I wonder if it’s the resemblance to one of those punching dummies.
Agreed that Matthews was not an especially good interviewer. The overtalking did get old, and fast. (My wife used to watch MSNBC a lot–I didn’t usually pay close attention, but couldn’t help picking up on some of what was going on.) Todd was better, but as others have said he had a tendency to cave awfully quickly–I remember Ted Cruz walking all over him at one point, persistently refusing to answer any questions and Todd just seeming unable to control the narrative in any way. I get that he wanted Republicans to continue to appear on the show, but I still think he could have done a better job. Rachel Maddow was a fine interviewer, as long as the interviewee agreed with her approximately 100%. --That being said, they did have some better interviewers as hosts–Katy Tur, Joy Reid, and Chris Hayes all spring to mind–who seemed to avoid the limitations of Matthews, Todd, and Maddow. Just my two cents.
Maybe this latest Twitter thread by political analyst Norm Ornstein will begin your education:read all the comments. They’re enlightening.
I liked the comment that called Chuck Todd the “Jay Leno of political interviewing.”
Accurate and stinging.
Kind of a nasty thing to say about Leno. He’s bland, not edgy, anodyne, but Todd is an offensive asshole.
A typical night in the Todd household.
Mrs. Todd: “Damn, I burnt the toast.”
Chuck: “That’s got to be bad news for Democrats.”
Scared to ask tough questions of Republicans, lets them spew their false talking points unchallenged, and a devout disciple of bothesidesism. He was never fit to take the torch from Tim Russert.
Todd was boring. Won’t miss him, can barely remember him even though I’ve seen him on Meet the Press and other news shows many times.
Todd who? And empty bloviator if ever there was one. Good riddance.