We were drawn to MSNBC because of Keith Olbermann and “Countdown.” But I’m not even going to mention him here.

Because what we’ve come to love about their shows is the smartness of all of their pundits….folks like Rachel Maddow on the left, and Pat Buchanan on the right. (Say what you will about him: he’s a smart pundit…)

What I love about this network is that they tend to ask tough questions, or seek actual substance over style..something very rare in television news.

For example, on MSNBC’s morning show –Morning Joe– Mika Brzezinski simply could not cover just another story on Paris Hilton. I posted this before, but here’s her protest against Paris Hilton:

Genius.
You gotta love her for doing that…and for the network for allowing it.

I go back and forth on Chris Matthews. There are times when I hear him interview somebody, and think “Jeez, what a jerk.”

And there are times when he catches somebody with a question of substance, and I think “What a genius.”

One thing you have to say for him, he’s an equal opportunity B.S. Crusher. Take, for example, this short exchange between Austin Mayor, Kirk Watson and Matthews on the night of the Texas Primary:

Ouch.
I’m an Obama fan. I’ve always found Kirk Watson to be a great politician. But if you’re going to go on a national network, you do need to be a better prepared.

But my new favorite Chris Matthews moment came just the other day, with a conservative radio host from California. This guy comes on with a bloviating style, ala Rush Limbaugh. But Matthews tears him to shreds when it’s clear he doesn’t even understand the words he is saying.

Watch how he tries to wriggle off the fish hook by screaming more, all the while failing to get that the net is underneath him and Matthews already has him reeled into the boat:

Jeez, that’s fun to watch. What’s even more funny is that they never even get to the “liberal” pundit in this segment.
Except for one very sage bit of advice:

“When you’re in a hole, stop digging.”

UPDATE!!!

Last night on Countdown –with Rachel Maddow sitting in as guest host– Chris Matthews came on for an excellent discussion of just how insidious this problem of unchallenged rhetoric has become in our nation. The first part of this clip is a re-play of the exchange on Hardball. But the last four-minutes is a discussion of how rhetoric is being used in our politics today. And it’s very, very, VERY good, and worth a seeing: