After spending 20 years as a journalist with NBC, including six as moderator of Meet the Press, CNN political analyst David Gregory is well-versed in the complexities of the political environment — challenges that often are not far removed from those in the healthcare industry.
Mr. Gregory spoke at a special session sponsored by Prism Healthcare at Becker's Hospital Review's 7th Annual Meeting in Chicago on April 28, discussing the current political climate and his experience as a political journalist.
He drew from eight years of experience as NBC's Chief White House Correspondent during President George W. Bush's administration, traveling with the president on Air Force One and often taking flack from politicians and citizens alike for his coverage.
"Politics is a tough business, and covering politicians is a tough business," Mr. Gregory said. Though difficult, political discussion, particularly during election season, can produce a highly insightful picture of the progress we have made as a country and where we still need to improve.
"The thing I love about campaigns and I love about elections is they really are a snapshot of where we are as a country. What we feel, what we care about, what our aspirations are for the future," Mr. Gregory said. "There's no question we're living in a moment of anxiety, frustration with big institutions and with big government and with the overreach of government."
Here are three observations on politics today gleaned from Mr. Gregory's field notes.
"There tends to be a greater emphasis on idealism versus pragmatism."
The emergence of so-called outsiders and nontraditional candidates into the presidential election, namely Donald Trump and Bernie Senders, can partially be attributed to the frustration with politics many Americans are feeling, Mr. Gregory said, saying there's an overwhelming sense that Washington can't measure up to the challenges the country faces.
But pragmatism, such as the kind Hillary Clinton vocalizes, holds the potential for action, Mr. Gregory said.
"Hillary Clinton talks about how [she's] a pragmatist who gets things done. In the end, she's...going to get the nomination," Mr. Gregory said. "Democrats, many of them, have had a big love affair with a 74-year-old Democratic socialist, but in the end they're going to go to an ultimate party insider in Hillary Clinton."
Mr. Trump presents a different story for Republicans, as he doesn't really reflect the Republican Party or conservatives at all, according to Mr. Gregory, who said he is something more of a demagogue.
"He was never interested in running a typical campaign," Mr. Gregory said. "He's the King Kong of politics. He just wanted to climb TrumpTower, get to the top and scream and yell."
However, Mr. Trump also embodies a certain type of pragmatism, even if his campaign is one that does not adhere to political norms, Mr. Gregory said.
"I have no doubt that he would cut whatever deal is necessary to solve a problem, and that I think would be attractive to a lot of people, whether its healthcare, whether its the debt, whether its entitlement reform," Mr. Gregory said, adding that Mr. Trump just isn't worrying about the way things in politics work. "You don't say some of the things he said if you think the conventional rules of politics apply to you, because they have not applied to him."
The media is playing an integral role to the rise of Mr. Trump.
Part of Mr. Trump's success can be attributed to all air time news channels permitted him, according to Mr. Gregory. Any time Mr. Trump would speak, cable networks would broadcast him live.
"Why? Because he would say something crazy," Mr. Gregory said. "That level of wide coverage without the scrutiny allowed him to just keep ballooning and ballooning and ballooning."
And, Mr. Trump is capitalizing on this relationship he has with the media, approaching it as a manipulative game, according to Mr. Gregory.
For example, Mr. Trump has not yet subjected himself to an in-person accountability interview, and so far he has gotten away with doing so. Mr. Gregory suggested Mr. Trump has not done so, instead opting to phone in, because he understands such an interview could have serious ramifications on his campaign.
"You have to look at demographics."
Many voters, both conservative and liberal, feel left behind by the political process and the candidates that have emerged from it. Mr. Gregory recalled the predictions of Republican political advisor and Trump critic Karl Rove, who forecasted that a sizeable number of voters will not vote for their party's candidate or will not vote at all in the 2016 general election.
This identity crisis has hit the Republican Party particularly hard. Ideological conservatives who may not identify with what Mr. Gregory calls "xenophobic, sexist, outrageous showmanship" are alarmed, at least by the media's account in the troves of articles questioning if the GOP as we know it will survive the election.
Mr. Gregory alluded to this sentiment and challenged Republicans to look at U.S. demographics. If the party is losing support from women, minorities and young people, it can't win the presidency, he said. "News flash to Republicans: If they want the White House back they can't be a party of white men anymore," Mr. Gregory said. "There are not enough white men to do it."
Final thoughts
For all his years covering politics, Mr. Gregory still is surprised at how much of this election season has played out. And while the political system is frustrating for many citizens, he encouraged voters to weather the storm.
"The temptation in all of this is to be very bleak about our future," Mr. Gregory said. "This is still a great country with a very strong, if troubled and distressed, political system. We do have a lot challenges, but we also have so many great advantages that it's worth remembering our ability to endure and persevere through these kinds of political winds."
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