There’s been a lot of talk the last few days about the appropriateness of Chris Matthews moderating a GOP debate, just days after he said “They’ve finally been caught in their criminality,” when talking about the Bush administration. (Insiders tell me Matthews was referring to Scooter Libby, who was convicted of a crime.)
But putting perceived partisanship aside, when you look at Matthews’ Hardball ratings, ratings could be another factor to consider Matthews’ role in the debates:
According to Nielsen, in the third quarter, Hardball with Chris Matthews averaged 399,000 viewers each night at 7pmET. That’s about half of CNN’s Situation Room (630,000) and a quarter of what Shepard Smith draws on FNC (1,294,000). This past week, Matthews averaged 381,000 viewers compared to FNC’s 1,281,000 and CNN’s 499,000.
With the primaries around the corner, and the election a year away, it seems to me that MSNBC should make hiring an EP for Hardball a top priority.