Chuck Todd also admits a conservative bias.
Chris Matthews asks Chuck Todd about Obama’s “liberal” approach to fighting terrorism. Toward the end of the clip Todd slips up and refers to Obama’s conservative critics as “we.” And he also implies Obama is a ‘Muslim leader.’ (h/t Crooks and Liars)
Transcript:
Matthews: Chuck, do you think he can hold this line that we’re going to remain a liberal society in terms of human rights and trial by jury and habeas corpus, Miranda and also not get really angry in a reactive way to the Islamic world generally. Get that bunker mentality that Israel takes from time to time. The whole neighborhood hates us, we’ve got to be reactive to that. Can he keep us from that point of view and that mentality?
Todd: I think it’s tough but the greater challenge is that there aren’t enough other Muslim leaders around the world who stand up and criticize al-Qaeda publicly enough, You know this is the great challenge here and I think this is what makes it harder for him to win this argument with the right in this country. There aren’t enough examples around the world where we have leaders of other Muslim nations who stand up and loudly yell, these guys in Yemen are thugs….
The president believes in his heart that 99% Muslims around the world believe this is not a violent religion, an extremist religion, but there is so much fear in the middle east form some of these leaders that they’re going to be toppled by this extremist movement that they’re afraid to speak out about it and that of course puts the president in a box here politically with his own domestic critics because we sit here, I think you see conservatives sit here and say hey, it doesn’t seem like the Muslim world wants to stop these guys.
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