July 13, 2016

Charlie Pierce calls him "Obvious Merit Hire" Luke Russert, but today it was Luke himself who resigned from NBC News.

The screenshot of an email from NBC management said "It is with mixed emotions that I share the news that Luke Russert has decided to leave NBC News to take time away from political reporting and to pursue other interests."

Does 'mixed emotions' mean partly glad to see him go?

Back in September of 2014, Driftglass recorded Luke Russert's rise to the role of panel member on Meet the Press:

Beltway Avengers Assemble!

Boldly gambling that Wingnut Red will be the high fashion color for at least these next two years of gridlock, sabotage and impeachment, Shuck Todd -- the Beltway Avenger's New Team Leader -- has boldly assembled a bold, new team to boldly confront the challenge of rebooting NBC's rotten-to-the-orlop flagship!

With boldness!

What makes Mr. Todd's experiment so vewy, vewy exciting (some even say "bold") is that, rather than take the traditional route and try something "new" or "good" or even "mildly unusual" to save the dying franchise, he has decided instead to try a daring combination of "changing nothing whatsoever" about what is fundamentally wrong with this truly wretched program, while boldly "doubling down" on the poison that killed it:
...

NBC is bringing in Luke Russert, son of the late beloved “Meet the Press” host Tim Russert, as a regular panelist on the Sunday morning show in a bid to turn around its catastrophic ratings slide, Page Six has exclusively learned.

Also joining new moderator Chuck Todd’s team will be former Republican congressman and “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough, who sources say “is taking on a larger role within NBC News as a senior political analyst and would be one of the regular Sunday panelists.”
...
The source added, “Chuck Todd is busily assembling the team of on-air talent that will join him on the new ‘Meet the Press.’ Joe will be a regular alongside Luke Russert, whose father famously moderated the show for 16-plus years.”

Russert, 29, is currently NBC’s congressional correspondent. Nia-Malika Henderson of the Washington Post and a few others, including NBC’s chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell, are also said to be in the mix for a new panel...

This is necessary, of course, to counteract the influence of famed CommieSymp, David Gregory --

We’re told the move is part of a plan to bring a right-leaning voice to the program to appeal to viewers turned off by the show’s famously left-leaning former hosts including the ousted David Gregory.

-- who, it is also reported, is busy writing a long apology to God Almighty for having such a f*cking horrible show --

David Gregory slated to write a book about Judaism and his 'spiritual journey'

-- the relentless flogging of which one can only speculate was part of the mountain of money NBC dropped on Greggers to make him go away.

Will it be blurbed by David Brooks? "Exclusively!"? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, unless this is some eleven-dimensional chess, Inception shite and someone has gotten into Luke Russert's dreams and convinced him to get in there and deliberately tear down his Daddy's empire, none of this makes a lick of sense...

...until you remember that the Brain Wizards behind "Meet the Press" never gave the tiniest f*ck about what you think to begin with.

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