Character Assassination?

As Russert sees it, appearing on the cable channel "enhances" his reputation. "I don't do anything differently on MSNBC than I do on the network -- try to report and analyze as best I can," he says.

In the bitter battle for the Democratic nomination, MSNBC is widely viewed as being rough on Clinton. Matthews -- who said after one Obama speech that he "felt this thrill going up my leg" -- apologized in January for saying that Clinton owes her political career to the fact that "her husband messed around." Correspondent David Shuster, who recently began anchoring the 4 p.m. hour, drew a two-week suspension in February for questioning whether Chelsea Clinton was being "pimped out" by her mother's campaign.

Griffin maintains that MSNBC has been "very fair" to Clinton, despite what he calls her "baggage." "Obama had a lot of early success, and that colored people's thinking," he says. "That was a newer story, a fresher story, and people locked onto it."

In a "special comment" Friday -- an occasional segment devoted to editorializing -- Olbermann denounced Clinton for mentioning the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy while talking about how past primary seasons have lasted through June. "This cannot be forgiven," Olbermann said, adding: "A politician, a person who can let hang in midair the prospect that she might just be sticking around, in part, just in case the other guy gets shot has no business being, and no capacity to be, the president of the United States."

Olbermann has also unloaded on the presumed Republican nominee, sometimes with the on-screen headline "Double Talk Express." When McCain missed a vote on legislation to expand educational benefits for veterans, Olbermann accused him of "political opportunism." When the Arizona senator suggested that as president he would regularly answer questions before Congress, Olbermann said: "John McCain would last 11 minutes doing it before he swore or punched somebody or stormed out or all three."

MSNBC's evening guest lineup adds to its left-leaning image. While Griffin proclaims, with some exaggeration, that "Pat Buchanan's on every show," that is in part because the former GOP presidential candidate is the channel's only regular conservative commentator. Such liberals as Air America host Rachel Maddow (an Olbermann substitute), Washington Post columnist Gene Robinson and Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter make frequent appearances. Olbermann generally does not book conservative or Republican guests, saying he doesn't want to stage "talking point" debates with liberal pundits.

In a further contrast to Fox, where former White House adviser Karl Rove is often the leadoff guest on nighttime shows, Dan Abrams, the host of MSNBC's "Verdict," spent half a program last week on a House committee's subpoena of Rove in a probe of political influence at the Justice Department.

NBC executives say the ratings growth at MSNBC -- up 61 percent this month in prime time, compared with a year ago -- has made it a target.

"It used to be people didn't have to worry about MSNBC because it was an also-ran cable channel," Capus says. "That's not the case anymore. With that is going to come more scrutiny, and we're ready for it."