Meet The Freakshow Defender

Gregory, 38, celebrated his 30th birthday — complete with cake — aboard George W. Bush’s presidential campaign plane, the assignment that solidified his stature as a network rising star.

And to think, Stumblin' Bumblin' John McKKKain only rated donuts.

If it's Sunday, and if it's David Gregory, it's Meet The Freakshow Defender!

David Gregory, the fourth, from the lost episode, of 'My Three Sons', gets the A-Ticket.

I think Bob Cesca hit this one good;

David Gregory will be the permanent host of Meet the Press. Expect many more years of false equivalencies and fake balance.

Rumors abounded, and now Mike Allen, another pantheon of objective journalism, is confirming that "Stretch" (that's The Commander Guys affectionate moniker for him) is going to take over Little Timmy Russert's job, being, not making phone calls, not asking needed, uncomfortable questions, unless it's a long winded "Gotcha" softball, with the on-screen quotes.

Errr, excuse me, he's talked about being named host of NBC's dinosaur, Meet The Press.

The title of “moderator” — unique in network news — reflects the 61-year history of “Meet” as the premier forum for Washington insiders to talk to the country and each other.

Yeah, you certainly don't want to break tradition of 61-years of a boring, and boorish, white guy anchoring the show

And, heaven forbid, if there's not a network "news" show where Washington insiders can sit and talk, free from actually having to be held accountable for any policies or actions they undertook, rather, let's give them a "premier forum" to regurgitate their self-serving talking points, without any needlesome, penetrating questions.

Yep, Karl Rove's dancing partner will slide right into Little Timmy Russert's chair like it's a custom-fit Isitoner glove.

For instance;

David Gregory cherry picks polls to favor McCain

David Gregory Worries About Obama’s Glow

Ignoring McCain's efforts to satisfy conservative base, NBC's Gregory touted McCain's "brand" as "being a maverick and being anti-politics"

Gregory: Bush ‘didn’t jump to invade Iraq’ after 9/11

NBC's David Gregory thinks we just need to "strip away" Ann Coulter's inflammatory rhetoric to listen to her points

Hmmm ... Stretch having a few bad days, or, perhaps, a defining pattern, his "journalistic fingerprint"?

Oh, you want something a little more recent?

From Todd Gitlen's "Meet the Shallows";

Here he was his penetrating question of Sen. John Thune (R, SD) at midnight after Sarah Palin's St. Paul speech: "Senator [John] Thune, was a star born here tonight with Sarah Palin?"

Charter member of the Mommy Moose Fan Club

As with most of Gregory's time on television, the only thing missing is his red, GOP pom poms.

Just what we need, for another decade, or so, assuming, certainly, that 'Meet The Press" remains that "premier forum" for Washington Insiders to talk to each other, for it sure doesn't sound like David Gregory is going to rock that swift boat.

Looks like I'll have an extra free hour come Sunday mornings.


Bonus Stretch Riffs

Andrew Malcolm: Looks like David Gregory gets Tim Russert's chair on 'Meet the Press'

The Heretik: No Doubt

Tina Brown: Washington's Other Transition ... How is it Obama can fill a Cabinet faster than NBC can replace Tim Russert?

Everybody, Give A Big Hand! ... Let's Welcome NBC's David Gregory To The Freak Show!

Developing Story - MSNBC Making Pitches To Become Eulogy Channel

Today's Forecast - No Snow

Yeah, oh so cold, and heartless ...

Jumpin' on the guy when he'd dead (no, we jumped on him when he was alive, as well).

No doubt, you heard the news, yesterday, the passing of former Faux News anchor and Bush Grindhouse mouthpiece Tony Snow, losing his fight against colon cancer.

Condolences, certainly to his family (and especially to his children; It was noted in one of the slobbering obits, that Snow's mother also went down to colon cancer ... Let's hope medical science gets a handle on it ASAP).

Faux News, likely, had to ponder quit heavily, whether to send Snow off with a Russert-like media tsunami, but, then again, it's Faux News, a Murdoch entity, so whatever happens, whoever dies, it's still about the dollars ... Always about the fuckin' dollars (As Joe Pesci noted in 'Casino').

No tears on this end.

Snow worked for, in his adult life, Fox News and the Bush Grindhouse (in essence, you could say his "work" never changed - just keep obfuscating the truth, lie, stonewall and otherwise smear whoever doesn't agree with you).

That's a SuperSizeMe barrel of bad karma.

With that double whammy on his resume, we're talking mezzanine level in the House of Evil, only a level or two above the likes of Pol Pot, or John Wayne Gacy (but they are building a new wing, just for Dick Cheney).

You can go out to Memeorandum, to catch some of the glowing obituaries.

There are a few, that didn't follow the script, or use the perfunctory "no matter what you thought" line, or shed a William Hurt tear, that you should take a look at.

Libby Spencer, over on The Impolitic offered "Do the right thing - get fired", in her valiant attempt to swing the spotlight over to a more deserving place.

As did LiquidStroke, with "Tony Snow MORE IMPORTANT than Dead Soldiers."

