NBC political director Chuck Todd responded to video of former President Bill Clinton saying of Sen. Barack Obama, “I think we have two choices. I think he [Obama] should win, and I think he will win,” by falsely claiming that Clinton's comment constituted an “interesting non-endorsement.” Appearing on the August 5 edition of MSNBC Live, Todd went on to falsely accuse Clinton of “talking about the constitutional qualifications of Barack Obama rather than sort of making a choice between Obama and McCain.” Todd concluded: “We'll see if he tries to clarify that later today.”
Clinton made his comments during an interview with ABC correspondent Kate Snow in Monrovia, Liberia, posted at ABCNews.com on August 4. In the interview, when Snow asked Clinton, “Will you campaign for [Obama] now?” he replied, “Absolutely.” In falsely asserting that Clinton had given a “non-endorsement” of Obama, Todd also left out Clinton's statement that he would “absolutely” campaign for Obama.
From the August 5 edition of MSNBC Live:
TODD: Finally, our friend, the former President Bill Clinton, had some interesting things to say about the qualifications of Senator Obama. Let's take a listen.
[begin video clip]
SNOW: Is he ready to be president?
CLINTON: You could argue that no one's ever ready to be president. I mean, I certainly learned a lot about the job in the first year.
[..]
SNOW: You think he's completely qualified to be president?
CLINTON: The Constitution sets qualifications for the president, and then the people decide who they think would be the better president. I think we have two choices. I think he [Obama] should win, and I think he will win.
[end]
TODD: Well, there you heard it. That was an interesting non-endorsement from the former president, talking about the constitutional qualifications of Barack Obama, rather than sort of making a choice between Obama and McCain. We'll see if he tries to clarify that today.
From Clinton's interview with Snow, posted August 4:
SNOW: Will you campaign for him now?
CLINTON: Absolutely.
