O'Donnell asked why not let McCaskill give a "red meat" speech at the DNC -- McCaskill did, but MSNBC didn't cover

Summary: Norah O'Donnell asked Mike Barnicle, regarding the Democratic National Convention, "[W]hy not position a senator, like Claire McCaskill, up there for five minutes and let her throw some red meat out to the crowd?" In fact, McCaskill did speak on the first night of the convention and did repeatedly criticize Sen. John McCain and President Bush, but MSNBC didn't air her speech during its live coverage.

During MSNBC's August 26 coverage of the Democratic National Convention, NBC News chief Washington correspondent Norah O'Donnell asserted that during the upcoming Republican National Convention, "[t]he Republicans ... are going to use from Day One through Day Four to hammer [Sen.] Barack Obama" and asked MSNBC political analyst Mike Barnicle of the first night of the Democratic National Convention, "[W]hy not position a senator, like Claire McCaskill [D-MO], up there for five minutes and let her throw some red meat out to the crowd?" In fact, McCaskill did speak on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, and in that speech, McCaskill repeatedly criticized both Sen. John McCain and President Bush. However, MSNBC did not air the speech during its live coverage of the convention.

During her speech, McCaskill asserted:

For eight years we have watched our government take care of the powerful, the few and the extremely wealthy. We have seen our dream put at risk by George Bush's Washington. John McCain is running for four more years of the same old politics and exact same failed policies that we had under George Bush. They did tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, they're doing everything Big Oil asks for, and look where we are.

Come on, America. Let's call on our common sense and stay focused on what's important. We cannot choose that path again. That's a risk the American people cannot afford to take. I have seen Barack Obama in the Senate, and I've been by his side on the campaign trail. I know he will bring the change we need in Washington.

I saw him take on both parties to help pass the farthest-reaching ethics reform since Watergate. That's the change we need. I saw him run a campaign that hasn't taken a dime from federal lobbyists and PACs. That's the change we need. I know that this son of a single mom will stand up for the dreams of our daughters. And I know that John McCain won't.

There is only one candidate in this race who has fought for equal pay for equal work by America's women. That candidate is Barack Obama. There is only one candidate offering real tax relief for the middle class, health care that is affordable and accessible and protection of Social Security today, tomorrow and forever. That candidate is Barack Obama.

It all depends on how clearly you see America -- how clearly you see the best of America. John McCain has been in Washington for almost 30 years. Maybe that's why he has a campaign run by Washington lobbyists and thinks the fundamentals of the economy are strong. In Missouri we have a ringside seat to the real America, and I can assure you it looks much different.

From the 7 p.m. hour of MSNBC's coverage of the Democratic National Convention on August 26:

O'DONNELL: The Republicans, Mike, are going to use from Day One through Day Four to hammer Barack Obama.

BARNICLE: Oh, I'm sure they will, but I -- you know, I very rarely disagree with James Carville, but I do disagree with him on this issue for a couple of reasons.

First of all, I don't think that on the emotion of last night, with Ted Kennedy appearing and Michelle Obama appearing for a specific reason, to introduce herself to the country, you can't interrupt that kind of emotional flow with, "By the way, John McCain's a bad guy."

O'DONNELL: Well, why not position a senator, like Claire McCaskill, up there for five minutes and let her throw some red meat out to the crowd?

BARNICLE: Let me ask you this or let me state what I'm about to --

O'DONNELL: No, no. I'm leading the panel.

BARNICLE: Let me ask you this, because you have a specific expertise in my probably largely minority view here of what happened last night. Something happened last night that I think down the road will be more important than Ted Kennedy's speech, more important than Mrs. Obama's speech, perhaps even more important than Barack Obama's speech. And it's when one little girl said, "Hi, Daddy." And it humanized him, like that. Boom.

—M.G.