Lastly, our good friend Barry Crimmins gave us his breaking weather alert with "Snow Falls In July!"

A Wolcott Howler!

If you need a "pick-me-up" today, we got one for you.

It peels back the curtain for a glimpse, a fleeting glimpse, of the Washington insiders, the Tim Russert/Golden Calf worship, Sally Quinn, the always-apocalyptic Bill Donohue, Jon "Jesus Saves, And I Write About It" Meacham, and more.

A hearty H/T to Barry Crimmins, for pointing to this gem from James Wolcott;

Think Twice Before Joining the Buffet Line

The tempest in a chalice began when Quinn, co-creator of the Washington Post's On Faith website (an accident waiting to happen), paid memorial tribute to Tim Russert and went a bit overboard with the best of intentions, telling her readers...

At Tim's funeral mass...communion was offered. I had only taken communion once in my life, at an evangelical church. It was soon after I had started "On Faith"; and I wanted to see what it was like. Oddly I had a slightly nauseated sensation after I took it, knowing that in some way it represented the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Last Wednesday I was determined to take it for Tim, transubstantiation notwithstanding. I'm so glad I did. It made me feel closer to him. And it was worth it just to imagine how he would have loved it.

Leonard Pinth Garnell would be so proud.

Go read Wolcott's Think Twice Before Joining the Buffet Line ... It will make your day!


Bonus Riffs

Remembering Russert - What media eulogies remember--and forget

The Canonization of Saint Russert: The media overdo the death of a journalist

We've Gone Well Past The 15-Minutes Thing ...

Developing Story - MSNBC Making Pitches To Become Eulogy Channel

Developing Story - MSNBC Making Pitches To Become Eulogy Channel

Sources tell The Garlic that executives at NBC and MSNBC, buoyed by, surprisingly, extremely strong overnight ratings, have quickly put together a crack team of producers and advertising salespeople and are, quietly, pitching to Fortune 500 companies, as well as other large public and private institutions, the opportunity to have their leaders eulogized and remembered in the same manner that NBC/MSNBC has done for, the now departed, Tim Russert.

To drive the sense of urgency to the prospective purchasers of what NBC/MSNBC is calling "Eulogy Packages", the sales brochure is being sent with a complimentary Buffalo Bills cap, and miniature erasable white board.

As we continue to review the voluminous sales package provided by our source, NBC/MSNBC are offering a vast array of options, from special, highlighted news item mentions, to by-the-hour tributes, to multiple day, 24/7 broadcasting, complete with NBC/MSNBC, and CNBC on-air talent.

"This is extremely ambitious," offered Bruno Anthony, editor of "The Final Close-Up", an on-line newsletter that tracks the amount of time television news programs allot to the death of prominent persons. "This has never been done before ... Proactively selling airtime for this purpose ... For death ..."

"It's one thing if the deceased is already in the news, a promient politician, businessman, or, celebrity," continued Anthony. "But this can open up serious ethical and standards questions ... Like, if you don't pay, will NBC not report your death?"

Pricing is steep, ranging from high-five-and-six-figures, and significantly higher.

One package, the top, or Gold Plan, is the most expensive.

The Gold Plan is available only to those person who have been interviewed, on-air, by the late Tim Russert.

This is a multiple-day tribute package, with the Russert interview of the deceased customer being broadcast in prime time.

And to protect the exclusivity of this Gold Plan, NBC/MSNBC, as they continue, into the 4th day now, their "Remembering Tim Russert", will only broadcast B-Roll of Russert interviewing colleagues, or making appearances on the various NBC or MSNBC programs.

All NBC/MSNBC on-air talent under contract are available for these Eulogy Packages, with three - Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and Andrea Mitchell - positioned at the higher pricing.

Additionally, throughout the sales package, upselling of combo-talent, having multiple NBC/MSNBC persons waxing on about the deceased, is encouraged.

Only two CNBC on-air talent - Erin Burnett and Margaret Brennan - are referenced as being available in these Eulogy Packages.

As to non-NBC/MSNBC on-air talent, the talking heads, those are priced ala carte, and subject to availability.

Of those mentioned in the sales package, included Mike Barnicle, Lawrence O'Donnell, Bob Shrum, Al Hunt, Hillary Rosen, Eugene Robinson, Rachel Maddow, and a host of others, with the deceased having to provide scripts of what they want discussed, or how the pundits should describe the dead customer.

Former MSNBC on-air talent Rita Cosby is not offered in any of the Eulogy Packages, however, MSNBC will provide contact information for the deceased purchasing a plan to negotiate with Cosby directly.

Special Doc Blocks are also available, with pricing noted as TBD.

The NBC/MSNBC sales package also notes that all costs reflect in-studio work only.

The deceased purchasing any of the Eulogy Package plans will incur additional costs if they wish to have on-site events included, such as funerals, memorial services, hospital watches, and candlelight vigils.

Protesters can also be included for an additional fee.

One whimsical offering comes with the 'Today' Program.

