NBC continues to report on Edwards haircut, ignores Romney campaign's makeup purchases

As Media Matters for America has documented, NBC News and MSNBC programs have repeatedly referred to former Sen. John Edwards' (D-NC) $400 haircuts, which were originally paid for by his campaign. In a July 17 post, NBC News' First Read blog highlighted the disclosure that former Gov. Mitt Romney's (R-MA) presidential campaign spent "$300 on makeup" and advised readers to "look for Edwards supporters to use this as a test to see if the MSM [mainstream media] covers Romney as harshly as Edwards was." NBC News itself, however, seems to have failed this "test." The July 19 edition of NBC's Today featured a report on candidates "shell[ing] out cash for pizzas, booze, and even baseball," mentioning specifically that Edwards reimbursed his campaign for the haircuts, but left out the Romney makeup expenditures. In fact, despite First Read's admonition -- with the exception of MSNBC's Tucker -- through midday July 19, NBC and MSNBC have yet to mention Romney's makeup purchases during prime time or on NBC's Today.

MSNBC host Tucker Carlson did briefly mention the Romney makeup story on the July 17 edition of his show, adding: "I would mock him, but I wear makeup for a living, so that would be hypocritical, so I'm not going to." By contrast, Carlson has repeatedly attacked or joked about Edwards' haircuts. For instance, on the May 16 edition of Tucker, Carlson told Democratic strategist Steve McMahon that it is "even worse" that the barber made a trip to Edwards to cut Edwards' hair. On the May 22 edition of Tucker, Carlson said, "The $400 haircut is a staff problem. But this goes to the very core, not only of this campaign, but of who he is." Teasing a segment on the July 5 edition of Tucker, Carlson said that Edwards "spends at least $400 a pop for his Hollywood hairstylist. Sometimes even four figures. We've got the details. Yes, they are hair-raising."

After Politico senior political writer Ben Smith "broke" the Edwards haircut story in an April 16 blog entry, the media -- including NBC and MSNBC -- seized on it. In the months since the story first surfaced, media figures on both NBC and MSNBC have repeatedly brought up Edwards' haircuts:

• As Media Matters noted, a Nexis search of the 11 days following Smith's original blog entry found that NBC reported on Edwards' haircuts twice and MSNBC reported on the story at least three times. For instance, on the April 24 edition of MSNBC Live, host Norah O'Donnell told Republican strategist Alex Johnson: "I know Republicans are already making fun of it. They've been making fun of it on the Fox News Channel, for instance, but you know, John Edwards has been trying to present this message of the two Americas, you know, where there is gap between rich and poor. I mean, how much does it hurt him that he himself is getting a $400 haircut?"

• On the June 28 edition of NBC's Today, guest host and NBC News chief White House correspondent David Gregory said during an interview with Edwards' wife, Elizabeth: "If you strip away some of the inflammatory rhetoric [by right-wing pundit Ann Coulter] against your husband and other Democrats, the point she's trying to make about your husband ... is in effect that he's disingenuous, especially on the signature issue of poverty, whether it's a $400 haircut or taking big money to speak in front of a poverty group."

• As Media Matters senior fellow Eric Boehlert noted, on the April 23 edition of CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams agreed with host David Letterman that the Edwards haircut story was "silly" and there was "no reason for us to continue talking about it." But while moderating an April 26 Democratic debate, Williams asked Edwards:

Senator Edwards, you've spoken with great passion and energy and eloquence about the issue of poverty in the United States, your "two Americas" theme.

And yet I want to read you a quote from the political journalist Roger Simon: "Many people miss the point about the haircuts. The point is not the cost. John Edwards is a very rich man and could afford even a $4,000 haircut. But why did he pay for his haircuts out of campaign funds?" Senator?

• After the April 26 debate, MSNBC host Chris Matthews told NBC News chief foreign correspondent Andrea Mitchell: "You guys jumped around for a week about poor, what's his name, John Edwards' haircut, you know. Cosmetics are a part of this game." Mitchell responded: "That wasn't cosmetics. ... That was authenticity."

• During a May 1 speech before the Rhode Island Business Expo, NBC chief Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski said that "Edwards is a 'loser' for trying to defend a $400 haircut," according to The Providence Journal.

• As Media Matters documented, between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET on July 5, MSNBC devoted approximately 15 minutes, 28 seconds to discussing Edwards' haircuts and only 1 minute, 20 seconds to Sen. Pete Domenici's (R-NM) July 5 press conference on the Iraq war, at which he called for "a new strategy that will move our troops out of combat operations."

In a July 16 article, Politico staff writer Kenneth P. Vogel wrote that the Romney campaign had confirmed that its $300 payment to Hidden Beauty of West Hills, California, represented "two separate $150 charges ... for makeup." A July 17 Associated Press article also noted Romney's $300 makeup charges (as well as the paid leave received by Jay Garrity, "the personal aide who shadowed Romney until he was accused last month of impersonating a law enforcement officer in two states.")

