Discussing exit polls during MSNBC's coverage of the February 5 presidential primary elections, NBC correspondent Lester Holt stated: “With the field of Democratic candidates reduced to two, we asked primary voters, 'Who would make the best commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces?' And here, it was [Sen.] Hillary Clinton [D-NY] who was the clear favorite. The first woman candidate with a serious shot at winning the presidency beat out her male rival -- look at these numbers -- 50 percent to 35 percent. Keep in mind, this at a time the nation is fighting on two fronts.”
Holt was not the first person on an NBC show to focus on Clinton's gender when discussing the possibility that she would serve as commander in chief if elected in November. As Media Matters for America previously documented, while discussing Clinton on the June 24, 2007, edition of the NBC-syndicated Chris Matthews Show, host Chris Matthews asked Kathleen Parker, a syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group, if “being surrounded by women” makes “a case for commander in chief -- or does it make a case against it?” Matthews went on to say, “But isn't that a challenge, because when it comes down to that final decision to vote for president, a woman president, a woman commander in chief, will be an historic decision for people. Not just men, but women as well.” Turning to New York Times reporter Elisabeth Bumiller, Matthews added: “Elisabeth, you're always thinking about these things.” Bumiller referred to Golda Meir and Margaret Thatcher -- women who were elected to lead Israel and the United Kingdom, respectively -- and said: "[W]e all remember these women. ... I think we can get there." Matthews responded, “But we've got Patton and John Wayne on our side.”
On the May 30, 2005, edition of Hardball, Matthews asked retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey if “the troops out there” would “take the orders” from “Hillary Clinton, commander in chief.” When McCaffrey responded, “Why wouldn't they listen to a [female] commander in chief? Sure,” Matthews responded: “You're chuckling a little bit, aren't you?” When McCaffrey responded “No,” Matthews said: “No problem? No problem? No problem?”
From the 6 p.m. ET hour of MSNBC's February 5 primary coverage:
HOLT: With the field of Democratic candidates reduced to two, we asked primary voters, “Who would make the best commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces?” And here, it was Hillary Clinton who was the clear favorite. The first woman candidate with a serious shot at winning the presidency beat out her male rival -- look at these numbers -- 50 percent to 35 percent. Keep in mind, this at a time the nation is fighting on two fronts.
* Punctuation previously omitted in error.