David Shuster: "I Was Thrown Under The Bus To Pay For The Sins Of The Father"

David Shuster's now-infamous "pimped out" remark happened just two weeks ago yesterday — meaning that he returns to "Hardball" today after serving his two-week suspension. In regards to his suspension, Huffington Post's Rachel Sklar asked, "Would this have happened without Chris Matthews?" Today, as he returns to the air and gives an exclusive interview with TVNewser's Gail Shister, Shuster seems to answer Sklar's question with a resounding "NO."

"Does it bother me that I was thrown under the bus to pay for the sins of the father?" Shuster asks rhetorically in the interview. "No. As somebody who's covered politics for a while, I understand all the forces that were in play."

Matthews himself created controversy with remarks about Hillary Clinton that many viewed as sexist and for which he himself was ultimately forced to apologize.

Visit TVNewser to read the entire interview, which includes Shuster's explanation, "Tensions were clearly building. I was at the wrong place at the right time, or the right place at the wrong time. I don't know which."

UPDATE: Shuster returned to the air on "Hardball" with a package on John McCain and the New York Times. Screengrabs from his first day back on the job below:

David Shuster back on the set of "Hardball" after serving his two-week suspension

David Shuster and Chris Matthews on the set of "Hardball," or,
David Shuster and the father whose sins he was "thrown under the bus" for

Comments

[DrBuzz]

I have liked David Shuster as a fine reporter who, while you knew how he probably voted, was able to back up anything he reported with fact and reason. As a pundit, he treads new ground, and one that threatens to undermine his credibility as a reporter IMHO. Would he have been suspended for his ill-conceived remark without Chris Matthew's constant popping off? Who knows -- but he should have been.
Having family members go out on a speaking tour touting the plusses of their loved ones may be a strange, irrelevant artifact of the political arena, but everyone does it. EVERYONE. That was Press' point. The Bush ladies, Elizabeth Edwards, Elizabeth Kucinich, Michelle Obama -- everyone struts our their adoring family members. Strange, but true. There is, and was, nothing unseemly. And the apologists (even among my political allies) who claim that "pimping out" meant somehow dressing Chelsea up are completely missing the context. Dressing Chelsea up was not what he meant -- just take a deep breath and admit it. He meant that they were sending her out on the streets to strut her stuff, and he saw that as unseemly.
I'm glad Mr. Shuster is back, and hope he focusses on reportage, and avoids the punditry that leads to all this. Jon Stewart in his laceration of Crossfire called it right -- "Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop hurting America."

[NorthernCross]

Jon Stewart is every bit a partisan as those men from Crossfire. He's "hurting America" no less than Tucker Carlson is "hurting America".

[Boomerwoman]

I seem to remember a school of journalism's research showed that The Daily Show's accuracy was higher than the cable news shows. Anybody else remember that research? In my opinion: Tucker...uhh, not so much.

[Opus007]

Northern Cross- that is not true. John Stewart has had McCain on many, many times. Huckabee has been on several times. He doesn't invite them on to ambush them like "Crossfire"- he conducts a straight up interview.

I cannot agree with your post.

[apresdeluge]

Why can't Shuster just admit that his remarks were stupid, childish and brainless? MSNBC has become th moat pathetic "news" outlet on the air. Yes, worse than Fox because they should know better.

[brwnizofmine]

MSNBC could never be worse than Fox. The comment by Bill O'Reilly was much more hurtful to a mass of people than the comment by Shuster regarding one person. It depends on who you are, and actually Bill O has been getting away with a lot. Where is the outrage? Say it and then apologize, give me a break, nine times out of ten if it came off your tongue in the first place, it's really how your feel!

[BlueBoomer]

Men and Ann Coulter (same thing?) in general have a hard time with self-censorship and knowing what's appropriate in what setting.

In casual, mike-off, conversation it may have been disrespectful, but not terrible... Once it was public, it became a different animal... He's supposed to be an adult...It was his words coming out of his wierd mouth, and his to take responsibility for.

[mmerose]

Who would ever have thought that David Shuster, the solid "just the facts" reporter in the MSNBC bunch, would become the focus for this mini firestorm of cathartic excess? It has always seemed clear to me that he got a little carried away trying too hard to be glib and flashy, since he was subbing in a host spot. So I've always been aligned with Barbara Walters on this one.

Having researched around on this "pimped out" phrase, it looks as if he misused it, which shows you how hip he isn't. I clearly understood him meaning something along the lines of putting out as a front person of questionable value, putting superdelegates on the spot without any official status in the campaign. Such a call might be a nice "hello," but frustrating if there were hard questions to be asked. (And how reliable would an "I was just being nice to Chelsea" commitment be?)

There just wasn't anything personal or malicious in it, to draw all this personal and malicious response.

[mcnary]

Its amazing how many folks waste their precious time paying any attention to TV talking heads..unless its for the laughs.

[dattexas]

agreed. there are some good ones, but most are of the glenn beck and o'reilly mold - unintelligent liars.

[piperson]

Shuster is a big cry baby. He should have taken his medicine and admitted that there is no appropriate way to say that someone is pimping their daughter and expect nothing to happen. If he had said that face to face to most parents he would have been carried away with a broken nose. People reading too much into this whole thing. It is just as simple as it appears. He said something very ugly the Clintons called him on it and he received a slap on the wrist instead of a fist to the face.

[kroses98]

28 YEAR OLD Chelsea Clinton is in the public eye, and has to take her "lumps." She is not a child anymore. She is being "pimped out." It was the truth, and David Shuster was being treated as the SCAPEGOAT!!! Hillary Clinton is unable to take responsibility for her own failures. It's EVERYONE ELSE'S FAULT!!!

[Jo]

"Hillary Clinton is unable to take responsibility for her own failures. It's EVERYONE ELSE'S FAULT!!!"

How right you are, Kroses98!! SHE makes the most mind-numbingly stupid and damaging decision of her career -- choosing to be born a female -- but it's EVERYONE ELSE's fault for behaving like the misogynistic and sexist tools they are! The audacity of the woman is astounding!!

[kasha]

It's time for Spittle Boy Matthews to go. The mute button was made for this kind of obnoxious a$$hat.

[pleeezzze]

You, Shuster, bad mouthed Chelsea because of ...sins of the father ...???

Actually you should have Crawled under the "Moving bus" and took Matthews with you !!
You suck !!!

[disqo21]

I'm glad Shuster is back. In my opinion, he's MSN's most valuable asset. In a few months, this will be the breaking point that Shuster's future success will all trace back to.

[GeoNorth]

Though I am supporting Obama, I have to admit that MSNBC has a grudge of some sort against Hillary. However, going after Schuster over the pimping remark was too much. Maybe it wasn't the most delicate way to put it, but it's true. Chelsea is an adult. She's in the limelight because she chose to be. She doesn't have to campaign for her mom. Meanwhile, O'Reilly gets a pass on the lynching remark. Bo Deedle, on Fox, says that, because Obama's middle name is Hussein, there's something unseemly there (This from a man named Deedle). how about we concentrate on the issues. Enough with the process and gossip reporting.

[mikekev58]

So, Chelsea the adult who is in the limelight because she chose to be is, to put it indelicately, "being pimped out"? What is the delicate way of putting that, if she is an adult who chooses to campaign for her mother? And if she is an adult who chooses to campaign for her mother, hence being in the limelight, how, in any turn of the phrase, is she being used? The remark was not only inappropriate, but flat out wrong in its implications. And let's not begin to talk about Chelsea being singled out, while every other candidates children were participating in one way or another in their parents' campaign.

[RonNYC]

Give me a break!
Everyone is saying that MSNBC is responsible for Hillary's downfall when in fact she has run a terrible campaign.

I don't care what Chris Matthews or Morning Joe or Shuster say about her.

The fault is mainly Bill Clinton and his stupid mouth and Hillary being such an obvious phony.

I agree with Shuster on substance about Chelsea but of course his language was horrible. I was surprised to see him back on Hardball last night and with Keith, although I think he has proven himself as a terrific investigative reporter.

And in terms of Matthews. I still LOVE him! He is one of the best in the business. Would you rather have Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper? Snore!

Hillary has lost this on her own with one word, Hubris.

[anotherbozo]

Right on, Ron.

[Opus007]

I agree with Ron also with this exception- Chris Mathews is inconsistent. He tiptoed around Ann Coulter and Tony Snow and then blew that Obama supporter out of the water.

Most of the Clinton drama is of their own making. Perhaps she shouldn't have crowed to Katie Couric "I WILL be the nominee", perhaps she should not reverse her positions to suit the audience and think no one will notice and finally- they kept Chelsea under wraps for so long it does seem odd the way they are pushing her into service. Hillary has no one to blame but herself.

[Bluesage]

I thought Keith Olberman was different from the Clinton Haters on MSNBC but he is not. Over the past couple of weeks he has been relentless in his demonization of Hillary. I've now stopped watching MSNBC altogether. He, Tweety and Shuster are all cut from the same cloth. Pathetic really, for a while I thought they may be an alternative to CNN & Faux News but they are not. And this is not because I support Hillary, I do not, but I do support the idea of real journalism, truth and decency.

[pleeezzze]

Me too !!!

