RussertWatch: Newt Gingrich, Travelin' Down Memory Lane, Thinkin' 'Bout The Presidency

These are the things that "Meet The Press" was not yesterday morning:

• Interesting
  
• Relevant
  
• An extra hour of sleep
  
• A giant, heaping plate of mapley waffles
  
• Hosted by someone with a small head
  
• Worth an hour of your time on a sunny Sunday morning

Sorry, but Newt Gingrich? Again? Why is this guy getting the platform? Aren't there about a zillion potential presidential candidates who would positively slather over the chance for this kind of airtime (paging Tom Vilsack). Honestly, I'm not interested in this guy telling us again how he knew in 2003 what was going to go wrong with Iraq and reminding us all what a soothsayer and visionary he is (1994 was over a decade ago. Deal with it). This is about as relevant as the Time Person of the Year, and despite Newt heaping praise on Russert twice during the broadcast, not the sort of guest that makes "Meet The Press" even remotely cutting-edge (NB: This is not to say that ""Meet The Press" is even remotely cutting-edge). Case in point: A blowhard-off between Thomas Friedman and David Brooks. (Caveat: Didn't watch it. There are waffles to be eaten, you know). But why should I? They've got plenty of room to spout off in the pages of the New York Times; especially on this dry-as-dust episode, showcasing these guys just doesn't do it for me.

A bit of non-news: Newt said that yes, of course he'd thinking about the presidency. Shocker. But, since Newt was so eager to go down memory lane to remind us what a far-seeing thinker he was, we'll just show this snippet of him talking about something else that happened in the past. Enjoy.

Full transcript here; let me know if I missed anything. See above re: Waffles.