As with most of the Eulogy Packages, for an additional fee, the deceased's burial location can be included as a stop, in the 'Today' program's feature, "Where In The World Is Matt Lauer", with the 'Today' program of that day being built around the deceased package purchaser.

Anthony sees this as a heavy push for NBC/MSNBC, with a "striking while the iron is hot" mentality.

"It could be big, they can see the dollar signs adding up," says Anthony.

"And, you're likely to see them continuing to roll out "Remembering Tim Russert" programming... That's their biggest sales tool ... This will go on for days ... Probably, weeks ... "


Bonus Remember Tim Russert Riffs

Barry Crimmins: Overkill

Dennis Perrin: No Moment Of Silence

We've Gone Well Past The 15-Minutes Thing ...

Little Russ Gone ...

We've Gone Well Past The 15-Minutes Thing ...

I believe we may be witnessing historic television evolution.

With the 24/7, non-stop cheerleading of Tim Russerts' career, I suspect MSNBC has taken the bold, innovative step of doing a live, in-real-time Doc Block.

On one hand, it was "Lock-Up America", with their non-stop, talk-to-anyone-who-passed-by-Tim Russert, barrage of patting Russert, and themselves, on the back.

On the other hand, that Russert would be the subject of a Doc Block is, to some degree, apropos.

The MSNBC Doc Blocks, typically, focus on the sleazy, or the underside of society's belly.

Russert's brand of journalism certainly fits those requirements.

Whether it was "grilling" a candidate for office, or fluffing a sitting Vice President, Russert rarely went beyond the line of a junior high journalism class, dressed up by slick camera angles and pop-up "gotcha" graphics.

If the 5 W's are the bedrock of journalism, Russert, lazily, maybe, paid attention to two, or three.

But, if you've tuned into MSNBC (or NBC) these past few days, the parade of talking heads, present and former colleagues, competitors, you would be lead to believe that Russert not only was the first to talk about politics on television, but that he invented both the political and television universe.

One, falling after another (perhaps, in some case, pushing the platitudes through clenched teeth, for fear of retribution), were only a few decibels below Billy Mays, in hawking Russerts work, his work ethics, the "job he did".

Russert has been so pumped up by his adoring colleagues, I fully expect to see a grinning replica of the former MTP host flying high over this years' Macy Thanksgiving Day parade.

Tbogg, over on Firedoglake, hit the nail on the head, with his observation "I'd hate to think that we're going into this political season and all of his talking head peers are going to be wearing a "TR" patch on their sleeves as if the election is all about them and we should be voting because "Tim would have wanted it that way".

"He was hard working ... He did his homework ... He was prepared ..."

What, no credit for breathing, or tying his shoes in the morning?

The sun didn't rise on Russert's cue?

NBC, long ago, should have renamed the program "Meet The Party Line", "Meet The Gatekeeper", or perhaps, "Meet The Ultimate Insider".

The show could have, just as easily, been taped on a patio down on Martha's Vineyard, tall drinks with little umbrellas stationed on the table, as in its' Washington studio.

Week, after week, the nearly identical onslaught of seemingly cloned media and political elites, the insiders, fellow gatekeepers and corporate media scribes, who sat at the table, pontificating on who was in, who was out, much to the orchestration of the "son of Buffalo".

Much was made in this never-ending tribute (if Russert gets this, what happens on the sad day that Walter Cronkite passes away? To even come close, the entire world will have to shut down) of Russert being at the top.

His narrow guest list and even narrower topics certainly cemented that platitude.

As Barry Crimmins noted today, in his excellent "Overkill" post;

Many of these people referred to Russert as a "journalists' journalist" and as "the most important person in the Washington media," and it's likely they believed what they were saying. If Russert deserved the title of Washington Journalist of the Era, it sure was a nasty thing to point out about someone whose corpse had yet to cool. Because during Russert's reign as NBC News Washington Bureau Chief and Meet the Press host, about the only thing politicians were held accountable for was one blow job. Other than that, the treasury has been privatized, our country has been marched into two violent quagmires, the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten stomped, and the Bill of Rights has been shredded and tossed as confetti at a tickertape parade celebrating jingoism.

Russert as the "Everyman"

Boy, did that ever get displayed, by a somber Chris Matthews on Friday evening, beaming in from France.

Keith Olbermann, anchoring the first 100-hours, or so, of the Russertpalooza, asked Matthews, for his reaction, recollections, etc.

And Matthews, I assume, was attempting to praise Russert, ended up, IMHO, as shitting all over him, stating the obvious, known to the many who don't drink the MTP and/or corporate media Kool Aid.

Matthews waxed on about how Russert was the "everyman", how he broke things down so the guy on the street could understand things and then put forth, how he and Russert were speaking, with Matthews asking Russert, alluding to his own skepticism, how Russert could support the Iraq War, and citing Russert's answer as "the nuclear thing", that if "they had a nuclear bomb".

Matthews chose to use that to cement Russert's "everyman" legend, I think.

Other than the two, very recent publications - Scott McClellan's book, and the Senate Intelligence Committee's report - that exposed the lies of the Bush Grindhouse, lies already years-old and known to a significant percentage of the world.