From the July 17 First Read entry titled "First Thoughts" and written by NBC political director Chuck Todd, NBC deputy political director Mark Murray, NBC News Political Unit researcher Domenico Montanaro, and Carly Zakin:

*** The Tour Continues -- As Well As The Scrutiny: On the second day of his poverty tour, Edwards makes stops in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where he will unveil a proposal to diversify schools in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision. This morning, his tour gets plenty of coverage -- and so do the peccadilloes that have hurt his image, including that now-famous $400 haircut. "Voters vote mainly on who the person is. He's trying to communicate a message about who he is, a person who does not forget where he comes from," Democratic pollster Mark Mellman tells the Washington Post. "The haircut issue is significant in that context; it cuts against the story." Also, now that the Politico has uncovered that Romney's camp spent $300 on makeup, look for Edwards supporters to use this as a test to see if the MSM covers Romney as harshly as Edwards was.

From Madden's July 17 First Read entry, titled "We Dig the Fun Campaign Emails":

Politics -- particularly in a presidential cycle -- can be a nasty, divisive, and cynical business. That's why it's refreshing to see some of the front-runner campaigns show off some humor in their email memos (both morning and weekly) to the press. We're definitely fans.

The pioneer of these emails was ubiquitous Romney spokesguy Kevin Madden, who sends out the daily "Romney Rundown," which lists Romney's schedule and other important info. But the best part is the good humor -- like this from earlier in the month: "Good morning, folks- TGIF. By the way...I know for a fact that Terry Sullivan down in our South Carolina office only pays $12 for his haircut. And you can tell just by looking at him."

From the July 17 edition of MSNBC's Tucker:

CARLSON: Speaking of made up, Mitt Romney -- 300 dollars for a make up company called Hidden Beauty. I would mock him, but I wear makeup for a living, so that would be hypocritical, so I'm not going to.

From the July 19 edition of NBC's Today:

VIEIRA: And now to the race for the White House. If you've ever contributed a few dollars to your favorite presidential candidate, you ever wondered what they do with your cash? Well, you might not want to know. NBC's White House correspondent Kelly O'Donnell is honoring that old Watergate adage "follow the money" this morning. Kelly, good morning.

O'DONNELL: Good morning, Meredith. Well, we've all heard plenty about the staggering millions '08 candidates are able to raise and now we're learning a little bit about how they spend some of it. And it turns out trying to get here to the White House means they'll shell out cash for pizza, booze, and even baseball.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE [video clip]: Nice to meet you, too.

O'DONNELL: Candidates can't get far without deep pockets.

[video clip]

MITT ROMNEY: Hey, Tagg?

TAGG ROMNEY (Mitt Romney's son): Yeah?

MITT ROMNEY: Can I borrow some money?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, don't worry about it.

[end video clip]

O'DONNELL: Campaigns beam when the cash rolls in.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D-NM) [video clip]: We raised 7 million dollars this quarter.

O'DONNELL: How they spend some of that donor dough may surprise you.

EDWARDS [video clip]: By the way, I'm buying you guys lunch.

O'DONNELL: Lunch, and then some. All the candidates must report their spending each quarter. Their war chests cover much more than pricey TV ads and staff salaries.

RUDY GIULIANI (former New York City mayor) [video clip]: I don't think voters care about the money.

O'DONNELL: Well, check out the bar bills. Giuliani's campaign spent $3,900 for liquor. [Sen.] Hillary Clinton's [D-NY]: $2,650. And while Romney, as a Mormon, does not imbibe, his campaign spent more than a hundred bucks on beer.

Called a rockstar in fundraising ...

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL) [video clip]: We're so far ahead of everybody in else in terms of the number of donations that we don't need to be playing with the numbers.

O'DONNELL: ... Barack Obama spent 1,700 of those donated dollars on a band called, "Double Funk Crunch." And his campaign has a sweet tooth -- $695 on ice cream and cookies. Experts say those treats are needed to attract more donors.

ED ROGERS (Republican strategist) [video clip]: What it's really about is courting, caring, and feeding donors, opinion leaders, media, et cetera, et cetera.

O'DONNELL: And there's care and feeding of volunteers and staff.

MITT ROMNEY [video clip]: Thank you.

O'DONNELL: Romney doled out $143 on doughnuts. Clinton's campaign spent $400 on pizza.

STEVE McMAHON (Democratic strategist): There are events that appear on campaign finance reports that voters might look at and say, "Well, gee, that doesn't seem like a campaign expense. It seems like a party."

O'DONNELL: How about a party at Boston's Fenway Park? Renting the field cost Romney's team more than 30 grand. Not all fun and games.

Remember, Edwards had that expensive haircut.

EDWARDS [video clip]: So embarrassing, by the way. So embarrassing.

O'DONNELL: And reimbursed his campaign $400. Experts say political opponents are checking the books and looking for ammunition.

ROGERS [video clip]: Now it's part of your opposition research to try to catch the other campaigns by spending money on frivolous matters.

O'DONNELL: As you'd expect, presidential campaigns spend really big on things like travel, office space, and political consultants, but even when they spend just a little bit, they have to report it to the Federal Elections Commission. So when they're buying bottled water and fresh flowers, that goes in the report. And collectively, they spent thousands on those simple items.