Meet the Press responds to a reader (Obama/Belafonte comments)

[CatWoman]

Bumped - I just wanted to bump this up as it got a bit lost in the shuffle earlier. Let me add that when Barack Obama hires Belafonte to be his consultant, endorses him for president, gives a speech at his house, or if he does robo-calls in multiple states for him, then there would be a legitimate reason for Russert to have him comment on his remarks.

Here's Meet the Press's response to a viewer who complained about Russert's badgering of Obama about Belafonte:

Thank you for your e-mail.

The Chicago Tribune of December 25, 2005 said the following:
"Harry Belafonte, the entertainer and civil rights activist, corresponds with Obama by telephone and e-mail."

The article continues quoting Belafonte as saying:
"I think Sen. Obama is a force...We've seen so many others who have come to high places and have failed so miserably. I think he could be our exception to the rule."

It is sound and fair journalism to ask a political figure about comments made by a prominent supporter. That same standard is consistently applied on Meet the Press. Here are just a few examples: on February 13, 2000, presidential candidate George W. Bush was asked about comments made by Bob Jones; on February 20, 2000, Sen. John McCain was asked about comments made by his political consultant about David Duke; on February 27, 2000, Karl Rove was asked about comments made by Pat Robertson; and on October 3, 2004, Republican Senate candidate Tom Coburn was asked about comments made by Alan Keyes.

Thank you for writing and watching.

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