Along with unwittingly defining the how hapless Russert was, Matthews also reaffirmed Cheney's offices' assessment that Russert was a pushover, that he'd eat up whatever they put out like happy soup.

Here's Crimmins, again, on Russert's "Everyman" mirror;

True to his roots, Russert worked hard -- he worked hard for the man who let him sit in the private dining room and taught him which fork to use for the salad. But what was his job beyond fitting in? And did he even know he was doing it? It always seemed to me that his job was to appear to be a tough journalist while never actually scratching the surface of what was really going on. For doing this he got status, celebrity and wealth. Again and again his response was to say "what a country!" But he never probed very deeply into the country that allowed his hometown of Buffalo to oxidize. Speaking of the upstate NY city, Russert was all Chamber of Commerce and professional sports booster but never one to draw attention to the crushing poverty found in our nation's second poorest city. Russert seemed to think enthusiastic boosterism was all Buffalo needed and that's all it ever got from its favorite son.

And Russert, for his status as "Everyman" sure could play the holier-than-thou role when he came across a guest, rather obviously, he didn't like, or otherwise respect.

That was never more evident when Russert interviewed (or, should we say, looked down on, disapprovingly) the faux presidential candidate, Steven Colbert.

In a word, it was embarrassing.

From The Garlic's On Colbert & Russert: "The citizens of Dresden didn't endure as much of a bombing as this";

"And to be fair to Colbert, Little Timmy was as much the culprit, with attempting to adopt the same persona as Colbert in which to interview this faux candidate.

Which is most ironic, being that, when Little Timmy is in his own persona, week-after-week, he, pretty much, is a softball-throwing, vice-presidential-favorite, faux newsman anyway.

The citizens of Dresden didn't endure as much of a bombing as this.

Over-the-top, you say?

Russert droned on with an absolutely, going-nowhere Sesame Street riff, complete with holding up a Ernie doll ...

(You can watch that disaster Here and Here)

What next?

Can the FCC step in and stop NBC/MSNBC? Are there any violations, decency clauses, something ...

Are we to get the funeral in living color, as well?

A horse-drawn caisson through the streets of Buffalo?

The big cathedral shots, world and business leaders looking somber, the isolated money-shot of a white board and Buffalo Bills cap, sitting lonely, the words 'Russert, Russert, Russert" running down it.

On Friday, Peggy Noonan, the longstanding Reagan Groupie, with enough false sincerity to fill Lake Erie, squeezed out of those upward-tilting nostrils that "this is a loss for the nation".

Some hours later, John Cole, over on Balloon Juice, got it down, perfectly;

MSNBC has been running nothing but a 5 hour (and presumably it will go until 11 pm or beyond) marathon of Russert remembrance. CNN has done their due diligence, and Fox news has spent at least the last half hour talking non-stop about him.
But let’s get something straight- what I am watching right now on the cable news shows is indicative of the problem- no clearer demonstration of the fact that they consider themselves to be players and the insiders and, well, part of the village, is needed. This is precisely the problem. They have walked the corridors of power so long that they honestly think they are the story. It is creepy and sick and the reason politicians get away with all the crap they get away with these days.

Tim Russert was a newsman. He was not the Pope. This is not the JFK assassination, or Reagan’s death, or the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. A newsman died. We know you miss him, but please shut up and get back to work.

Fat Chance.

I do have sympathies for Russert's family, as well as empathy, having lost my father at the same age, only, not suddenly (which, as things were, would have been merciful), but in an almost three-year tangle with the insidious ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

If Russert were only half the great guy, and tremendous family man, as the biblical flood of tributes carry, then, they were a lucky family.

After this display from NBC/MSNBC, it should be out of their system, and there shouldn't be a need to have any of their further election coverage draped in black bunting, and hauling out the hosannas by the pound (don't bet against it , I suppose, is the safe warning).

We've gone well past the 15-minutes thing already ...


Bonus White Board Riffs, Riffs, Riffs

Oliver Willis: Proportion

Emptywheel: At the Risk of Being Churlish

Brilliant at Breakfast: I have nothing more to add to this

Adam Nagourney: Recalling Russert as Political Operative in New York

Steve Benen: If it’s Sunday…

Riding The Woody Allen Train To Last Night's MSNBC Democrat Debate

Top Ten Cloves: Reasons Tim Russert Didn't Ask Scooter Libby About Joe Wilson and His Wife

Little Russ Gone ...

Little Russ Gone ...

My, My, My ...

Timmy Russert has shuffled off to that big, beloved, bilious Buffalo in the sky.

I will, in all likelihood, do a Garlic Obit on this later, tomorrow, or at some point, however, we have to get this down now.

I had been working when the first NYT News Alert dropped in (Fri 6/13/2008 3:29 PM), with the startling news - "Tim Russert Is Dead of a Heart Attack, His Family Says".

WOW!

Talk about it being Friday the 13th!

Since I had the television on, and tuned to MSNBC, I whipped around and they had some flood story on, then David Shuster came back and they went off into a political story (or vice versa) ...

