Referring to the Republican accusation that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has requested a much larger military aircraft to fly her between her home district and Washington, D.C., than prior Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) had used, co-host Matt Lauer suggested on the February 8 edition of NBC's Today that both Pelosi and Republicans are “spin[ning]” on the issue but then asked NBC chief White House correspondent David Gregory: "[D]oes it just look bad [for Pelosi] from a PR standpoint?" Apparently ignoring the media's role in reporting baseless, often anonymous GOP allegations on the subject, Gregory responded: “Well, I think that's the problem.” Then, without offering any examples of impropriety on the part of Pelosi, Gregory added: “This is a Democratic leader who is promising to clean up Washington.”

As Media Matters for America has noted, NBC News correspondent Mike Viqueira reported that the “recommendation to Pelosi is that she have a plane that can get her to San Francisco nonstop,” but that there is “no evidence” Pelosi had actually requested a Boeing 757 aircraft, a C-32 (the military version of the 757), or any other specific aircraft, as Republicans have reportedly alleged. Viqueira added that Pelosi said that, if she could not get a nonstop plane, she would “rather fly commercial ... without all the security.”

Subsequently, a February 8 National Review Online article posted at 2:12 p.m. titled “Pelosi Air” quoted House Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (TX) claiming that if Today covered the Pelosi story, then it must be important:

In response to Pelosi's accusations, House Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling told National Review Online: “I don't think that's the case. The American people know government waste and extravagance when they see it, and Speaker Pelosi is dealing with the repercussions of that.”

Hensarling added: "The Today Show wouldn't be broadcasting this to millions of American families unless it resonated. Requesting such a special plane, one that is typically used by the president, vice president, and secretary of State, is rather disingenuous after campaigning for a year on fiscal responsibility and the most moral congress in history."

From the February 8 edition of NBC's Today:

LAUER: Hey, David, before I let you go, let's talk about the size of the plane that Nancy Pelosi has requested from the Pentagon. Depending on the spin you want to believe here -- either -- either the speaker says it's to travel efficiently back and forth to her home district, the Republicans are saying it's an abuse of power. Either way, does it just look bad from a PR standpoint?

GREGORY: Well, I think that's the problem. This is a Democratic leader who's promising to clean up Washington. It's worth remembering post-9-11 the House Speaker gets private air travel by the Air Force to go back to his or her home district. Dennis Hastert went back to Chicago. Nancy Pelosi's going back to San Francisco. She wants the ability to be able to go direct and not have to refuel along the way and have some family members travel with her. None of that is -- is untoward, but the Air Force is saying, the military is saying, “Look, we can't guarantee you a 757,” which is essentially what she wants. It depends on availability. The Republicans are saying, “Look, bottom line here, this is more than just efficiency, this is extravagance.”

LAUER: Right, and if you were a PR firm, you know, kind of giving guidance to the speaker, you'd probably say, “Take the refueling stop and smile, right?”

GREGORY: Right, right. And it's something she's going to have to grapple with, I think, in the days to come.