Now back to the primaries
Posted: Sunday, April 20, 2008 4:32 PM by Elizabeth Chuck
By Lester Holt, NBC News Anchor
Some in the Democratic party are beginning to grumble about what happens when political candidates have too much time on their hands.
The six-week gap between primaries has reduced much of the presidential debate to questions of who has been more negative. We saw some of that when the respective campaign strategists for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton squared off on "Meet the Press" this morning. Finally, the voters get back in the drivers seat of this race on Tuesday for the Pennsylvania primary. Our Lee Cowan and Ron Allen are with the candidates as they make their final push, and we will have their reports on tonight's newscast, including the potentially uncomfortable moment for Obama at an unannounced campaign stop earlier today. As I sit in the newsroom, a wall of TV monitors, all tuned to different channels and networks are showing the same picture: the papal mass at Yankees Stadium in New York. Three years ago yesterday I was in Rome to cover the papal election, and vividly recall the emotional scene as Benedict XVI made his very first appearance as pope before the crowds that swelled into St. Peter's Square. This trip to America is in many ways very similar, in that American Catholics are seeing him, and greeting him for the first time. NBC's Rehema Ellis will tell us about the pope's final day in the United States, and how during this trip he may have exceeded expectations and shattered some perceptions. In an NBC investigation, Lisa Myers takes a closer look at some industrial plants recognized by the EPA for their outstanding environmental records. It turns out, however, that some of those companies have amassed significant violations of environmental standards. She'll tell us how that happened.
A quick thanks to my colleague Natalie Morales for covering for me last night while I tried to get the upper hand on a nasty cold I've been fighting. I am happy to report I'm feeling much better, even though I suspect some of my colleagues here are giving me wide berth in the hallways. :) See you later for NBC Nightly News.
