Once upon a time I was a consistent Meet The Press viewer when Tim Russert was at the helm. I never required that any host be in lock step with my point of view, but rather that they had a clear and unbiased view of what are considered the requisites of good journalism. Finding a qualified replacement for Mr. Russert was certainly not an easy job, and I believe you have failed completely in that endeavor.
David Gregory is a pitiful excuse for a journalist when you consider that NBC was the network that gave us John Cameron Swayze, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, John Chancellor, Frank McGee, Tom Brokaw, and Roger Mudd. And considering that John Cameron Swayze's journalism credentials were a bit thin, the respect he garnered far outweighs anything that Mr. Gregory has achieved ... or could ever hope to. Taking into account the other journalism greats that the other networks have given us like John Charles Daly, Howard K. Smith, Harry Reasoner, Walter Cronkite, Bob Schieffer, Peter Jennings, Frank Reynolds, Barbara Walters, and so forth, your attempted inclusion of Mr. Gregory in that exemplary group of journalists is not just futile, it's embarrassing to the point of being reprehensible.
The suggestion on the rumor mill that Chuck Todd is a possible replacement merely perpetuates the fraud. Just like Mr. Gregory, he is a good front man for the 'party' line. Clearly, they both appear to subscribe to the belief that paycheck comes before integrity, in spite of the fact that the audience appears to prefer it the other way around. As it is, Meet The Press is fast becoming 'Meet The Press with David Gregory and Senator John McCain.' Does that suggest to anyone at NBC that just maybe the program and its pathetic host have become shrills for the political right in general and the GOP in particular? Does anyone at NBC realize that "FOX News" does a much better job of that? How about making any reasonable connection between current program content and loss of audience?
Any effort to return Meet The Press to anything approaching its former glory and respectability will likely include someone like Rachel Maddow, or someone with her credibility. Of course, the upshot of that is that Sen. McCain would likely refuse to appear with anyone who would dare to question his perfect grasp of everything anyone needs to know about the American Government and the American People. As is becoming perfectly clear by the loss of audience, apparently the viewing public does not share the Senator's enthusiasm for his self-declared perfection. For my money, being able to tune into Meet The Press without the Senator's visage of hate, racism, and self-centered and self-serving WASP misogyny would be an absolute delight. After all, the Senator's opinions have been supplied ad infinitum and ad nauseum by the likes of Meet The Press. Don't you suppose there just might be other opinions out there that are worth sharing ... or is it your intent to rename the show "The Senator John McCain Show - No Press Needed?"