Better to hear or read BBC where you can at least get away from their disgusting "analysis" !!!

[apresdeluge]

You are so right! MSNBC is worst than Fox as far as pushing propaganda. I too used to be a fan but now I see them for what they are. CNN has become my new news source.

[Jennifer4]

how right you are; and I too, no longer listen to Olbermann. i don't know why MSNBC don't openly endorse Obama.
(And), please continue to post such observations and include Nora O'Donnell and Andrea Mitchell.

[mikekev58]

How Andrea Mitchell, wife of Alan (Ayn Rand laissez faire capitalism acolyte)Greenspan, is still considered an objective journalist is beyond me. Is it objective to characterize the gathering of Hillary supporters on the night of the Florida primary a "Potemkin village"? Don't argue that it was a Potemkin village; just consider if that is the observation of an objective journalist.

[ParacleteofKavorka]

I've tapered off on my viewing of Olberman due to his bias against Hillary. I had thought better of him. She has her faults. She stumbles and makes mistakes but she's not an evil person any more than John Kennedy was evil.

[JD294]

I have to admit that when Oberman started speaking out against Bush it was like a breath of fresh air on cable news and started watching only MSNBC for news. Now, I see no difference between him (and the rest of the MSNBC gang) and FOX news - it's just a question of who their favorite target is (and in this case the same one!). The way PBS has been watered down and emasculated over the last 7 years, there is nothing left for real news on television. C-SPAN I love, but it is not the daily news.

[dommyluc]

I hate that fucking Chris Matthews. The things he has said about Hillary and other Dems makes Shuster's remark pale in comparison. One good thing, tho: as soon as Tweety expresses his undying love for a candidate, they seem to begin withering on the vine faster than a tomato during a drought. His sweet wet kisses to his hero Bush on the "Mission Accomplished" flight deck, and now Bush is flailing in the water after the American public tosses him overboard. His ass-kissing of Mr. 9/11 Giuliani, and his campaign implodes from corruption and the inability to keep his dick in his pants. And his bizarre, homoerotic worship of that cigar-smoking, Aqua Velva wearing hunk of Burning Love Fred Thompson, who could barely stand up during his failed campaign. I can only hope Tweety keeps giving a blowjob to that Str8 Talkin' man of integrity, Mr. John "Lobbyist? What Lobbyist?" McCain. Along with his recent troubles concerning his lies and false integrity, the long wet kiss of Tweety will hopefully also be the kiss of death for McCain. Hey, maybe the Republicans can run that guy who used to be on The Love Boat.

[xargaw]

Don't forget his embarrassing adoration of Tom Delay.

[jukesgrrl]

I. for one, will NEVER forget that. Matthews STILL allows Delay to come on his show and speak on behalf of Republicans. It's shameful.

[coolkraft]

agreed...I stopped watching MSNBC as they are all interrupters, haters, stupid and opinionated....not that Fox or Cnn is much better...I long for newscasters who are neutral and ask intelligent questions and let the other party answer

[jukesgrrl]

Watch PBS.

[CactusTom]

I love Chris because BOTH the extreme right and extreme left hate him. Now that's fair and balanced. Go Obama!

[Felicty]

So get your ass back under the bus and leave us alone.

[Star123]

I agree-Keith is getting pretty impressed with himself and sticking it to Hillary (as it were) whenever he can. As for Shuster--he persisted in saying saying there was something wrong with Chelsea being out there supporting her Mom--Bill Press or someone demurred, and Shuster repeated it. I don't think we can blame Matthews, though he has plenty to answer for. All I can say is that the press wants Obama--and we should hold them accountable if we get him and he is not the Wonder so many people think he is.

[ParacleteofKavorka]

I know. The press gave us Bush. Now, they want to give us Obama. When are we going to learn. Shouldn't what the press wants be a clue as to what to avoid?
If Obama is a failure like Bush, will they take responsibility? NO!

[DazedandConfused]

The press may have favored Obama and/or given him a "free ride." However, the fact that Obama won the last 11 primaries is because Hillary didn't have a plan past Super Tuesday. She actually won Super Tuesday (or close tie with her getting more delegates). But she apparently only planned to run until Super Tuesday (when she would be annointed). The reality is that she ran out of money and had little "ground game" (local support) in most of the smaller states. She had to concentrate her money in 2-3 states that she thought she might win. That's an incredibly lousy (and audacious!) campaign plan. And the media isn't to blame.

[Paulo]

Look:Be realistic. Keith O. is just the opposite of the righty blowhards. Tweety just loves a fight and can't figure out where he wants to stand. Theres no news on any of these talk shows, like Countdown, Hardball or Tucker. Whatever happened to giving us the facts and letting us the listeners and viewers decide?