Morning Rant

Matt Lewis | January 27, 2009 9:37 AM

Having sworn-off "Morning Joe" for the last couple of weeks heading into the election, I am slowly creeping back to my morning addiction. But I continue to have very mixed emotions about the direction of the show -- mainly stemming from the odd choice of regulars...

Joe, Mika, Willie, and Pat Buchanan are almost always terrific -- from an entertainment standpoint (I obviously don't always agree with them on issues).

Recently, however, they have had this CNBC guy Dylan Ratigan on constantly. He is, perhaps, even slightly more annoying and egotistical than Mike Barnicle. They are also fond of having the maudlin Peggy Noonan on -- and she clearly is the most annoying person in the world, probably because she is portrayed as a conservative. Oh yeah, and then there is Eugene Robinson...

The show was at its best when Scarborough, Mika, and Willie were frequently joined by interesting high-caliber guests like Tim Russert (a sad loss, indeed), Pat Buchanan, David Schuster, and Tucker Carlson.

Why do I care? Because this show has great potential, but they are in danger of ruining it by continuing to juggle the cast of characters, and even worse: by bringing in the

wrong people.

... And it's frustrating to watch this happen -- it's like watching Ted McGinley ruin every show from the 70s and 80s (see Love Boat, Happy Days, Married with Children) -- or like when TV shows in the 70s and 80s tried to revitalize themselves by adding a cute kid (see that John Denver-looking kid on the Brady Bunch, Sam on Diff'rent Strokes, or whoever that was on Married with Children, etc.)...

My advice to Morning Joe -- for what it is worth -- is to ditch Barnicle and Ratigan as soon as possible. They are clearly not ready for morning time.

Am I alone here???