Well I guess I'll stop watching. Gregory is terrible. He cannot maintain a formidable presence. He is too much of an inside guy. This sucks.

incentives, baby: there's no incentive structure for getting ahead in inside-the-beltway punditland by being indignant over cant.

there's plenty of incentive for repeating beltway wisdom infused with salt-and-pepper gravitas.

"generally becoming a generic talking head."

They don't even need his whole head. He's a generic talking hair-do.

I get the impression that NBC (MSNBC) tells their show hosts, "Today we want you to be a liberal" or "conservative". Gregory, Matthews, Schuster, Williams and Brokaw all seem to have this shape-shifting quality to them, even on the same issues. I would love to see any one of them on the other end of an interview and be asked, "Explain the US Attorney scandal, the most compelling justification for the Iraq war, the role of Barry McCaffery as a pundit, and what the role of a journalist is."

Will we see more hilarious from MC Rove and his homeboy, David Gregory?

"... repeating tired, predictable narratives, failing to question the conventional wisdom, and generally becoming a generic talking head."

And go-along-to-get-along jagoff.

I saw the same progression and was equally disappointed. Gregory clearly sold out to further his career, and this appointment is his obvious reward. He went from a solid journalist to dancing on stage with "MC Rove" almost overnight.

What a sad, pathetic individual.

Steve--

Are you sure you are not confusing Gregory in the gaggle with Gregory in the press conference?

The job of David Gregory, Tom Brokaw, Tim Russert and the rest of the fawning, obsequious courtiers to right-wing corporate power who are the vapid "on-air personalities" and vacuous pundits of the corporate-owned mass media is to propagandize the American people in furtherance of the ruthless, rapacious class warfare agenda of their ultra-rich owners who sign their very, very, very large paychecks.

When you watch or listen to the corporate media, you are going to get one thing and one thing only: corporate propaganda.

The only difference between the program segments with Brokaw or Gregory or Russert or whoever, and the commercials, is the specific items of bullshit they are trying to brainwash you into buying.

David Gregory? Why not ask Bob Somerby about "Stretch"
At NBC, David Gregory (pet name: “Stretch�) reported on the president’s forum. And you know how men like Gregory play it. Gregory sat there and watched the president lie, right in the face of that young Utah farmer. But when “Stretch� went on the air that night, he knew not to tattle or tell....
Holy cow! Gregory even played tape of Bush’s false claim—his claim that the system is going “flat bust.� Needless to say, Gregory knows this is false—but he also knows that he mustn’t tell voters.

More importantly, did Grego You know where Jack Welch keeps his stable of horses like Matthews and Russert (ex). Gregory's just another insider millionaire pundit who'll do the news the "Welch" way.

But since then, Gregory has often been a disappointment, repeating tired, predictable narratives, failing to question the conventional wisdom, and generally becoming a generic talking head.

You see a disappointment, GE sees the perfect man for the job.

Sorry, the end came out before.... well. Gregory got married on Nantucket where Jack Welch of GE keeps his stable.... Russert, Matthews et al. Gregory another millionaire pundit, just te right thing for MTP.

Gregory?

First rule: Never pick a person with a name that relies on two first names unless they play professional sports.

second rule: Never pick a person who doesn't have the brains they were born with to interview like people.

third rule: Who cares? Anyone watching the pundit line-up realizes they are all from the same ilk. Corporate america shills with 45 piece suits. Christ. He's even a worse dancer than Rove. That in and of itself should have eliminated him from the cesspool.

Gregory's lucky that his shirt has buttons as he cold never get it over his inflated, ego-centric head...

UGH. Just.....UGH. But then I never watched MTP before, so why start now? And I like Rachel just where she is.

the man who shook his ass for the texas turdblossom now holds a prominent seat in general electric's ongoing propaganda parade...

heh. epic fail.

in all honesty, i fully expected them to annoint luke russert; but i suspect his less than impressive convention appearances sinkholed that idea. (at least temporarily).

Meet the Press had a long and at times glorious run. It ends here. What a mistake. David Gregory failed at both of his MSNBC gigs, what makes NBC think he can move up to the big time?

How to get noticed on your way up:

When Gregory was the White House correspondent for NBC News, I actually enjoyed his work. He was, at times, relentless, asking questions his colleagues seemed too timid to pursue.

How not to get too noticed when you're far enough up:

But since then, Gregory has often been a disappointment, repeating tired, predictable narratives, failing to question the conventional wisdom, and generally becoming a generic talking head.

And as for

Here's hoping Gregory will ... show some of the passion and skepticism ...

Don't bet on it.

Worthless Village Lemming David Gregory is the perfect replacement for Worthless Village Lemming Tim Russert.

Thank FSM Rachel Maddow is staying far away from the MTP cesspool and keeping her show free of any Russert taint.

I can't believe Tim Russert would be pleased with this choice.

Once upon a time Gregory was interesting. Then he fell into generic Bush-bashing (I guess that's what you have to do to be successful at NBC) and he became boring. Let's see if he has the balls to put the new Obama administration under a microscope.

Let's see if he has the balls to put the new Obama administration under a microscope. - DBL

Why is it you see "Bush-bashing" as an NBC requirement, but Obama micro-bashing as a symbol of bravery?

'bush-bashing'..?!?! you cannot be serious. those white house press briefings were nothing more than staged performances that guaranteed that dancin' dave got his facetime on the nightly news. watch any of those exchanges, and once the briefing was over, dancin' dave pops up from his chair with a big old smile on his face, generally yukking it up with his colleagues.

those few seconds of tape are far more revealing than anything that g.e. loyalist ever did with his on air 'reporting'.

David Gregory is an asskissing toady with a smile that is as irksome as George Bush's smirk. Not the worst choice available for MTP, but damn close.

Damn. I was hoping they'd get Lewis Black.

I actually never liked Tim Russert's style. Wo-ho, he studied up before the interview to spring a getcha question. His relentless and pointless proding possible Presidential Candidates for a Phil Sherman-isc declaration of non-candidacy was always so damned annoying. Let the poor politicians announce at their own good time smuck.

David Gregory sadly isn't even up to Russert's standard, if you want to maintain such a standard. His show Race for the White House was okay at first, when he only had the four guests for the whole hour, but it seems that you can't find guests like that able to support a daily show for a full hour on a consistent basis. Heck, Pat Buchanan is barely able to provide one fifth of half an hour of the McLaughlin Group once a week short of just interrupting the other guests with repetitions of 'Sarah is Smart, Sarah is Great'. Now the format of Gregory's show 1600 Pennsylvania is like most Sunday shows, bits and pieces seperated by more and more commercials.

I don't know what I want MTP to be, but if it is to be a better than Russert probing one guest deeply on the issues, then I don't think Rachel would be the best host. When she was confronted with the claim that Conservative invective and verbal violence during the campaign was caused by her brand of political satire (by David Frum I believe) she just folded up and could barely make the case that idea is a LOAD OF CRAP. I love watching Rachel but I don't think she handles the adversarial guest well.

There is no hope for Sundays. There is only Keith and Rachal and a huge saltlick the rest of the week.

All this reality-based criticism! Give the man a break. He has a "prematurely salt-and-pepper mane." Anybody can learn to do research, think, and ask good questions. Do you know how hard it is to maintain good hair?

He's a hack. NBC is full of hacks so he blends in with the rest of them. Vanilla hackery. Maddow would have been good but her booking staff would work 18 hour days begging for A-list guests. Can't risk an Oxford PhD relentlessly grilling the upper crust, can we?

I watched him flub his way through Nightly News the other night subbing for Brian Williams. Can't even read a teleprompter fer Crissakes. Then again he will be perfect , there are no incisive questions on the MSM news only softballs. If you want real jounalism , tune into comedy central , the only people who speak truth to power.

Good analysis Steve. I was really hoping for Gwen Ifil (sp?) She is prepared, conducts a good interview, listens to the answer before following up or moving on to the next question, and is practiced at a longer format. (Okay, I am ignoring the VP debate.)

Lance:

The Sherman who's famous for his non-candidacy statement was named William Tecumseh Sherman, not Phil. Maybe you're mixing him up with his colleague Philip Sheridan?

I am so disappointed with David Gregory as the choice for MTP. At least there is a bright spot - I hope this means that 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. at 6pm Eastern time will be replaced with something useful. It is horrible and just a bit worse than Race for the White House. Too bad - I had such high hopes!

Gregory, 38, celebrated his 30th birthday -- complete with cake -- aboard George W. Bush's presidential campaign plane

Isn't that special.

I was really hoping for Gwen Ifi

Hahahaha, yeah, Gwen can fill you in on her dinners with Condi Rice. Good grief, just another Washington millionaire insider which is the biggest part of the problem.
Why aren't some of the reporters for McClatchy's DC office candidates? Why aren't there people we never heard of being candidates?
Oh, right, access.

Is Gregory just going to be MTP host or does he also get to be NBC Washington Bureau Chief or whatever Russert's title was? If he's actually going to be calling the shots when it comes to news coverage, that might be interesting. If he's just a talking head, everybody has already seen that he's not very good at that.

I guess NBC thinks that plugging an inoffensive, handsome face into Russert's spot is the best way to maintain MTP as the leading Sunday show.

Now if MSNBC can just get Matthews to declare for Senate in Pennsylvania, they can get to work on giving KO and RM some suitable companions in prime time.

Mike

David Gregory is a hack. They could have just put Jeff Gannon in there.

your analysis/opinion of David Gregory is exactly mine: liked him as a White House reporter, think he stinks as a newsshow host (Race to teh Whitehouse was G-d awful and so was he). Yech. What a terrible pick. Ratings will go down.

I like Rachael where she is too. She's be expected to kiss too much butt on Sunday which she wouldn't do and she'd be outta there. I think the Sunday talking heads are almost extinct! Most of them are tainted in some way,(see General McCaffery for the latest)and there's little contemporary talent in the moderators.

The pundits and the journalists all missed the Bush nightmare games and the economic catastrophe so no one has any credibility either. Why waste a Sunday morning when you could have a delicious brunch or sleep in and read the summary in the Huffington Post.

Gregory probably even read scripted questions for the WH Press briefs. That dance with Rove should have gotten him fired. It was the most egregious thing I have ever seen--Rove was already known as someone who had outed a CIA agent and should have been in jail. Gregory helped to rehabilitate the image of a truly horrific despot. No more MTP. Since progressives are ascendent, shouldn't we start to see people who respect our values and rights again?

Whoop-dee-doo. The only time I have ever seen Gregory being agressive was when he was trying to get Scottie McClellan to give us the White House's side to the Scooter Libby/Valerie Plame story.

Since then, he's been a regular old blow-dried talking head who seldom, if ever, actually confronts those with power. Add me to the list of those who won't be watching MTP. If he miraculously grows a pair, I might, but something tells me it won't happen. That's not how you get ahead in DC.

Gregory is just a shill for the RNC.

The problem with Gregory is that he is a lightweight. I remember when his reporting gained prominence. He may be fine with "gotcha" questions in the WH press room, but his reporting lacks historical perspective and often contains factual inaccuracies. Besides, I lost respect for him at MC Rove. Despite her performance during the VP debate, Gwen Ifill is one of the best talking heads right now. She's measured. She's knows her history. She has gravitas. Passing her over is lame.