Shuster: "I was at the wrong place at the right time, or the right place at the wrong time"

[madfloridian]

He sounds like he knows exactly what happened to him. Interesting blog from MediaBistro DC

I was at the wrong place at the right time, or the right place at the wrong time

Despite his gaping sword wound, David Shuster has no bitterness toward MSNBC.

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

Sen. Hillary Clinton's forces pressured MSNBC to punish Shuster after he used the p-word in reference to Chelsea Clinton's presidential politicking for her mother. He was slapped with a two-week suspension, which ends today with his return to Hardball.

"I'm aware of the long list of complaints the Clinton campaign had about people from MSNBC" (like Hardball host Chris Matthews), says Shuster. "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."

No word yet whether his absence will be addressed on Hardball tonight. "If MSNBC thinks it's appropriate, I will," Shuster says. "It's weird being the subject of a story. The faster I get back to covering stories, the better it will be for viewers."

Very gracious:

Well, maybe one. File it under "Lesson Learned."

"I have the responsibility to make my point precisely and aggressively, without using coarse language. Clearly, it was inappropriate for a lot of viewers. I made a horrible mistake by allowing people to be distracted by some words rather than focus on the story."

[SoFlaJet]

1. Hey isn't that a Dr. John song?

"I was in the right place, but it musta been the wrong time" It was good to see him back on Hardball today covering the McMess

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

11. I'm glad Shuster's back. Great reporter!

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

13. Sing it sister!

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

14. :)

[grasswire]

2. uh........who is "the father"??

Is he talking about Tweety?

[madfloridian]

3. Cryptic...not sure.

:hi:

[monmouth]

7. Maybe an Imus reference? Father (age)..I dunno..n/t

[RamboLiberal]

5. I read that as he was talking about Tweety - nt

[Stinky The Clown]

12. Russert, maybe ....... ?

[SoFlaJet]

18. yes

he got started on MSNBC on Hardball and the Clintons hate Matthews

[MichiganVote]

4. Or he simply said the wrong thing in the wrong way....on any day,,by anyone

[Kahuna]

6. David is very grounded. That's why I like him. To err is human..nt

[pleah]

8. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time, does not give you the right

to spout bullshit when you please. He better keep his nose clean and be a journalist. Don't get me wrong, I like Shuster, but he should not let his personal feelings get caught up in his professional life.

[madfloridian]

9. He got the shaft while Matthews, and FOX were not even criticized.

?

[SoCalDem]

10. He fell into a trap set for all of them, by their bosses

The powers that be WANT the cozy, yakky schmoozy feel to their "teams" of reporters.. The only problem is that after a while they get SO comfortable, that they actually forget why they are there in the first place, and the whole "show" has a feel of a bunch of pals, hanging out at a bar, just shooting the breeze..

Then when someone crosses that invisible line, nothing happens UNTIL someone gets upset and starts a shitstorm and all the others come out of the woodwork and start screaming too..

the remedy,is to have reporters be reporters and talk-show hosts be talk-show hosts..and not to try and combine them..

[UTUSN]

15. So he's not sorry. n/t

[UTUSN]

17. He's an ex-Fauxer, at KKKarl's grand jury STRUNG us along

"Reporting" day after day on Keith's show that KKKarl would be indicted within two weeks.



When it was over and the thing didn't happen, he said his SOURCES were "lawyers who had clients in front of the grand jury, OR in front of OTHER grand juries."


Those were NOT "sources." True SOURCES would be peeps with FIRST HAND knowledge, like somebody from Fitzgerald's office or somebody with contact with members of the grand jury.



What SHUSTER had were PUNDITS: Lawyers (not first-hand witnesses) who were opinonating about what MIGHT happen.



I complained by e-mail to KO, but nobody cares.





He did the same thing with US that he did at Faux: He was telling a niche audience what it WANTED TO HEAR. Whether it's on OUR side or THEIR side------------- same thing.

[bluedawg12]

16. I guess he isn't responsible for his own words?

Sins of the father? Come on David a bit grandiose?

http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/imagestore/2008/2/22/th_b0aef45d-3c98-4da8-bbb6-