Monday morning, NBC’s “Today Show” engineered one of those warm “family” moments that producers hope will help rescue the declining morning show from its recent ratings fall. The warm fuzzies were everywhere as “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie announced on-the-air that she was officially engaged to her boyfriend of four years, Mike Feldman.
Al Roker made jokes, Matt Lauer beamed like a proud poppa, the blushing bride-to-be flashed her ring… But what wasn’t revealed is just who it is one of the most powerful women in media is marrying.
Mike Feldman is a long-time Democrat operative. He was a part of Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign, and after the election, served in the Clinton White House as Al Gore’s deputy director of legislative affairs, a position he held until 1997.
After that, Feldman became Gore’s senior advisor and played an important role in Gore’s decision to contest the 2000 presidential election. In a 2002 Salon article, Jake Tapper (now a CNN anchor) described Feldman as a “dog-loyal former traveling chief of staff.”
Politico reports that Feldman is “a founding partner of The Glover Park Group,” a firm started “by four political refugees — well-connected Democrats suddenly disconnected after the disputed election of President George W. Bush” — Carter Eskew, Joe Lockhart, Chip Smith, and Feldman.
In 2007, the Glover Park Group won an award for its role in publicizing Al Gore’s discredited Global Warming documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Apparently, the Glover Park Group is now under bipartisan leadership, but that doesn’t change the fact that one of the most powerful women in media is not only marrying a longtime Democrat operative, but one who held a top position in the Clinton/Gore campaign and White House for a number of years.
Should Hillary Clinton run for president in 2016, this will be important to keep in mind as you watch the “Today Show.”
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC