David Gregory is to hard-hitting journalism what Thomas Dewey was to mesmerizing charisma. This morning left me speechless. I sat and I watched but I couldn't believe the unfolding amateurism of what I was hearing. I must have missed something. I'd wait for the transcript. I waited. It's in. And I really did hear what I thought I heard:
MR. ROMNEY: Of course, there are a number of things that I like in healthcare reform that I'm going to put in place. One is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage....
GREGORY: Well, that brings us to Medicare ...
That brings us to what?
DR. EINSTEIN: Of course, David, there are a number of things that I like about Newtonian physics, although my theories of relativity dispel virtually everything we thought we understood about the universe....
GREGORY: Well, that brings us to your hairdo, Albert ...
I can't take it anymore. I can't watch it anymore. After a few minutes of David Gregory's soft balls one actually finds oneself less tormented by Mitt Romney's blather of fraudulent platitudes than by Gregory's insufferable passivity. And that really shouldn't be the viewer's focus.
David Gregory's lameness created a twitter storm yesterday..DavidGregorysToughQuestions. Some hilarious ones....
https://twitter.com/#!/search/?q=%23DavidGregorysToughQuestions&src=hash
He should be embarrassed.
Posted by: Susan M. | September 09, 2012 at 01:49 PM
Look, you have to keep in mind that interviewers like Gregory aren't there to ask questions designed to ferret out a coherent narrative of the interviewee's positions; they're simply pitching machines for batting practice, set to lob softballs rather than throwing high heat.
Posted by: Janicket | September 09, 2012 at 01:56 PM
I remember watching Rachel's show the other night and she mentioned the Romney interview on MTP, basically saying he now had to answer some tough questions since it wasn't on Fox. I looked at my husband and said, "she does realize that David Gregory will be hosting that show, right?". Gregory can't even be shamed into practicing real journalism by his colleagues.
Posted by: Joy | September 09, 2012 at 03:24 PM
Brings to mind the saying "you don't know what you have until you lose it". TIM RUSSERT? My god I miss him on MTP. His son Luke would be better than Gregory.
Posted by: Chris Lepsik | September 09, 2012 at 06:47 PM
I always thought the purpose of MTP was to ferret out the truth, pin people down until they were forced to answer a question in a substative way. Apparently it's been changed so that it's now a Sunday morning version of Oprah: "Wow, did you ever think a Morman would be nominated to be President of the United States?" Earth to Dave: we don't care what he thinks about that but we DO care what his current position is on XY&Z. Get it?
Posted by: paul | September 09, 2012 at 08:33 PM
I wonder if there were pre-approved questions? But then of course this IS David Gregory we're talking about. Isn't there someone else that could take his place and run a more informative program?
Posted by: AnneJ | September 09, 2012 at 09:54 PM
I read on HuffPo the other day that MTP is in big trouble. Its ratings have taken a nosedive, but I'm not wondering why. It's obvious to me and a whole lot of others that the major problem MTP has is David Gregory.
Posted by: majii | September 10, 2012 at 01:34 AM
Frankly, I truly admire all of you who still have the stomach to watch corporate news programs like MTP. I honestly cannot sit quietly and watch people like David Gregory, Chuck Todd and others pretending to be journalists. The days of real journalism in America are long gone. What we have today, with few exceptions here and there, are shallow, lazy, timid, and celebrity craving, people who go around masquerading as journalists.
Posted by: nathkatun7 | September 10, 2012 at 02:52 AM
I"m with you nathkatun7. I always say thank you for watching them so I don't have to. I don't have the intestinal fortitude or low enough blood pressure.
Posted by: Joy | September 10, 2012 at 08:10 AM
In the business of journalism you don't get "gets" by asking tough questions. The only journalists who ask tough questions are the journalists who never get interviews. Within the vocation, and it is not as they invariably describe it, a profession, a get like Romney is a star in your copy book. To the outside observer a get like Romney is proof of the journalist's roundness of heels.
Posted by: Peter G | September 10, 2012 at 08:49 AM
We miss Tim Russert. How sad. Russert got his reputation for being a tough interview by finding one or two "gotcha" quotes to throw in someone's face at an opportune moment - they often were fairly inconsequential substantively, but it made for a good "deer in headlights" TV moment to burnish Timmeh's cred. Compared to Dancin Dave Gregory, that was hard-nosed journalism. Egad.
Posted by: Turgidson | September 10, 2012 at 12:22 PM