Thursday, January 8, 2009

Very late thoughts on David Gregory replacing Russert

So have you taken the chance to view a whole "Meet the Press" episode since David Gregory was tapped to sit in the prestigious NBC Sunday morning chair? For that matter, how many weeks has he been hosting now? I don't even know...so you can tell how faithful a viewer I've been lately. Since Russert's passing, my Sunday #1 pecking order now alternates between Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday and "This Week" on ABC, where I often skip the Stephanopolous interview(s) and cut straight to the roundtable so I can see what George Will is thinking these days!

But maybe I should reconsider. I caught Gregory on the Daily Show the other night. Probably not the best place to make a judgment on his skills as an objective interviewer...but nonetheless, even while Stewart bashed Bush and relentlessly tried to lure Gregory into doing the same, Gregory refused to take the bait. It was quite admirable to watch, which even Stewart was forced to acknowledge (aka "You're already bobbing and weaving like a pro!" as only Stewart could utter it).

Brent Bozell and his colleagues at the Media Research Center are continuously unimpressed with David Gregory's bias and clearly don't expect much from him. I suppose if I were all about fairness in viewing habits, I would give Gregory a chance...But even 7 months after Russert's untimely passing, it is just hard to imagine anyone else permanently hosting the show. Big shoes to fill and all that.

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