Not Ready For Prime Time

David Gregory did a competent job as Chief White House Correspondent for NBC, periodically challenging all of the President's men - Fleischer, McClellan and Snow - and at least once, the President himself.

A good reporter, though, does not necessarily make a great moderator or host. Gregory does not "engage" in the studio roles he has assumed: first, Race to the White House and currently, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. After five minutes, I'm usually reaching for the remote.

Rarely have I seen him ask the tough questions of one of his guests as he might have in a press conference. The format is often a panel of experts with Gregory serving as the facilitator. With his relatively thin resume as a host, his apparent ascension to moderator of Meet The Press may say more about the depth of talent at NBC than it does about Gregory.

Is there no one else within the news division at NBC - or for that matter at CBS, ABC, CNN or Fox - to choose from? Did NBC conduct an extensive search while Tom Brokaw provided continuity after Tim Russert's passing? While many were likely interested maybe no one was available. Or was NBC committed to staying within the family and chose Gregory as the least partisan prospect with the most journalistic experience? From the March 14, 2006 Washington Post:

When Vice President Cheney accidentally wounded a hunting companion last month on a Texas ranch, White House reporters pummeled McClellan with questions for days. "The vice president of the United States accidentally shoots a man, and he feels that it's appropriate for a ranch owner who would witness this to tell the local Corpus Christi newspaper and not the White House press corps at large?" Gregory demanded. He also scolded McClellan: "Don't tell me you're giving us complete answers when you're not actually answering the question."

At the off-camera morning briefing known as "the gaggle," McClellan tried to deflect a question by saying: "David, hold on. . . . The cameras aren't on right now." Gregory responded: "Don't be a jerk to me personally when I'm asking you a serious question." McClellan said he didn't have to yell, and Gregory said he would indeed yell "if you want to use that podium to try to take shots at me personally, which I don't appreciate."

Within hours, lots of people were taking personal shots at Gregory. Jon Friedman, the media columnist for Marketwatch.com, wrote that Gregory had become "the poster child for inappropriate, self-serving behavior."

Gregory publicly apologized to McClellan. "I thought he insulted me, but it was inappropriate to say what I said," Gregory says now.

McClellan calls the apology "an incredibly classy thing to do on his part. . . . We both have a job to do and both have respect for one another. David is a hard-nosed reporter who asks tough questions and works really hard to be fair."

If he can ask tough questions on Sunday mornings, over time he may be able to win me over; otherwise I'll be looking for the remote.

UPDATE: Apparently David Gregory's height will be an advantage as he takes the reins of MTP.