David Gregory's Race To The White House Off to Good Start on MSNBC

So, I finally got a chance in this hectic week to see David Gregory's new Race to the White House, which replaced Tucker Carlson's show at 6pm.

I thought Race to the White House was excellent. And I enjoyed it a lot more than Carlson's show.

It's interesting to analyze why.

After all, Carlson and Gregory both talk a lot about politics, and if Gregory has more experience as a reporter, Carlson certainly is at least as articulate, and a lot more humorous.

But Tucker Carlson's show always seemed somewhat listless, in contrast to Gregory's show which was bursting with energy.

Here are some of the reasons:

.Gregory's Race to the White House has sharp, colorful graphics and scenics ... the red-orange background is hot and welcoming. (In contrast, and in McLuhanesque terms*, Tucker Carlson's whole approach may have been too laid back and cool.)

.Mike Murphy, one of the panelists, has one of the sharpest wits going. He had me and most of the panelists laughing a dozen or more times tonight. Given that Murphy worked with Romney and McCain, that's saying a lot, at least for me.

.Rachel Maddow and Eugene Robinson were fine panelists, too. There may be a danger of over-exposing these two - they're on just about every hour on MSNBC - but, so far, they have something wise to say, and say it engagingly, on just about every show.

.Joe Scarborough was pretty good on the panel, too. Interesting thing about Joe - his Scarborough Country in the evening was often excruciating (I was a guest on the show several times, and even I couldn't save it). But Joe's been fine in the morning, and, fortunately for Race to White House, it looked like the Morning not the Evening Joe tonight...

I'm been thinking for a while (can't recall if wrote it) that MSNBC, not CNN, seems most likely to overtake Fox News in the next few years. The new lineup in general, and Race to the White House in particular, is a good first step.

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*More about McLuhan, and his distinction between hot and cool media, in my Digital McLuhan: A Guide to the Information Millennium

See also McLuhan as Micro-Blogger

one of my appearances on Scarborough Country

See also transcripts of this and my other appearances on Scarborough Country.