Episodes Takeaways

Kamala Harris' campaign is making a strategic mistake by avoiding mainstream media interviews, which raises unnecessary scrutiny and goes against successful strategies of engaging with all media.
Nelson Rockefeller represented the declining 'moderate Republican' wing that sought to build a multiracial coalition and take a middle ground between conservatism and liberalism.
Rockefeller's battles with the ascendant conservative wing of the party presaged the Republican identity crisis still playing out today between moderate and conservative factions.
The 'Rockefeller Republican' mold is increasingly rare, with figures like Mitt Romney standing out among the few remaining moderates within the modern GOP.
The polarization of the two parties has made it difficult for moderate voices to thrive, as seen in Rockefeller's struggles and the purging of moderates through primaries in recent decades.
An individual's personal background, such as the author's upbringing in the Northeast, can shape their perspective on political ideologies and their rise or decline.
While today's Republican Party is dominated by conservatism, there remain pockets of the 'Rockefeller Republican' tradition, especially at state and local levels of government.
The ability to withstand media scrutiny and make tough decisions while upholding one's principles is seen as a crucial test for national political leadership.

Top Episodes Quotes

“This is why I think it would be a good exercise for her going into a presidency, if she's going to win, to do a ton of interviews. And so what if a few of them go bad? She needs to thicken the skin, get the crocodile skin, if you will, because a president needs that kind of thick hide to be able to sort of govern independently when it's necessary or feel comfortable knowing that you sometimes have to make a decision that's going to make the perceived allies upset with you.“ by Chuck Todd
― This quote highlights Chuck Todd's perspective that Kamala Harris should embrace media interviews, even adversarial ones, to develop the thick skin necessary for a president to make tough decisions without alienating allies.
“Part of the reason is actually personal. I'm from the northeast originally, so I grew up with an awareness of moderate republicanism and knew that there were once these prominent figures in the Republican Party, and they were no longer present when I started working on this project in the two thousands.“ by Marcia Barrett
― This quote from the author Marcia Barrett explains her personal motivation for examining Nelson Rockefeller and the decline of moderate Republicanism, having grown up aware of its previous prominence in the Northeast.
“No, he still wanted to be. He still wanted to be. That's right. And I was really struck by. So when he was Ford's vice president, there was two biographers who were. One is still a New York Times journalist who interviewed Rockefeller for a biography. And they wrote in the limousine as he was in DC as vice president. And they recounted this story in an interview where they said, so, you know, essentially, do you still want to be, you know, do you still have aspirations out of the White House? And he's like, well, would I be here otherwise? He's like, why else would I be here? You know?“ by Marcia Barrett
― This anecdote shared by Barrett illustrates Rockefeller's enduring presidential ambitions even when serving as Gerald Ford's vice president later in his career.

Chapter Details

Chapter 1: Kamala Harris and Media Interview Strategy

🔗

Chuck Todd discusses Kamala Harris' campaign's apparent reluctance to have her do sit-down media interviews, calling it the first major mistake of her campaign. He argues that by overthinking and raising the stakes around a single interview, they are unnecessarily elevating its importance and suggests she should do multiple interviews across different outlets to dilute their individual impact.

Chuck Todd believes the Kamala Harris campaign has made a mistake by overthinking her strategy for doing media interviews.
He suggests she should do multiple interviews across different platforms to dilute the importance of any single interview.

1. “They have over thought this overhand rung, this whatever cliche you want to use. But the bottom line is that they have kind of now created a situation where whatever she does agree to on the interview front, it is now going to get scrutinized in a way that they could have avoided.“ by Chuck Todd

― This quote clearly captures Todd's criticism of the Harris campaign's strategy regarding media interviews.

2. “Do six in a day, do a round robin, dilute them all. She could set aside one day a week to do media interviews, you know, where it was, some local, some national, some podcast and advocacy type interviews.“ by Chuck Todd

― This quote offers Todd's suggested alternative strategy for Harris to handle media interviews.

Chapter 2: Nelson Rockefeller's Political Journey

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Chuck Todd interviews author Marcia Barrett about her new biography of Nelson Rockefeller, exploring his role as a leading moderate Republican voice and his efforts to shape the party's direction amid the rising conservative movement in the 1960s and 70s. Barrett discusses Rockefeller's political evolution, his fight for civil rights, and his ultimate failure to steer the GOP away from embracing the Southern conservative strategy.

Chapter 3: The Decline of Moderate Republicanism

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The conversation explores the reasons behind the decline of the moderate Republican wing represented by Nelson Rockefeller. Barrett discusses Rockefeller's shifting positions, such as his tough stance on drugs through the Rockefeller drug laws, as attempts to appease the increasingly powerful conservative base. Todd draws parallels between Rockefeller's struggles and the challenges faced by modern Republicans like Mitt Romney, who find themselves at odds with the party's conservative dominance.

Entities

Person

Kamala Harris//Donald Trump//Chuck Todd//Marcia Barrett//Nelson Rockefeller//Abraham Lincoln//William Howard Taft//Barry Goldwater//Henry Kissinger//Doug Bailey

Product

Mike's Hard Lemonade//DirecTV Satellite TV

Company

DirecTV//Dick's Sporting Goods

Book

Nelson Rockefeller's Dilemma: The Fight to Save Moderate Republicanism

Episode Information

Podcast Title

The Chuck ToddCast

Host

Chuck Todd, Meet the Press

Publish Date

8/28/24

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