Strange, I thought, that they weren't breaking with the news.

It must have been another 3+ minutes before the blaring graphics and fanfare of "Breaking News" filled the screen, and, while expecting Shuster to level with the news, low-and-behold, it was none other than retired anchorman, Tom Brokaw.

And I immediately began laughing, hysterically.

No, not at the news of Timmy passing away, but rather of the old Saturday Night Live skit, with Dana Carvey impersonating Brokaw, taping, one-after-another, breaking news notices on the death of President Gerald Ford (he hadn't passed away yet).

Unbelievably sublime ... And, hysterical

And here it is;




Links

It's wall-to-wall tributes on the television, as well as out on the World Wide Web.

Will Bunch/Attytood: Tim Russert, 1950-2008

Wonkette: A Video Tribute To Tim Russert, Dead Today At 58

Greg Sargent/TPM - Report: Tim Russert Has Passed Away

Chris Cillizza: On Tim Russert

Andrew Sullivan: Big Russ's Son II

Mediabistro - Death of Tim Russert: CNN and FNC Report

Howard Kurtz and William Branigin: NBC's Tim Russert Dies at 58; Host of 'Meet the Press' Stricken While at Office

Skippy the bush kangaroo: tim russert dead, news lives on

"So Long Scooter, We're Through With You ..."

To steal from ''Yankee Doodle Dandy' for a moment ...

"So long Scooter, we're through with you ...We'll have nothing to do with you ..."

No, I. Lewis "Scooter:" Libby isn't a jockey who was accused of throwing the English Derby, he was a member of the Bush Grindhouse, Vice President Death Vader's Chief of Staff who assisted outing a covert CIA Agent Valarie Plame, for the purpose of political retribution, lied about it, covered it up and was convicted of Perjury and Obstruction of Justice

(However, one of his accomplices, The Commander Guy, commuted his sentence, before Little Scooter had to really worry about if he would get see the aspens turning again)

Karma came a'vistin' to Scooter Libby today;

Former Cheney Aide Libby Disbarred

"When a member of the Bar is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, disbarment is mandatory," the three judges wrote in their order. "This court has held that obstruction of justice and perjury are crimes of moral turpitude. Since respondent was convicted of each of these offenses, as the Board concluded, disbarment is mandatory under D.C. Code.

Jane Hamsher, from Firedoglake, has a pretty good idea;

Kind of seems like some old time military "cashiering ceremony" is in order with a formal parade, where they call the miscreant out and break his sword and force him to leave.

I guess we'll have to settle for future disbarring in New York. Sets a nice precedent.

Hmmm... Can we expect a blizzard of new letters from the pen of Mary Matalin? Will she be seeking "Disbarment Funds" for the Scooter? Maybe Fred Thompson can chip in, write a few notes when Matalin cramps up, or make a few calls.

I wanted to link to the website - ScooterLibby.Com- but, apparently, they've taken it down and, rather ironically, the first Ad listing on the former link is for "Mini Power Scooters" (you can go here to see a partial listing of what was on it)

Oh, how the petty and twisted fall ...

Then again, it's a little more than eight-months to wait for the Christmas Pardon List


It's Another Scooterpalooza

Sidney Blumenthal: Libby and the White House book club - While Cheney's former aide prays for a presidential pardon, Bush and Rove hold forth in their neocon salon, and the cover-up continues

Breaking News! Domestic Spying Injected Into Libby Trial - Trial In Chaos; Justice Dept. Gave Libby Lawyers Prospective Jurors Personal Info; Fitzgerald Livid As Emails, NSA Wiretaps, Financial Records Found In Defense Lawyers' Briefcase

Top Ten Cloves: Reasons Tim Russert Didn't Ask Scooter Libby About Joe Wilson and His Wife

Breaking News - White House Bombshell: "VP Could Be In His Last Throes" - Libby Verdict Has Bush, White House Urging Cheney Into Rehab; Sources Claim 'Can't Be Trusted He Won't Break"; Iraq Comments "Last Straw" and "Were Not An Enormous Success"

Libby Trial Update - The Scooter and Cheney Show Theme Song

Breaking News! - Miller To Leave 'Times' With Movie Deal In Hand; Signs On To Star In Memento Sequel; Not Sure If She Will Continue Freelancing For Bush Admn.

UPDATE

Thanks to eagle eyes (and/or trusty links) of ZappoDave, the Libby Defense Fund website it still running!

Larisa Alexandrovna: Scooter disbarred...

Blue Girl: More good news!

Riding The Woody Allen Train To Last Night's MSNBC Democrat Debate

I couldn't escape it. Feeling under-the-weather, it crept up on me as I anchored the sofa, unable to move, to reach the remote control, before it was too late.

Last night's MSNBC Democrat Debate from Las Vegas reminded me, very much, of the opening minutes of Woody Allen's "Stardust Memories"...

It, and those of us watching, were on the sad, dour, lifeless train ...
















And it had the additional touch of Allen, with NBC's Natalie Morales standing, singularly, off to the side, reading emailed questions, almost in the role as the narrator of a Greek Tragedy.

