Vitter on DC Madam 'borderline disastrous:' MSNBC

David Edwards and Josh CatonePublished: Monday July 16, 2007
David Vitter (R-LA) today broke his week long silence and spoke publicly about being linked with the so-called 'DC Madam.'
Appearing alongside his wife Wendy, Vitter seemed to lay blame on the media and appeared to be trying to come off as a victim, when he talked about how hard the media scrutiny had been on his family. MSNBC HardBall host Chris Matthews characterized Vitter as "contemptuous" and "angry."
"If this is what they waited a week to come up with," said Chuck Todd, NBC News' Political Director. "Vitter's part of it was borderline disastrous as far as political damage control."
Earlier Norman Robinson, the anchor for NBC affiliate WDSU in New Orleans, talked about how Vitter's remarks raised more questions about his conduct including who paid for the sexual services and whether he broke the law.
"[Wendy Vitter] did him a lot of good. He did himself very little good," said Todd. "He only invited people to investigate more... He almost issued a challenge to the media."
The following video is from MSNBC's HardBall, broadcast on July 16.