I’ve long been a critic of David Gregory. Since watching him as a Bush Co. sycophant for eight years, I’ve been disgusted at his continued attempts to gain favor with the GOP by rolling over to their point of view, dismissing facts and details in favor of pushing a right-wing ideological bent in what seems like an ongoing attempt to justify his stenography as a member of the Bush era White House press corps.
And – he does it stupid, too.
When the stories about South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s love of hiking and the ensuing revelations about line crossing and soul mates were first revealed, I think it’s safe to say that most people never saw it coming. But what hasn’t been a surprise is the resulting confirmation of how many in the media are willing to sell their journalistic souls for political access.
And leading that list has to be David Gregory, who went out of his way to continue the proud tradition of Meet the Press kissing the ass of shamed elected officials.
From his emails to Sanford’s office, where he begs for an interview:
Left you a message. Wanted you to hear directly from me that I want to have the Gov on Sunday on Meet The Press. I think it’s exactly the right forum to answer the questions about his trip as well as giving him a platform to discuss the economy/stimulus and the future of the party. You know he will get a fair shake from me and coming on MTP puts all of this to rest.
… So coming on Meet The Press allows you to frame the conversation how you really want to…and then move on. You can see (sic) you have done your interview and then move on. Consider it.
In the middle of the breaking scandal, Gregory not only offered to let Sanford guide the story, he was willing to give him a platform to change the subject. And then Gregory would “move on.”
I realize that Russert got played by Cheney and the gang several times – the difference, however, is that Russert got played – Gregory is chasing the opportunity to sell out.
