It's almost impossible for me to convey the damage Tim Russert and Brian Williams are doing to the republic this evening. So far, the questioning has gone something like: "Hillary, are you a racist?" "Barack, are you a scary black man who will continually remind us that we are racists?" "Senator Obama, why are you such a dick?" "Senator Clinton, would you like to comment on Senator Obama's past drug use?" "Senator Obama, you say you want to move us forward, but your press people have released documents mentioning Hillary Clinton. Please explain." It's literally the worst moderation I've yet seen. It's not moderation. It's trivialization. 28 minutes in, there's not been a question about any issue, any cause, any problem. The only possible upside is it gives me an excuse to link to Matthew Yglesias's devastating takedown of Tim Russert. Read it and weep.
