So I watched Chris Hayes' launch tonight. He was as good as he was on the weekends. A great progressive voice. Smart, full of facts, and able to make any story seem like the most important, outrageous story of the day. A trait he shares with Rachel Maddow, but she got there first, and imo, does so with a bit more passion, even though I would never say passion is Maddow's strong suit.
But passion WAS Big Eddie's strong suit. Ed Schultz. I miss him already. To me, he was the one voice on the MSNBC line up that knew how to zero in on something and not let go. He could be blustery, angry, sometimes off the mark, but always so damn human. Not a talking head, never a talking head, he could never discipline himself to that kind of thing.
But he did discipline himself to the voice of working America in a way Rachel, Chris, Lawrence, and even Al, can't light a candle to. It's just not there with them, folks. They're going to cover it now and then, but it's not their raison d'être--their reason to be. It was Ed's.
God knows, Ed was no intellectual, no wonk. He was more like the sports coach you like best---a bit of a blow hard, but passionate as hell, always authentic to who he is, AND centered on a win for the team he champions. And with Ed, we know exactly who he was championing.
Chris Hayes can't be Ed, and he shouldn't try. He's a smart, smart man with plenty to say. But I fear a certain dilution with him---the temptation to cover so many outrages with such wonky perfection, that it all evens out to a smooth peanut butter of progressive howling---a lack of priorities. As much as I love her, I feel Rachel sometimes tip toes across this same risk. For instance, why the HELL does she NEVER breath a word about SS, the chained CPI or Medicare? Honest to God, as far as I can tell, almost never a WORD.
And then there's just what sells. Call me crazy, but I just don't think Chris Hayes is going to bring the numbers home for MSNBC. No I do not think so. And I'll be happy to wrong on this, as I'm a fan of his, but not in this time slot, and not at the expense of a more focused voice, as I felt Ed was.
So anyhow, that's just one gal's opinion, and I expect y'all to set me straight as to where I'm wrong, and maybe a few will agree with me. In any case, I enjoy the conversation.