The Cable Gamer has been noting, with interest, that the Cablers are making more and more use of in-house blogs. In normal times, such blogs are just a way for talent to get a few things off their chest, throw out things that they forgot to say on the air, and perhaps polish apples with viewers--or management. But at their juicy best, blogs become another form of give-and-take, of dish and counter-dish.
And so, for example, after Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews teamed up to blast of Howard Wolfson, the Hillary Clinton communications director-turned-Fox News contributor (as ably summed up by TV Newser here), the issue was fought out in the blogs, as well as on air.
John Moody, an Executive VP at Fox, fired right back at Olbermann.
And then Wolfson, on his own blog, let it rip.
This is all good fun for Cable Gamers, and maybe I should stop there.
But this writer can't help but think to herself that the big loser is Barack Obama. That is, the left "netroots" wing of the Democratic Party seems determined to purge the Clinton Democrats--who are liberals, but not true-blue leftists. And that purging seems to be more important to them than winning the election.
Such a leftward lurch is no doubt fine with the folks at MSNBC, because they are enjoying being at the lefty vanguard. If you are frantic at the thought of George W. Bush being president for one more second, then MSNBC is the place to go, because you know that Matthews, Olbermann, and now Rachel Maddow will be flailing away at every opportunity.
But surely this lefty explosion is catastrophic for Obama, viz. his declining poll numbers--he's not getting a bounce from Denver, he's getting a crater.
I guess by now it should be pretty obvious to the Obamans that MSNBC wants them to lose. That's right, MSNBC wants Obama to lose. But why? Because being in the opposition is good for MSNBC's ratings. MSNBC has done better by Bush-bashing, and it must figure that it can do better still by McCain-bashing. Far better to be on the offensive against Republicans than on the defensive for the Democrats.
All of which means that MSNBC must make sure that McCain does, in fact, win. And one way to help make that prospect a reality is by attacking centrist Democrats. The plan is working so far!
