In his introductory remarks before the School of Media and Public Affairs’ latest Conversation Series event Monday night, SMPA Director Frank Sesno said this year’s Republican presidential candidate race has been “one of the weirdest.”
And there is no better person to speak on that topic than NBC Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd, featured guest of “Election 2012: Up Close and Personal with Chuck Todd” in George Washington’s Jack Morton Auditorium.
During the sold-out event, Mr. Sesno and Mr. Todd talked about a number of current political topics, including which Republican presidential candidates will fare well—or fail— and President Barack Obama’s declining approval rating. Mr. Todd also took questions from the audience and from Twitter.
Mr. Todd is NBC News’ political director and an on-air political analyst for “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,” “Today,” “Meet the Press” and MSNBC.
Mr. Todd commented on the allegations facing and gaffes committed by Republican candidates, including Herman Cain and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Although Mr. Todd said Mr. Cain’s campaign is “withering on the vine,” he noted that Gov. Perry’s recent TV appearances poking fun of his memory lapse during the last Republican presidential debate was a strategic move that might end up winning him some votes. Mr. Todd told Mr. Sesno that former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich may become a plausible presidential candidate as well.
“It’s clear to me that there is a large segment of the Republican primary electorate that wants anyone but Romney,” said Mr. Todd.
Mr. Todd said the first time he saw Mr. Gingrich speak was at George Washington’s Funger Hall in 1991, when Mr. Todd was a student at the university.
“Twelve people showed up,” said Mr. Todd, adding that Mr. Gingrich asked the students to take notes. “He wasn’t trying to win the room; he was trying to lecture to the room, and in many ways he is that same guy [now].”
Mr. Todd said he felt that the “five best candidates” for the Republican Party are not running: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Sen. John Thume (R-S.D.).
Throw in former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and Mr. Todd said it would be a very different race for the Republican Party.
“Imagine if that was [the] seven,” said Mr. Todd. “It would be a different profile. It would be a higher-minded debate.”
“The numbers spell defeat for the president analytically,” he added. “[The presidency is] theirs for the taking.”
Mr. Todd and Mr. Sesno also talked about the possibility of a third-party candidate entering the presidential race and President Obama’s declining popularity.
“The West Wing doesn’t feel very well run,” said Mr. Todd. “To me, it starts at the top.”
But although recent polls show President Obama’s approval rating is low, Mr. Todd said the president still has a strong base of supporters who will most likely turn out at the polls.
“If he wins reelection, it will be because the base has been with him,” said Mr. Todd.
Mr. Todd and Mr. Sesno also discussed the role of social media. A prolific Twitter user, Mr. Todd has more than 160,000 followers and tweets up to 25 times a day. He said he uses Twitter to glean the latest political news and to talk about topics that did not make it on air.
“For me, [Twitter] is now my most essential news-gathering tool,” he said.
As a result of polarization between the right and the left, Mr. Todd said he is depressed about the state of the Democratic and Republican parties and politics for the next four years—in some part due to the pessimism of Americans in general.
“We’re in a bad place in our politics right now,” he said. “We’re at a low that is going to take us a while to get out of.”
Despite his outlook, Mr. Todd encouraged students to get involved in public service, stating a more “bottom-up” approach might be the most effective to elicit political change.
“I do feel like we need a community renewal,” he said.
George Washington’s Conversation Series provides prominent political and media personalities the opportunity to discuss public life, politics and the media. Pasts guests have included Ted Turner, Larry King and Hillary Clinton. The series is made possible by the National Council for Media and Public Affairs.
Monday’s event was hosted by SMPA, in association with the #onlyatGW Speaker Series, the Student Association, College Republicans, College Democrats and the Program Board.