Or comedy, for the fat-mouthed man from Buffalo was at center stage ... Always at center stage ... Never wavering or giving up his position of center stage ...

I thought it was going to be a debate, but with Brian Williams, and Tim Russert, listed in the role of moderators, it played out more like the pair emulating a couple of high school sophomore journalism students trying to goof on the upperclassman.

This one laid out so badly, I believe Leonard Pinth Garnell wouldn't have wasted his time or energy panning it.

From Steve Benen at the Carpetbagger Report;

About 22 minutes into the Nevada Democratic debate, a heckler in the audience interrupted the proceedings, saying “these are f**cking race-based questions coming from you two, these are race-based questions…”

There was silence from the candidates and the moderators for about eight seconds with no mention of the heckler. Tim Russert, continued with his question for Sen. Hillary Clinton which focused on her characterization that Sen. Obama “is raising false hopes.”

I’ve seen debates in which hecklers jeer candidates, and I’ve seen debates in which hecklers take a stand for one issue or another, but this was the first debate I’ve seen in which a heckler went after a moderator. Worse, I think the guy was probably right.

From Erza Klein's "Worst. Moderators. Ever";

It's almost impossible for me to convey the damage Tim Russert and Brian Williams are doing to the republic this evening.

Chris Cillizza caught this little gem;

* Moderator Brian Williams spoke for all of us sleep-deprived and travel weary journalists when he welcomed the audience back to Los Angeles. He was greeted with lusty booing from the Las Vegas crowd.

And, of course, Little Timmy Russert had to play his usual games, during a round of questioning about the positions on Iraq, in which all three candidates were in basic agreement to pull the troops out during the first year, with some subtle differences.

But Little Timmy didn't like those answers. Little Timmy got a little angry with the candidates and had to let them know that he was a little angry with them, contemptuously and dismissively snipping at them, complete with shaking head and enlarged eyeballs;

RUSSERT: In September, we were in New Hampshire together, and I asked the three of you if you would pledge to have all troops out of Iraq by the end of your first term.

All three of you said, you will not take that pledge. I'm hearing something much different tonight.

If you didn't watch last night, you didn't miss very much. The more informal stage setting - all three sitting around a table, mere feet from each other - was different, however, it offered, very much, more articulated stump speeches. None of the three erred to any great extent and none really scored points on each other.

It was, as we started this post, the Woody Allen train, a dull and uneventful evening.

If it's Tuesday in Las Vegas, it's Meet Timmy and Brian making asses of themselves (and, as I am writing this post, I hear a promo from MSNBC, that this dynamic-less duo will be hosting and moderating an upcoming Republican debate in Florida ... Egads!)

Hmmm ... Maybe it was last night, or hearing of the future moderation duties is what made Maureen Dowd so sick ...


Bonus Debate Links

A "Must Read" here - Matthew Yglesias and his rip-roaring "The Unbearable Inanity of Tim Russert"

MSNBC Transcript - Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate for Jan. 15

Big Tent Democrat: Why Obama, And Democrats, Won The Debate

Joan Walsh: The Democrats defeat the media

Josh Marshall: Nevada Debate Blogging 3.0

Steve Benen: I watch debates, so you don’t have to

Willow Weep For Me ... If Not, Then For Hillary - Or With Her ...

Sad as I can be - Hear me willow and weep for me

Hmmm ... Was it the warm weather or the warm, fuzzy emotions?

She pulled the woman vote, so, maybe her little "The View" moment had some impact ...

If the bulk of the Independent vote is found to have gone over to McCain, Obama can claim that Mitt Romney beat him too ... The Granite Staters were not, under any circumstances, going to let Make-Up Mitt drive back across the border to Belmont with a laurel wreath perfectly placed on his head ... But it may end up that the difference was the woman vote came out for the Clintons

Poor John Edwards ... The year he decides to run on his own, he draws two, mega-death stars to contend with, and even if he is the better candidate, he gets lost in the trail of galaxy matter (The Garlic, if we were have endorsed anyone in the Primaries, it would be Edwards ... Most pragmatic, fighting for the working man, and, perhaps the most normal, regular-type person amongst the motley crew) ... Edwards has to have had the thought cross through his mind, back in 2004, instead of being second-billing to The Dud, he should have run on his own then ... Ahh, but it ain't over yet ... Anything can happen ...

10:32PM: With about 66% reporting, MSNBC called it for Hillary ... CNN waits about another 15-minutes before making their call (Oh, the tension in Wolf's Situation Room) ... Obama gives his concession speech at 11PM ...

Stuck, pretty much with MSNBC most of the night, who all had gales of laughter and tore apart John McCain's victory speech.

What happened there? ... Did McCain pick up a bet - Go out there and read a horrible, disjointed, terrible speech for $100 bucks? ... Somebody check the Straight Talk Express, make sure exhaust, or carbon monoxide, isn't leaking inside ... But if I were McCain, I'd still keep my guard up, and make sure he knows were Oscar the Death Cat is at all times ...

