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

[cuervogold]

what is the term you would use if your parents sent you on a "date" with a young single superdelegate to try and secure his vote? i believe "pimping" would be an accurate term.

[MsLiz]

No, it would not. If you take a friend to lunch to network about a job, are you pimped out?

[incontempt]

what were you paid for your services?

[cuervogold]

Yes, you are "pimping" yourself out for the prospect of a job. Also, the superdelegate was not her friend and the only reason she was sent (pimped)was to try and influence his vote. Why didn't they send fat ass Sheila Jackson Lee to get his vote?

[Postroad]

get straight on this: your parents would be pimping and you, as daughter,would be a whore.

[Purple Girl]

He'd would have been mor eaccurate had he used the phrase to describe Hillary's work for her Corp Sponsors- What a Whore!!!
Perhaps this will help convince chelsea to stay out of Politics in the future- Her Parents have ruined her Reputation before she has even started.

[kennedy]

Who are you calling a whore?

[JustanAmericanview]

Welcome back David. We missed you. Somtimes you made me glad and others times mad, so I'd say are one of the most objective reporters out there.

[andyg]

objective, he the guy who claimed HE knew Karl Rove would be arrested.

[incontempt]

The time is coming.

[lawmichigander]

In what way was his comment sexist? He had a valid point, extremely valid, the fact that MSNBC was intimidated is disturbing. The clintons are using their daughter, in a way in which does against their request for the media to stay out of her life.

MSNBC should be ashamed.

[MsLiz]

Go back and read the blogs from two weeks ago. Oh, I see your name. Remember libel per se?

http://dictionary.law.com/default2.asp?selected=1154

http://www.tpub.com/content/photography/14130/css/14130_175.htm

http://americandefenseleague.com/libperse.htm

[longislandlol]

His response sounds very biblical- very Old Testament-

[democraticjack]

I thought he was pimping for Chris Matthews.

[lovethesinner]

David Shuster is a great reporter. During "Scootergate" his consise and unemotional reporting led viewers through a virtual maze of interrelated and confusing facts. He took one for the team, and took it like a man.

(Am I being sexist saying that? If Hillary conceeds on March 5th, I'll say, yes, I was.)

Personally, I'm glad to have him back, and I only hope he will think twice about the anchor desk (at the very least, stay away from Tucker's) and perhaps wait for Scarborough to die off.

I don't think it will be long now, Joe almost slapped Mika this morning when she tried to get a word in edgewise. ("Morning Joe" is just about the worst 180 minutes in television because of his constant blabbering)

I'm hoping that he can get something together with Joe's co-hosts to replace Tucker in the afternoons. (They should be able to do something interesting for an hour with the B-list guests)

[MsLiz]

I love Mika B.

[apcalc]

I guess great reporters on one story, can turn into complete asses on other stories.

Are they really great then? Does a piece of poor work make you great?

How many poor remarks is a great reporter allowed?

[evekendall]

I agree. Welcome back, David.

[flabingo]

Silence is second only to genius. I like David Shuster, but you are not paid to be the news.

[flabingo]

Silence is second only to genius. I like David Shuster, but you are not paid to be the news.

[swdemocratforchange]

To be honest, my children, who are young adults have used the term "pimped out" and I know that it's not the nicest thing to say, but more of a slang term from their generation and I wasn't particularly offended, but I do believe that someone had to pay for comments made by Chris Matthews about Clinton & David Shuster paid the price.....­unfortunat­ely! The treatment that Matthews gave that Texas congressman was incredibly embarrassing and Chris Matthews should be suspended permanently!

[RogerHWerner]

Yes, it is a generational thing as my children have told me. The problem is, my children don't stand up on national television and call someone a pimp. The language one uses on the street or to friends is a rather different matter than the language one employs in very public venues with people one doesn't know very well. As my children were growing up, I repeatedly explained that there are no "bad words" only words that could be hurtful and upsetting to some people depending on the context they are used. This may sound a little complex for kids to understand but frankly, they learned the lesson remarkably well. Someone ought to lecture Shuster about word context but since he's an adult with a college degree I expect such a lecture would be pointless.

[MsLiz]

Your children don't say "pimped out" about a young woman on national television, do they?

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

the lesson of the Shuster incident is this:

from now on, we call it what it is. shilling is whoring, and pimping shills is pimping.

get used to it.

[MsLiz]

You are exasperating. Do you have to reduce everything a female candidate does to prostitution?

[brwnizofmine]

I am just amazed that women aren't angry about what Bill O'Reilly said regarding Mrs. Obama.

[Opus007]

dryfactoid­obotanoid- how about the good old fashioned term "exploited". That would have been a much better word choice- the same intention without the sexual connotation.

[mcnairbo]

Forget the pimped remark. What is so wierd about a family member helping you during a campaign?

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

Hillary already lost, forever. but the answer to your question is, because she was calling superdelegates and the entire fucking cast of the View.

[MsLiz]

So what?

[toomuchtolose]

I found the reference to Hillary pimping her daughter to be extremely offensive. No matter what additonal meanings that word may have acquired, the first meaning refers to a whore being sent out to be exploited for the benefit of the pimp. So, it means something else to younger generations. It's original meaning holds for older people. Pimping a daughter is a truly ugly suggestion. I have tried to find something equivalent that might be said about a father's son, thinking that perhaps men would begin to understand just how really ugly that reference is. I can't find anything comparable. If you claimed a senator was using his son as a boy-toy to meet wealthy, older women, with the expectation that they would make large contributions to the senator's campaign, that claim may or may not be offensive to the son, the women or the senator, but it doesn't come close to saying a powerful woman is "pimping her daughter." In fact, the boy-toy image might seem comical to men of all ages. If you tried using the image of a strong male politician sending his young son into gay bars in San Francisco's Castro District, it still doesn't equate with a powerful woman senator "pimping her daughter." It comes close, and it wouldn't matter how much you tried to say that people were just reading something unintended into a perfectly innocent remark. Notwithstanding the implied insult to gay men, the intent would clearly be understood that the father was pushing his young son into something way outside of a father-son obligation. It has a bad connotation, intentionally. My apologies to gay men. I am simply trying to find what men would react to viscerally, the way a woman would react to being accused of "pimping her daughter."
Men don't get it, I guess.

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

who else pimped out their daughter/son as much as Hillary?

Romney? Tag, Bryce, and Elijah Romney? McCain? the blogging daughter?

it doesn't matter any more. Hillary is done. the superdelegate thing is done. but one reason she is done is because she pimped out Bill and Chelsea.

[mudfiles]

'Pimping out' is not a literal term anymore, in contexts like this. Anyone who's offended by this remark is either older, or old-fashioned.

And if you think I'm being politically incorrect by saying that, then you're REALLY old... and out of touch.

[MsLiz]

I think we are entitled to use the dictionary definition of the term. We never thought Shuster meant that Hillary was repainting Chelsea and installing a great sound system and rims.

[MsLiz]

Here's my suggestion: Send your ten year old son to visit Michael Jackson for a week, then sue Jackson for $25 million.

[turkeyneck]

sticks & stones, hunny. get over it before Xmas.

[apcalc]

Dear Too much to lose,

Work on a story line that would include Lorena Bobbitt. - they'll get it.

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

Shuster took one for the team. now everybody is talking about Hillary pimping Bill and Chelsea. Shuster is a good man.

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

also, he said nothing worse than KO saying Bush was pimping Petraeus.

[MsLiz]

Under libel law, Petraeus is a public official and public figure, and the standard of proof is different.

[RogerHWerner]

Shuster is misogynistic and so are many of his fellows workers at MSNBC. He may be a good reporter and a good man but he's still misogynistic.

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

pimping applies to gay man whores as well as woman whores.

[Opus007]

RogerHW- I'm a woman and I don't agree. I'm an avid MSNBC viewer- I would have noticed. I love Daivd Shuster. He is NOT a "misogynistic" to me.
"Pimped' was a poor choice of words because of the sexual conatation-- "exploited" would have been better.

[mansky]

He made a mistake. But it wasn't one that should have ended his career.
Chris Matthews has made mistakes also. Does anyone remember the "breaking balls" comment in an interview with Edwards and his wife?

But these guys are not reporters. They're hosts and commentators. Don't expect them to follow journalistic rules.

Andrea Mitchell is a reporter. You don't hear Andrea editorializing.

Finally, the audiences for this kind of aggressive
programming are the real cause of such questionable practices.

Controversy, rudeness equals ratings.

[DLSteinhardt]

Pretty disgusting that Shuster, a good reporter, is still whining about his suspension.

He should just get back to work, and not remind everyone he still thinks it's appropriate to refer to political phone calls as "pimping her out."

The comment, to my taste and sensibilities, was utterly disgraceful and outrageous.

I'm an Obama supporter, should anyone care.