NBC’s Chuck Todd: No Chemistry Or Trust Between McCain And Palin?

Since the death of NBC’s journalistic giant Tim Russert, NBC’s News’ Political Director Chuck Todd has quickly blossomed into a media presence whose credibility and journalistic solidity have steadily grown. So Todd’s blunt comments about what he observed in watching Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and his increasingly-controversial running mate Vice Presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin being interviewed are getting lots of serious notice. And being taken seriously.

His verdict: there is a notable tenseness and lack of chemistry between McCain and Palin:

“There was a tenseness,” Todd told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews. “I couldn’t see chemistry between John McCain and Sarah Palin. I felt as if we grabbed two people and said ‘here, sit next to each other, we are going to conduct an interview.’ They are not comfortable with each other yet.”

This is the antithesis of what most journalistic observers have noted about Democratic Senator Barack Obama and his Vice Presidential running mate Sen. Joe Biden, who genuinely seem to like each other personally and professionally.

Todd, who was remarking on the interview conducted by NBC’s Brian Williams (he was in the room), speculated that the candidates had come to the realization that “they are losing” the campaign, and guessed that McCain may have begun to hold his vice presidential choice responsible for his dwindling White House chances.

And why not? Palin is today in the news due to reports that the RNC paid $150,000 for her wardrobe and accessories during a time of recession and when the McCain campaign needs its funds to compete with Obama, and Palin has also been under fire for comments suggesting the Vice President has a job that a Vice President doesn’t have (in charge of the Senate). All of these Palin stories detract from McCain’s efforts to go on the offensive against Obama. More Todd:

“When you see the two of them together, the chemistry is just not there. You do wonder, is John McCain starting to blame her for things? Blaming himself? Is she blaming him?” asked the widely regarded NBC newsman. “And maybe they don’t feel they can win right now, so they are missing that intensity. That was the thing that struck me more than anything. You almost wonder why they wanted the two of them sitting next to each other.”

….”Both of these candidates are on the verge of pulling a Bullworth,” said Todd, referencing the late ’90s political classic about a pol who stopped spinning. “We are at a critical juncture inside this campaign for the McCain folks and that is who is trusting who? You have got people worrying about their reputations. Now you are wondering do the candidates trust the staff? Does the staff trust the candidates? This is a dangerous time in a campaign that is behind. They desperately need some good news because you do wonder if cohesion is disappearing on the inside.”

Will some good news for the McCain arrive? Will a story break that the DNC spent $250,000 on hair plugs and Botox for Biden?

And do all of the Palin stories and Todd’s observations suggest the McCain campaign is now in a quick nosedive — with its only chance being some kind of big cataclysmic external event or huge Obama gaffe? And would that do any good now — given that so many voters are voting early?