MSNBC Bombs in Blogosphere

True, but O'Reilly, Hannity and Colmes were on every night of the conventions -- with their usual shows, not as anchors.

Remember when the geniuses of the press described Palin as a desperation pick? Listen to the new conventional wisdom:

"John McCain's unexpected selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate has confronted Barack Obama's campaign with a difficult challenge, as the Democrat seeks to undercut a new sense of excitement surrounding McCain without personally attacking a charismatic figure who is energizing a range of voters," says the Chicago Tribune.

"If Senator John McCain threw a political Hail Mary pass by picking Sarah Palin as his running mate, this much is clear: She caught it and ran," says the Boston Globe.

"Ten days after McCain upended the presidential race by tapping the little-known governor of Alaska, the buzz generated by the GOP ticket shows no sign of abating, even as Palin has yet to answer questions from the press or the public."

So much for the pundits.

This NYT piece on McCain giving Palin "businesslike" hugs lays down a historical marker:

"It has been nearly a quarter century since Walter F. Mondale almost never touched Geraldine A. Ferraro in public when they shared the Democratic presidential ticket in 1984, and it is safe to say that times have changed."

Actually, it's been a quarter-century since Maureen Dowd wrote about the Mondale-Ferraro interaction, which is the real inspiration for Elisabeth Bumiller's update.

As you know, Charlie Gibson is trekking to Alaska for the big Sarah Palin interview. I would think we'd reserve criticism until he actually does the interview, but Josh Marshall is already disappointed:

"It's pretty clear this farce is going to be close to unwatchable. Set aside that this comes just on the heels of McCain campaign manager Rick Davis saying Palin would not sit for any interviews 'until the point in time when she'll be treated with respect and deference.' The tell comes high up in the AP story by David Bauder. The second graf reads . . .

" Palin will sit down for multiple interviews with Gibson in Alaska over two days, most likely Thursday and Friday, said McCain adviser Mark Salter.