In a foray over to CNN, I was stunned to see Anderson Cooper throw the analysis to ... Ralph Reed, Republican Strategist!

Was there an Indian Casino referendum on the ballot in New Hampshire this evening?

Bill "Will Vice President For Food" Richardson brought in his standard 5% of the vote ... Nobody can round up 5% of the vote like Bill R. ... Perhaps time for El Jeffe to pack it in, before he's embarrassed in being dropped from the next round of debates (and who will chide everyone to be civil, he must be thinking) ... He can leave his card with the remaining candidates and, with one last pitch, tell'em he'll make a great VP ...

11:25PM: On MSNBC, Brian Williams and Little Timmy Russert segue into a two-man Hillary jerk ...

Williams: Greatest Political Upset in American History
Russert: We have Ali-Frazier

Ugh! ... It's only the beginning ... Prepare for the onslaught of pro-Clinton, "It's Hillary!" for the next number of days ...The media and pundits will be falling back in love with her and you'll hear "Comeback Kid" bandied about more often than Pete Rose bet on baseball games ... Wouldn't surprise me to see Hillary and her camp go back into their "incumbent/entitlement" mode ... After all, this was a "Primary" and not a "Caucus" ...

Either that or she starts ballin'-like-a-baby at the drop-of-a-hat ...

More, as they say, as this story develops ... You can visit Memeorandum for all the post spin

- 30 -

On Colbert & Russert: "The citizens of Dresden didn't endure as much of a bombing as this"

Colbert may be thinking about changing his name, once again, this time to Col-Boring!

It was pretty brutal, almost to the point of having to reevaluate Rich Little's WHCA Dinner disaster (at least, being thankful that Little Timmy Russert didn't interview Rich as part of the act)

It was complete with awkward pauses, and awkward glances ... The longer it went on, leaving you on edge, and sickened, as if watching some of the Bush Grindhouse's non-torture, torture practices.

We're talking about, of course, yesterday's 'Meet The Press', where the final segment of the show had Little Timmy Russert interviewing faux presidential candidate (who is also a faux news anchor/host) Stephen Colbert.

Now, Colbert has built himself a good gig and continues to inject humor, at times, into his one-joke act.

This "running for president" thing, though, is all about selling - what a surprise - a new book, written by - oh no, another surprise - Stephen Colbert.

And even Colbert himself must know that this thing went old about 10-minutes after he announced it, being he is only running in one state (his home of South Carolina; And he's running on both the Republican and Democratic ballots, apparently, to extend the joke).

But people are taking polls, and taking measure on his electoral chances.

In case you missed it, just above;

This "running for president" thing is all about selling - what a surprise - a new book, written by - oh no, another surprise - Stephen Colbert.

As the great satirist Barry Crimmins noted last week, on comedians running for President, or other elective office, "It's been done".

But the MTP bomb ... Phew ... I supposed we should be grateful that Little Timmy didn't book him for the entire hour.

God, drill my teeth, without Novocain, in the middle of an insurance underwriters convention.

And to be fair to Colbert, Little Timmy was as much the culprit, with attempting to adopt the same persona as Colbert in which to interview this faux candidate.

Which is most ironic, being that, when Little Timmy is in his own persona, week-after-week, he, pretty much, is a softball-throwing, vice-presidential-favorite, faux newsman anyway.

The citizens of Dresden didn't endure as much of a bombing as this.

Over-the-top, you say?

Russert droned on with an absolutely, going-nowhere Sesame Street riff, complete with holding up a Ernie doll;

"He and Mr. Russert went round and round about his name, too, in one of the wilder moments when Mr. Russert held up a Sesame Street character and asked Mr. Colbert (who now pronounces his name Col-bair rather than his family’s pronunciation of Col-burt) to identify the other half of (fill-in-the blank) and Ernie. And Mr. Russert kept it up, asking why then he shouldn’t pronounce his own name as Russ-air."

How about 'Russ-Rear", as in a horse's ass.

And Stephen ... You don't need MTP ... You have your own show, five nights a week ... You want to sell a book, fine ... Wear a sandwich-board sign ... Or next time, go on Oprah ...


The All-Colbert Link Fest

Wonkette: colbert '08 - Stephen Colbert, Tim Russert Confuse Each Other

Michael J.W. Stickings: Colbert and Russert

Raw Story: Comedian Stephen Colbert explains his Presidential aspirations to NBC's Tim Russert

The Caucus: Colbert: I Am a Candidate (And So Can You!)

"For The Debate, Mr. Russert, Will You Be Wearing A Suit, Or The Brown Shirt And Jack Boots?"

There was clarity, all right ...

I scoured the news, beyond the shouting headlines of how the top tier candidates wouldn't commit to ending the Iraq Invasion and Occupation in their first terms, and it appears I may have been the only one to noticed the hatchet job Little Timmy Russert pulled during the New Hampshire Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate.

Who was Russert carrying the water for?

Was it the Martha's Vineyard crowd, or did Dick Cheney's office give him marching, or in this case, hatcheting, orders.

