MATT LAUER, co-host:
Now to politics and two controversial
tea party
candidates who are making waves in their respective states.
NBC
's
Kelly O'Donnell
's in
Washington
with details on this.
Kelly
, good morning to you.
KELLY O'DONNELL reporting:
Good morning,
Matt.
Well, you know, politics often gets personal and confrontational, but it's unusual to see major candidate boil over like this.
New York
's Republican candidate for governor,
Carl Paladino
, lost it with a reporter after
Paladino
accused Democrat
Andrew Cuomo
of cheating on his ex-wife.
Unidentified Aide:
Fred
, that's it!
Mr. FRED DICKER:
Stay
away from me! What evidence do you have, huh?
O'DONNELL:
About to deliver a speech in
upstate New York
...
Aide:
Hey, guys, easy. Come on!
Mr. DICKER:
Come on. Hey, stay away from me! Don't touch me!
O'DONNELL:
...a heated exchange erupted between
tea party
Republican
Carl Paladino
and
New York Post
reporter,
Fred Dicker
.
Mr. CARL PALADINO:
You're his
bird dog
!
Mr. DICKER:
You made the charge!
O'DONNELL:
Paladino
had just given an interview to Politico where he said, "Has anyone asked
Andrew Cuomo
about his paramours, or asked him why his wife left him or threw him out of the house?"
Mr. DICKER:
Do you ave any evidence for the charge you made? It's a simple question.
Mr. PALADINO:
Of course I do!
Mr. DICKER:
Where is it?
Mr. PALADINO:
You'll get it at the appropriate time.
Mr. DICKER:
When is that....
Mr. PALADINO:
You're not entitled to it.
Mr. DICKER:
When will that be?
O'DONNELL:
A businessman who has never run for office,
Paladino
has been under intense scrutiny.
Mr. PALADINO:
This is going to be one hell of a year.
O'DONNELL:
He told
NBC News
he is an angry candidate.
Mr. PALADINO:
I am angry. That's OK. It's all right to show people that you're angry.
O'DONNELL:
Married 40 years,
Paladino
has acknowledged publicly his own extramarital affair that produced a daughter now 10. He appeared furious that the
New York Post
had visited the child's home.
Mr. PALADINO:
You send another goon to my daughter's house...
Mr. DICKER:
What do you have to back it up?
Mr. PALADINO:
...
and I
'll take you out, buddy!
Mr. DICKER:
You're going to take me out?
Mr. PALADINO:
Yeah!
Mr. DICKER:
How are you going to do that?
Mr. PALADINO:
Watch!
O'DONNELL:
Paladino
and his campaign manager also accused the reporter of bias.
Unidentified Campaign Manager:
And you're working for
Cuomo
.
Mr. DICKER:
Not true.
O'DONNELL:
New York
's attorney general,
Cuomo
is divorced from
Robert F. Kennedy
's daughter
Kerry
, who is supporting his run for governor.
Cuomo
had no comment on
Paladino
's accusations of infidelity, and
Paladino
blamed the whole controversy on
Cuomo
.
Mr. PALADINO:
He sent his
bird dogs
out to make accusations against me, and that's OK?
Offscreen Voice:
Hey,
Carl
...
Mr. PALADINO:
He sent his
bird dogs
, OK? I don't send
bird dogs
to do my dirty work.
O'DONNELL:
From all that venting to a tame off-camera exchange.
Delaware
tea party
Republican
Christine O'Donnell
denied new accusations she has misrepresented her education, calling that "categorically untrue." An online networking profile with
O'Donnell
's name and photo listed the
University of Oxford
and
Claremont Graduate University
, but
O'Donnell
did not attend either school.
O'Donnell
claims that profile was faked. She says she "completed a summer program run by the
Phoenix Institute
at the institute's
Oxford University
location" and attended the
Claremont Institute
, not a
university
. And
O'Donnell
says she never created a
LinkedIn
profile.
LinkedIn
took that down but did not comment on whether it was fake or not. Now, issues about her education came up
in the first place
because, although she attended college years ago, she only received her bachelor's degree a few weeks ago after finishing up some last-minute requirements.
Matt
:
“ ”