Roughly 90+ minutes into the debate, Russert, with a look like someone said to him how much the Buffalo Bills suck, lasered into to candidates Mike Gravel and Congressman Dennis Kucinich, with extremely pointed questioning, that he did not pose to any of the other candidates.

Questioning that carried the tone of "You don't belong here" and "Who do you think you are, running for President."

RUSSERT: I wanted to ask Senator Gravel—you talked about running for president of the United States. In 1980, your condo business went bankrupt.

GRAVEL: Correct.

RUSSERT: In 2004, you filed for personal bankruptcy...

GRAVEL: Correct.

RUSSERT: ... leaving $85,000 in credit bills unpaid.

RUSSERT: How can someone who did not take care of his business, could not manage his own personal finances, say that he is capable of managing the country?

GRAVEL: Well, first off, if you want to make a judgment of who can be the greediest people in the world when they get to public office, you can just look at the people up here. Many of them have done very, very well in public office.

I left the Senate no better than when I went in. Now, you say the condo business. I will tell you, Donald Trump has been bankrupt 100 times. So I went bankrupt once in business. And the other—who did I bankrupt? I stuck the credit card companies with $90,000 worth of bills and they deserved it because I used the money...

(LAUGHTER)

They deserved it—and I used the money to finance the empowerment of the American people with a national initiative, so you can make the laws.

Now, Tim, let me just point one thing out. You were asking about special interests.

RUSSERT: You’ve made your point.

GRAVEL: Well, I wanted to make a better point.

(LAUGHTER)

RUSSERT: We’ll leave it at that, because I’ve got to give everyone a chance.

He then turned to Kucinich, with the same look and a glint of "Gotcha" in his eyes.

Fortunately, Kucinch didn't play it for laughs, volleying back and shoving Russert's bullshit back down his throat;

RUSSERT: Congressman Kucinich, when you were mayor of Cleveland, you let Cleveland go into bankruptcy, the first time that happened since the Depression. The voters of Cleveland rewarded you by throwing you out of office and electing a Republican mayor of Cleveland.

How can you claim that you have the ability to manage the United States of America when you let Cleveland go bankrupt?

KUCINICH: You know, Tim, that was NBC’s story. Now I want the people to know what the real story was.

I took a stand on behalf of the people of Cleveland to save a municipal electric system. The banks and the utilities in Cleveland, the private utilities, were trying to force me to sell that system.

And so on December 15th, 1978, I told the head of the biggest bank, when he told me I had to sell the system in order to get the city’s credit renewed, that I wasn’t going to do it because, you know, I remember where I came from. I remembered my parents counting pennies to pay the utility bills in one of the many apartments we lived in.

And so I know why I went into public office. I went in to stand up for the people. And the people in Cleveland in 1994 asked me to come back to public life because at that point they expanded a municipal electric system that the banks demanded that I sell.

KUCINICH: And I showed the ability to stand up for the people.

You know, my campaign in ‘94 was “Because he was right.” And people put me in the Ohio Senate for that reason. ‘96, it was “Light up Congress,” as a symbol of saving the municipal electric system. And this year, it’s going to be “Light up America,” because I’m going to challenge those interest groups.

I put my job on the line. How many people would be willing to put their job on the line in the face of pressure from banks and utilities?

As this story gets told, people will want me to be their next president, because they’ll see in me not only the ability to take a stand, but the ability to live with integrity.

Thank you.

He missed his time. Little Timmy Russert would probably look quite stylish in a brown shirt.

Bonus Links You Won't Find On Russert's Little White Board

Jack Shafer: How To Beat Tim Russert; Get inside his head and shake vigorously.

James Wolcott: When White America Wants Answers, Tim Russert Coughs Up the Questions.

Michael Scherer: What you missed while watching the new "Bionic Woman"; Salon watches the latest (1970s TV edition) Democratic presidential debate so you don't have to: A better, stronger, faster Clinton, a kung fu Kucinich and more.

Top Ten Cloves: Reasons Tim Russert Didn't Ask Scooter Libby About Joe Wilson and His Wife

News Item: Washington Journalism on Trial

10. Thinks Libby's call came in after five o'clock and, hey, that's quittin' time and I'm outta here

9. Was so excited that the chief of staff of the vice president of the United States was on the telephone, just tried to hurry Libby off the phone, so he could call "Big Russ" and tell him about it

8. Was concentrating on Libby dissing Chris Matthews, so he could get it right and start spreading office gossip

7. The little "Scoop" light on this telephone must not have been working that day

6. Got lost in thought during the Libby call, that, if he had refused to testify and got thrown in jail, would Libby write him a note and tell him that he misses seeing Russert on televison and that the "aspens are turning"

5. Can only ask tough questions, in the studio, with a big monitor superimposed behind him, displaying callers previous statements

4. Was afraid that if he asked too many questions, he'd have to face Mary Matalin the next day

3. Swore that he thought the call was from Tom Brokaw, pulling a gag on him

2. Feared Cheney might be listening in on an extension and didn't want to blow MTP bookings

1. Was totally preoccupied with getting some stubborn blue ink off of his little white board